Contacting Professors

[caputmundi]

professors from two schools suggested i come visit and meet with them in person. that said, i have no idea how common it is. it's obviously not a bad sign, but i think you are right to be wary of reading too much into this... it might be fairly common to extend such offers. in my case, at least, it would be up to me to pay my way there. if they were paying for you to come down, then maybe you could go ahead and feel as confident as you damn well please.

[caputmundi]

oh but hey, you should still be confident. i'm sure you are kick ass.

[natsteel]

HI all,

I have prepared a template for contacting potential advisors and I have a paragraph there which is to be adjusted for each. But what if I want to contact more than one in the same program? If they share info, how would they take it?

Just how many paragraphs do you have in this "template?" I would avoid sending anything more than one modest paragraph in any initial contact with prospective advisors. Brief and to the point is best.

Edited June 25, 2010 by natsteel

[waitingbusiness]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions. I wrote to a professor after reading the thread and I got a positive response. He wrote that my subject of research (Masters) is similar to what many professors in the university are working on. For admission info go to website.... and "... if you have any specific questions let me know."

My query : What next ? Is it too early to ask anything (for application for PhD fall 2011) or may be send a PhD research proposal or just a thank you note ?

My main interest is to keep the conversation going (if that can influence on admission somehow) or is this sufficient for me to mention during the application process that I have talked with prof X ?

Thank you for your help and suggestions, in advance.

[tskinner]

Get used to this feeling. XD

[newms]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions. I wrote to a professor after reading the thread and I got a positive response. He wrote that my subject of research (Masters) is similar to what many professors in the university are working on. For admission info go to website.... and "... if you have any specific questions let me know."

My query : What next ? Is it too early to ask anything (for application for PhD fall 2011) or may be send a PhD research proposal or just a thank you note ?

My main interest is to keep the conversation going (if that can influence on admission somehow) or is this sufficient for me to mention during the application process that I have talked with prof X ?

Thank you for your help and suggestions, in advance.

I wouldn't send him a research proposal just yet. Are your research interests aligned with his or with other profs at the school? If your interests align I would read up on his research and ask him specific questions relating to his research. Definitely try to keep the conversation going without being a "pest".

[chocolate_blanche]

I am really glad to find an official thread on this topic. I just put myself back on the same boat with everyone for the upcoming PhD cycle.

Actually this was not my first time doing this. I sent an email to my current supervisor (Master) and got a reply within one day. But the situation was different then. Two years ago, my supervisor just arrived, having no grad students and a lot of funding. So I happened to contact him at the right time.

I am wishing that the luck will happen again. So far, I have contacted 4 professors. On one hand, my current school (in Canada) is not very internationally known (although it is good), I have a few publications at good journal and conference. On the other hand my field is so specific that I had to look at top schools (we are talking about MIT, Harvard etc) here to see if they do the stuff I am interested. So the result was that my email was a bit long (1 page) since I feel like I have a few points to make and those schools are amazing as we all know. I referred to the email I sent two years ago, making sure of no grammatical error or ethical error (name of professor and school) and doing my homework to align my interest with theirs in a respectful way.

Now a few days has passed and although I understand that the battle has just begun and can always forward with a more concise email, I start to wonder:

- In general, is there any difference in selling yourself to a good school and in selling yourself to an Ivy school? (suppose there is and I just dont have that kind of connection. I am also international by the way)

- After one week to a fortnight, or even a month I should follow up (hopefully I will not have to wait that long but Ivy is worth a wait). What if I still do not have a reply? In my reasoning, either these professors are not interested or too busy to read my emails, OR they want to wait until they see my actual application, amid other prospective students and make decision. Now, how likely is the second situation? Is it worth a chance applying to those schools without knowing whether the professor you want to work with remembers even remotely your contact? What has your experience been?

- I know that at some schools it is the admissions committee that do the job of matching incoming PhD students with faculty. What is it often like at top schools e.g. Princeton, Yale, Columbia?

- The other reason can be this state of insecure funding so no one can say anything.

Thank you very much and I would really appreciate any input.

[psycholinguist]

Get used to this feeling. XD

Darn it! I tried to one-up this post and clicked on the wrong button. Could someone neutralise that? Thanks!

