Being an Exception - Making Contact with Admissions?

[Loric]

So.. a thought that dirfted into my head and I thought ya'll might have some thoughts on:

 

If you're below what the typical baselines are for a program, but you think you have a shot due to "reasons" is it in your best interest to contact admissions and let them know you're applying and will likely be considered as an exception rather than the 'rule' where they throw apps in the trash if they don't meet certain minimums?

 

Ok, that's a ridiculously long way of saying it.. but say the GRE cutoff is 290, you're like 289 - but you've got killer research and great recs, so in theory you could maybe get in and maybe even do fine. But from my understanding of admissions, sometimes if you fall below a benchmark, you're out in an early round. GRE and GPA tend to be the triggers for this.

 

Thus knowing this, you reach out to admissions and, I dunno, ask them their policy on GPA/GRE?

 

I know with any sort of "academic probation" you often need to write a supplemental statement. Those apps don't just get tossed out, but I don't know if it's the supplemental statement that keeps them from being tossed out for being below benchmarks.

 

Of course not every program does that and actually considerS ALL apps in whole. It seems programs with rolling admissions do so most frequently as they have the time as they're constantly evaluating apps... whereas in a hard deadline program they're looking at a heap of apps and any way they can think up parse out applicants ("This one dots her I's with hearts! Burn it!")

 

Do you think it benefits applicants to reach out to admissions and ask such questions if they think they're below a benchmark? "Interest" in a program also seems to be a factor, so being a little probing might help with that too, no?

Edited January 6, 2014 by Loric

[Canis]

In my view having a POI on your side is a good way to ensure they look at your application despite any single shortcomings. Depending on the discipline/school/program/etc.

 

Demonstrating an effort to learn about the program and to make contact seems to be a strategy with some success across programs, based on anecdotal evidence...

[gellert]

Anecdotal, but I've had a few people tell me that adcomms, during the initial runthrough if they're ditching apps below a cutoff, do tend to at least glance at the transcript and CV etc. to make sure they aren't ditching someone with a 289 GRE but a publication in Nature, for example.

 

I think it couldn't hurt to call and ask about policies regarding slightly substandard scores with excellent other credentials, but I wouldn't give your name or ask for a personal exception.  Just ask in the hypothetical.

[Loric]

I feel like there is this permeating mentality the people on the other side are in some sterile lab where we're not to interfere. The reality is much more mundane and any small gesture to elevate yourself from a pile of papers to being seen as an actual person - it couldn't hurt, right ?

Though knowing the world - queue mass emails and harassment of adcomms. "But I just wanted to be their friend!!"

[juilletmercredi]

Not ANY small gesture, but there are some things that could help you stand out.  I think that for professional graduate programs (MPP, MBA, MPH) it's probably a good idea to reach out to admissions to have a chat if you fall below the cutoff in one area - my professional school's admissions dean actually encourages prospective students to do that, and he's very friendly and approachable.  For an academic program, it's probably best to reach out to a professor.

[TakeruK]

I feel like there is this permeating mentality the people on the other side are in some sterile lab where we're not to interfere. The reality is much more mundane and any small gesture to elevate yourself from a pile of papers to being seen as an actual person - it couldn't hurt, right ?

Though knowing the world - queue mass emails and harassment of adcomms. "But I just wanted to be their friend!!"

 

I don't think this is necessarily true (the "not supposed to interfere" part). We're not supposed to do things like ask probing questions about who is on the committee, or when are they meeting, and what did they think of X etc. etc. But, we are totally supposed to present as much of ourselves to the profs as possible. In my field, there is a huge Astronomy conference in early January, right during most programs' application review period or just prior to it. This conference is an excellent place for prospective grad students to find profs/students in their schools of interest and talk to them. One school even emailed all applicants a list of every single prof from their department that would be attending and encouraged us to reach out to them. It's also a good time to talk to the students to get to know what the programs are like, and maybe they can tell you about timelines (since they got accepted X years back). Also, some students serve on admission committees too!

 

Like you allude to in your post, there are appropriate ways to do this, and inappropriate ways. I've seen really good interactions at conferences but also really bad ones. I would say a good interaction is a professional and low pressure one. The student should introduce themselves as being interested in the school, have a few sentences to say about their interests and then be able to gauge the other person's reaction. If they are interested, then they will probably ask you some questions and you should respond. But if they seem uninterested, then it's probably not a good time to talk to them and you should probably leave them alone instead of pressuring them to give you their opinion or promise to look at your application or anything like that. You should definitely give them the chance to see you as an actual person, but don't force it!

 

I also think that if you are worried that you are below some published minimum, it's worth asking if your application would still be considered. They will very likely just send back some very standard, non-specific response like "We will consider the application as a whole etc. etc." but it is enough, I think, for people to remember you. In my field, like gellert mentioned, I get the sense that they will at least look at everything (or at least the list of publications and CV) to make sure that they aren't looking at some exception with low numbers but very good skills.