Reaching out to Current Grad Students

[Dr. Old Bill]

I've had some great results from reaching out to current graduate students in programs that I'm interested in. Generally speaking, I have gone through the grad student lists of various institutions to find students with similar research interests as my own. I then went ahead and sent those students a brief email, asking whether or not they would be willing to answer questions about their program. Without fail, all have gotten back to me quickly and enthusiastically, and all have gone into great detail about the academic environment at a given instutition, its strengths and weaknesses, the interplay between students and both their peers and faculty, and also general opinions on "fit" based on a bit of personal information. It's just another way of whittling down one's list of programs, and also a good way of having a ready-made contact for if one is ultimately accepted.

 

This suggestion is certainly old hat to some of the more tenured members here, but it may be helpful for some of the new folks who, like me, will be applying for 2015 entry.

 

By the way, I won't name names or locations, but one grad student was quite insistent that a certain top-tier institution doesn't put a lot of stock in "fit." This was quite surprising to me, given most of what I've read to the contrary...but it's worth thinking about nonetheless.

 

 

[londonite]

V helpful thank you! Out of curiosity, what are you areas of interest?

[Dr. Old Bill]

V helpful thank you! Out of curiosity, what are you areas of interest?

 

You're welcome!

 

Personally, I'm gravitating toward Poetry and Poetics. There aren't a lot of grad schools with strong programs in that area, however, and most of the ones that do are in the top tier...so I'll apply to a few others with a stated focus on late 19th - mid 20 century transatlantic literature. Part of me thinks I'm fortunate in that I have a few different literary interests, though it does make talking about specialization in the SOP a bit of a minefield.

[queennight]

This is a great idea, and let me just pop in that some graduate assistants are more than helpful if you even want to email them instead of graduate students (for funding questions, etc.). Although some of them have been pretty blunt in replying to me re: international funding, at least a couple of them have dedicated some time to replying to my more dumb questions, which I appreciate.

[TeaOverCoffee]

I'm new to the whole application process as well, and I'm just curious what exactly did you ask the graduate students? A lot of the information is online, so I don't know how to ask them things without coming off as somebody who doesn't care to check out the website. What do you think are questions that current graduate students can answer that they often don't include on websites?

[Dr. Old Bill]

The main things I asked were about fit, the nature of the academic environment (i.e.: cooperative vs. competitive peers, faculty engagement level etc.), and more details about certain research interests of professors. Additionally, I asked about departmental orientation being more toward literary theory or close reading. Things like these are hard to infer from program websites, and getting what is essentially an "inside look" at a program can be very helpful. All of the grad students I reached out to also went beyond my questions and made other comments and suggestions that might be useful (for instance that a certain professor might be leaving etc.). In other words, you can get all of the basics from the program / departmental websites, but some of the helpful nuances can only come from methods such as this.

 

Hope that helps.

[TakeruK]

I'm new to the whole application process as well, and I'm just curious what exactly did you ask the graduate students? A lot of the information is online, so I don't know how to ask them things without coming off as somebody who doesn't care to check out the website. What do you think are questions that current graduate students can answer that they often don't include on websites?

 

Here are some questions that I asked current graduate students in programs I visited and what students have asked me! Some of the more... "sensitive"(?) questions tend to work best over something like Skype or even better, at an in-person meeting during something like orientation or prospective student visit days, rather than email though. I also wouldn't recommend directly asking some of these questions as ice-breakers, get to know the other person a bit first

 

1. Are you happy in your program?

2. How often do you TA? What has your TA experience been like? Do you like it?

3. Do you feel that the department and professor care about your success?

4. Where else did you apply and visit? What made you choose this school over others?

5. Do you ever regret the choice you made?

6. What's one thing you wish you could change about the current grad program?

7. What do you know about working for Prof _____? (usually best if it's their advisor) What is his/her advising style like? Do you enjoy working with them?

8. Is the stipend enough to live on? Are you able to save each year? Do you have to take out additional loans?

9. What is the weather like year-round here? How hot/cold does it get? 

10. What is the rent like? How much do students usually pay? What parts of town are good places to live?

11. Is this city a safe place to live? Do you feel safe walking on the streets at night?

12. Do you know any students who are married? Have children? Is the school/department/professor supportive of students with families? (this was important to me but maybe not to everyone)

13. How many students were accepted this year? How many accepted last year, etc.... What's the average number of people that come into the program each year (some people are more hesitant to accept if there's a good chance they might be the only person in their year, or e.g. the only woman/man/minority/etc)

14. What is the atmosphere like between students in the department? Is it friendly? Competitive? Quiet? What about between the professors?

15. Do the students in the department socialize together a lot?

16. How many students graduate per year? How often is it that students fail a qualifying or candidacy exam? Are they allowed to retake them and is it automatic retake or do you have to petition for a retake (and how often are the petitions successful).

17. If summer funding is separate from the school year and you need to apply separately, how often are students successful?

18. What are the courses like at this school? How much time are we expected to spend on time (vs. research).

 

I always answer these questions honestly when I am asked and I know most grad students definitely don't mind taking some time out of their day to provide this type of information. 

[bhr]

I spoke to a number of grad students (and recent former grad students) at my top programs, but I didn't reach out "blind". I was lucky enough to meet people at conferences, or through mutual friends, and then speak to them. In addition, once I accepted an offer I almost immediately heard from multiple grad students in the program who offered to help with my transition.

[TeaOverCoffee]

Reaching out to current graduate students was probably some of the best advice I've received lately. I emailed numerous grad students from several universities, and one emailed back in a very timely manner with more than enough advice about applying to one of my top universities. Though it doesn't sound very encouraging, I was happy to learn that Johns Hopkins isn't the university to apply for if you're an aspiring Victorianist because all of the professors teaching Victorian AND Romantic literature have left. 

 

Seriously, reach out to current graduate students, people, because they could inform you if you truly are a fit for the university. 

[queennight]

 

16. How many students graduate per year? How often is it that students fail a qualifying or candidacy exam? Are they allowed to retake them and is it automatic retake or do you have to petition for a retake (and how often are the petitions successful).

 

Never even thought about this! Jeez

[TakeruK]

@queennight, yeah I felt like that question was useful because during visits, the department would say something like "You get 2 chances at quals. No students have been forced to leave the program in the last 10 years due to failing both times". But these statements don't usually count the students who, in the view of the program, "chooses" to leave the program and not retake the exam (or were not allowed to retake the exam). I say "choose" because even if the policies/rules allow for a retake, I find that few students would choose to retake the exam if they felt that their profs were not behind them and did not want to see them succeed!

[queennight]

@queennight, yeah I felt like that question was useful because during visits, the department would say something like "You get 2 chances at quals. No students have been forced to leave the program in the last 10 years due to failing both times". But these statements don't usually count the students who, in the view of the program, "chooses" to leave the program and not retake the exam (or were not allowed to retake the exam). I say "choose" because even if the policies/rules allow for a retake, I find that few students would choose to retake the exam if they felt that their profs were not behind them and did not want to see them succeed!

Thanks for the tip TakeruK, totally a good point to consider!