[balderdash]

Darn it! I tried to one-up this post and clicked on the wrong button. Could someone neutralise that? Thanks!

Yeah, I took care of that, no worries. I actually thought "who would neg this? It's so true!" and then laughed out loud when I saw your post.

[psycholinguist]

Yeah, I took care of that, no worries. I actually thought "who would neg this? It's so true!" and then laughed out loud when I saw your post.

Heh! Thanks! (To my profound embarrassment, this is the second time I've gone to vote-up a post and missed. FAIL. * laughs *)

[kaz]

I never sent any sort of CV in my emails. I always focused on their research, my research, and whether or not it would be a good fit. I generally asked people if they were accepting students, about their advising style, and about current and future research plans. I also talked about my own interests and background briefly. If they want to see a CV, they will ask you.

How do you ask about advising style? I tried phrasing a question in my mind but it sounded a bit awkward.

[abbas]

Hi,

I'm applying for a Master's Degree at MIT. Should I contact professors and express my interests to their researches and how they are relevant to my job.

Thanks

Abbas

[abolitionista]

I have yet to receive responses from professors at more prestigious schools like Berkeley and Stanford. However I have received responses from many other professors at less prestigious schools but nonetheless really good schools. Has anyone else had a similar situation?

[archangel]

How early is too early to write to a POI? I'm applying for entrance in Fall 2012, and was considering writing to some of the people whose research I am most interested in with relevant questions about their recent publications (without mentioning that I am a prospective student). Is this a good idea? Should I overtly state that I am a future prospective, or wait until I have some rapport?

(I've read Getting What You Came For one too many times. This was something that they suggested, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing it -- on TGC or among other members of my lab, at least.)

[rising_star]

How early is too early to write to a POI? I'm applying for entrance in Fall 2012, and was considering writing to some of the people whose research I am most interested in with relevant questions about their recent publications (without mentioning that I am a prospective student). Is this a good idea? Should I overtly state that I am a future prospective, or wait until I have some rapport?

(I've read Getting What You Came For one too many times. This was something that they suggested, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing it -- on TGC or among other members of my lab, at least.)

I wouldn't do it before summer 2011, at the earliest. And, I wouldn't just ask random questions about their publications. You should be upfront about your reasons for communicating with someone, rather than trying to hide behind the guise of just being curious about their research. Honesty is key here, as in other facets of life.

[archangel]

I wouldn't do it before summer 2011, at the earliest. And, I wouldn't just ask random questions about their publications. You should be upfront about your reasons for communicating with someone, rather than trying to hide behind the guise of just being curious about their research. Honesty is key here, as in other facets of life.

Awesome. Yeah, I figured that would probably be the general consensus. (Though I wasn't suggesting asking random questions -- I believe I said "relevant," implying that they would be questions to which I would actually want to know the answers.)

Thanks!

[rising_star]

How do you ask about advising style? I tried phrasing a question in my mind but it sounded a bit awkward.

By asking directly. I usually wrote something like "how would you describe your advising and mentoring style with your graduate students?" I got back a lot of really useful responses though, to be honest, some just referred me to a few of their graduate students and suggested I ask the students because they would have a better idea.

Hi,

I'm applying for a Master's Degree at MIT. Should I contact professors and express my interests to their researches and how they are relevant to my job.

Thanks

Abbas

Only if you have something pertinent to ask. There's no need to explain how their research interests relate to your job in an email, you can do that in your statement of purpose just as easily. If you don't have a reason to email, don't. Professors are busy people and already have plenty of emails to read everyday.

Awesome. Yeah, I figured that would probably be the general consensus. (Though I wasn't suggesting asking random questions -- I believe I said "relevant," implying that they would be questions to which I would actually want to know the answers.)

