Emailing Profs?

[greenlover45]

I didn't know where this question would fit, so I'm just posting here.

 

I recently contacted a professor of interest, but got a rather short, vague (kind of negative, too) response to my exciting but succinct email. 

 

Is it possible that the POI is annoyed? Maybe I shouldn't have emailed in the first place. 

 

Now I'm scared to email other POI's.

 

What's going on? LOL

[greenlover45]

ANYONEEEEE?

[beccamayworth]

It is possible that he's annoyed, but it's also possible he's just very succinct (was he really negative or just brief?).

 

Have you asked any professors if it's common to email POIs in your field? I hear it depends a lot from field to field. 

[Courgette]

it also varies hugely from institution to institution.  big-shot profs at prestigious universities often don't respond at all - they receive emails from interested students on a daily basis and have other demands on their time.  

 

the advice I was given regarding emailing POIs was don't.  You can contact them after you get in, but asking for their time before being admitted is presumptuous and annoying.  worked out okay for me.

[greenlover45]

Well, I never heard of professors getting annoyed by those, so that's why I emailed them. Also, I had genuine questions I wanted to ask them. It wasn't just so that I get their attention to recognize my name later in the pile of many applications. Idk, his response was really brief, and almost too brief that it seemed like he didn't really care if he was actually answering my questions. He was just throwing some details he thinks I might like to hear. Kinda disappointed though, in the school's atmosphere, although it still remains my first choice. :/

[biotechie]

It depends on the field, really. In my field (biomedical sciences), if you're interested in a particular type of project, you can contact POIs, but if you're open to lots of things, you don't necessarily need to. They may not respond right away, or more likely will miss the e-mail because they're busy. However, the professors are used to being contacted and have never responded to me like they were annoyed. However, it is not uncommon to get very short responses (My PI frequently responds with, "Yes, do that." or "Sure."). I didn't contact POIs until I was setting up rotations, though others in my cohort had no problems.

 

Other fields, where the dissertation project doesn't need to fit exactly within the regime of the professor's projects, it seems that there is less of a need to contact POIs ahead of time. Since we don't know your field, it is a little hard to say whether you need to contact POIs or if they are expecting to be contacted.

[omg]

What if you're applying for international relations and not natural sciences? Would you still need to e-mail POIs?

Thanks~

[Appsitude]

Honestly, as long as you aren't constantly bothering them, most POIs do not mind receiving emails from prospective students. More than likely the POI you emailed is just busy, doesn't talk to students until after they are admitted, or did not have much to say to you for some other reason. I wouldn't read in to it at all. Emailing POIs is never a bad thing in my opinion.

[omg]

Thanks so much for answering!

Hope you all the best!