I think you totally misunderstood my point. I'm not sure what "relevant" questions you could ask that wouldn't come across awkwardly. If you don't mention that you're a prospective student, it may come across like you are trying to steal their methodology, field site, etc. or that you're trying to get ahead without actually doing any research. Or that you're trying to poke holes in their research/theories, which may be welcome from another scholar but is often unwelcome from prospective students and/or random people on the internet with an email account. (BTW, I'm not saying that you have to 100% agree with your advisor's work. There is room for disagreement. But, you have to get to know the person's personality *before* you express these disagreements. For example, my advisor takes those critiques well, and often will tell us that such-and-such famous scholar told him the same thing. Others, however, get incredibly defensive when that kind of thing happens, which could easily jeopardize your entire application.)

In my experience, there's no need to brown-nose by asking a bunch of questions about their research out of nowhere. Start by saying that you're interested in their research and are considering applying to the university: "Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed your presentation at the XYZ Conference a few weeks ago and, after looking at your website and interests, think that we have some research interests in common." Then I went on to explain a bit about my interests and how I thought they might coincide. Then, more questions (but note: none really about publications, even though I'd read some of them in class and such): "First, are you looking for graduate students in the upcoming admissions cycle (to begin in fall 2008)? If so, what kinds of students are you interested in? Is it a problem if a student's regional interests are not directly aligned with your own?" Then some language about looking forward to a reply, apologizing for the length of the email, etc. And a thank you, always a thank you at the end to thank them for their time.

I hope this helps!

P.S. No one should use the language I used in quotes exactly as written since it's all taken from the same email I sent a POI three years ago when I was applying to PhD programs. FWIW, I got a very helpful response back from this person, and many others.

[TheDude]

I kept it very short and to the point, at the most I wrote two paragraphs. I also kept the format for emails the same too, but tailored research interests and other small things to the person I was writing to because like them...I am busy too.

They get a bunch of these things every year and while some here have advised detailed questions I would recommend straying far away from that. First, it isn't in their interests to be answering questions about their advising style right off, etc because you might not even apply of be a good applicant. Yes, they love talking about their research but in between preparing for classes, writing papers, reviewing for journals and looking for grants detailed emails back on their part aren't at the top of the list.

Format:

Name

• Academic credentials (graduated from X with a degree in X) no one cares about all the awards you got right now and it looks pretentious to go listing them.
• What kind of research have you been doing? If you have published or presented just mention it in a sentence. Maybe something like: "I've been working in Dr. X's lab for 2 years doing research in the field of X." Again, keep it succinct. If the person you are writing to is doing research on toxicity levels of osteoblasts on the backs of whales and you did work on the same thing or with whales or whatever you can get a bit more specific. But if they are doing work with marine animals in some other realm you might just want to keep it broad enough to potentially have your work relate to what they are doing.
• If you read their work just mention it right after this and that it gave you ideas for some studies or help in interpreting your results or whatever. if you didn't read their work be straight about. I wrote an advisor asking about a program and said I like what your recent project is and I have unique skill sets that would fit with that kind of work. Don't make something up because if you do and you don't remember in a potential interview you look like a fool.
• Next paragraph: Anyways....I am applying to programs in the realm of X in the application of season X and was wondering if you were considering taking on new graduate students?

Boom, you are done and out of there. I wrote all my top prospective programs 3 weeks ago and got an invitation to visit and meet, encouraging "yes, apply here look forward to reading you application and read this recent work," Yes, taking students, No, don't have the funds or time to take on new students and unsure of what the funding situation will be.

I was surprised by the detailed emails but I frankly just expected a yes or a no.

Get into advising styles later in the process. I know it sucks to spend money applying to a school where your potential POI might end up being a jerk, but that is the cost of doing business. I think if you go emailing their grad students at the same time you email them it just looks bad. That is my opinion. Once they have your application in hand and told you they are interested in you then start asking their grad students questions.

Try to get it done before fall. I still have to email back up programs...but it takes time to find the right programs.

Peace

[tskinner]

But remember, much of the advice given here is discipline specific. For example, musicforfun talks about professors not having the "funds or time to take on new students," but in Political Science, usually faculty don't "take on" graduate students in the same way. You'll be assigned one as an advisor, but they don't need funding or money. The department takes care of that.

That's why it's not really imperative to e-mail professors when that's not the case, and in some ways can be bothersome. In fields where professors collect grad students, they'd love to get e-mails from great candidates so they can get their hands on the ones they want; otherwise, they'd rather let the department deal with picking the grad students.

[rising_star]

Get into advising styles later in the process. I know it sucks to spend money applying to a school where your potential POI might end up being a jerk, but that is the cost of doing business. I think if you go emailing their grad students at the same time you email them it just looks bad. That is my opinion. Once they have your application in hand and told you they are interested in you then start asking their grad students questions.

Maybe I was unclear in what I said before. I only emailed graduate students when either the DGS or the person I emailed suggested that I did and, each time, they included the names and emails of students they thought I should contact.

As far as asking about advising style, I think it's very similar to asking if someone is accepting students. If someone's style is that a postdoc runs their lab and they are never there, isn't that good to know sooner rather than later? Maybe this varies by discipline (or because the profs I worked with in my MA know everyone I emailed about working with for my PhD) but no one seemed put off by the question and everyone answered it just like they answered all the other questions.

But remember, much of the advice given here is discipline specific. For example, musicforfun talks about professors not having the "funds or time to take on new students," but in Political Science, usually faculty don't "take on" graduate students in the same way. You'll be assigned one as an advisor, but they don't need funding or money. The department takes care of that.

That's why it's not really imperative to e-mail professors when that's not the case, and in some ways can be bothersome. In fields where professors collect grad students, they'd love to get e-mails from great candidates so they can get their hands on the ones they want; otherwise, they'd rather let the department deal with picking the grad students.

To be fair, I'm in the social sciences. Our department admits and funds students generally, since hardly any professors have major research grants. But, a student can be admitted with funding and not get their first choice advisor if s/he has not previously been in contact with that person. Our incoming cohorts are about 15 students. My advisor will maybe work with 1 student per cohort. You don't get to be that one student by waiting until you've been admitted and then emailing. I should know. I became that student because I basically told my now-advisor in an email that I was only coming to the university if he agreed to be my advisor. So while he doesn't fund me, he did agree to take me on if I came.

[chocolate_blanche]

@ abolitionista: I am in the same situation. about 10 emails written, 5 replies: 2 looks promising, 1 Ivy League - on sabbatical this year, 1from another Ivy League - not sure yet but please apply, 1 - no. But it is too early in the game to be disheartened.

@rising_star: I think I read a thread about your field in 2007. If it is not too intruding, may I ask where Boston University stands in your field and have you heard anything about how generous it is with stipend? I am international student so cost is a huge factor.

Many thanks guys. This discussion has been very helpful.

Edited August 28, 2010 by chocolate_blanche

[Rbcc]

hey guys~

I'm wondering in the professor's reply, what did they say? I have received several replies from schools like upenn and caltech, but the professors just said that please do apply..

So I only know that they are going to take new students, but really no idea if they are interested in me or not ...

How about yours?

[newms]

hey guys~

I'm wondering in the professor's reply, what did they say? I have received several replies from schools like upenn and caltech, but the professors just said that please do apply..

So I only know that they are going to take new students, but really no idea if they are interested in me or not ...

How about yours?

Some of my replies were like that, but its good that they have space for new students. Did you ask about current research? And by this I mean stuff that's not readily available on their websites.

[Rbcc]

Some of my replies were like that, but its good that they have space for new students. Did you ask about current research? And by this I mean stuff that's not readily available on their websites.

I didn't ask current research. (most profs have listed their 2010 papers; do you mean to ask if they have any potential project in mind?)

I do talk about my past research and brief direction in the future and how that aligns with theirs, however, no reply seems interested in the "academic" stuff ... don't know what's wrong (maybe my point is naive for them..)

[warpspeed]

Alright, so I'm visiting my top University in a week and a half. I am already meeting with my top choice adviser (who also is the Dean of Graduate Studies) and he suggested that I contact other professors I'd like to meet with directly. I haven't heard back from them yet. It was their first week of classes last week (so I understand they're busy) but I'm traveling across to visit this campus so I'd really like be able to meet up with them. Should I re-email them, or email the Dean and ask if there's a better way to communicate with them as I haven't heard back from them? I emailed them on the 22nd, so it's been a little over a week. However, I'm visiting a week from Thursday, so in 9 days.