Contacting Professors

[armouredapple]

Hello - I've just joined the forum, having discovered this site yesterday, but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone as I've found this thread (and many of the others) hugely helpful!! I'll try to be back to report my experiences of contacting professors when that happens.

[natsteel]

Hello - I've just joined the forum, having discovered this site yesterday, but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone as I've found this thread (and many of the others) hugely helpful!! I'll try to be back to report my experiences of contacting professors when that happens.

armouredapple, if many of your programs have deadlines in December, you're leaving that a bit late and should probably start contacting professors as soon as possible.

[armouredapple]

I know!! The timing is not ideal - I'm in an odd situation, as for the last 3 years I've been an economics postgrad, and increasingly aware that something was wrong, but only 10 days ago realised that I'm in the wrong subject, and I should really have known this since I finished my undergrad studies 5 years ago. So I'm pulling out of my course (I just started a PhD in Europe), and although I could wait another year to apply, it seems a waste. So I'm reading up on professors' work as quickly as I can, and hope to send out some emails in 2-3 days' time.

I have a question though. I'm planning to contact a professor in my particular area of interest in philosophy, but the university doesn't seem to have a course in a different area, which I'm interested in both intrinsically and also because there is a link with my intended research topic. It doesn't seem right to ask him about a course he has no connection to, although it does demonstrate my interest and that I've thought things through, but then do I really write a whole other email to the Director of Graduate Studies? Should I be trying to make an impression on him too?

Sorry if this is a naive question: I'm from the UK and not really used to the concept of making contact beforehand. Neither are some of my professors here!

Thanks

Edited November 15, 2010 by armouredapple

[chocolate_blanche]

I wonder whether it is ethically acceptable to contact potential advisors at the schools I applied to some time into the game: to update my resume among other things. Or should I deal with the graduate admissions coordinator on this matter?

At most of the schools I applied I have talked to some faculty for a while now (to prevent wasting my application fees) and think that will end things at a hopeful but temporally neutral note by Christmas and if not hearing anything by March 1st (hopefully not!!!) email them to find out what is going on. What do you guys think?

[eklavya]

I wonder whether it is ethically acceptable to contact potential advisors at the schools I applied to some time into the game: to update my resume among other things. Or should I deal with the graduate admissions coordinator on this matter?

there's nothing unethical about contacting the professors, but until the status of your application remains unknown, it's better to contact the grad secretary/coordinator. what i mean by unknown status is that you don't know if your application has already been reviewed or is in the process of being reviewed or will be reviewed in the near future. some schools absolutely don't allow to make updates on the application once it enters the (initiation of) review phase. only the grad secretary would know the real status of your app. so, contacting these people rather than the profs you are in contact with sounds more logical to me.

[katerific]

Alright, so I've contacted all my potential advisors successfully, and now I'll be meeting with one in less than two weeks at a conference. ! Do you guys think I should bring anything in specific to my chat with him? It'll be rather informal, I'm thinking.

[psycholinguist]

Alright, so I've contacted all my potential advisors successfully, and now I'll be meeting with one in less than two weeks at a conference. ! Do you guys think I should bring anything in specific to my chat with him? It'll be rather informal, I'm thinking.

Bring your research-interests and plenty of enthusiasm. * grins *

A notebook is helpful; you may get a lot of useful information all at once and need to write it down. If you have an extra undergrad transcript lying around, take it; you might be asked about certain classes you've taken and/or about your GPA. And it never hurts to have a little look through a few papers of particular interest by each potential advisor, but you needn't go overboard with that. Anyway, best of luck!

[chocolate_blanche]

I wonder whether it is too late now to inquire a prof after a program and the possibility to work with him. I just found out about a new program, the deadline of which is January 15 for September 2011 intake.

Will the adcomm take note of how late I contact the program and consider it as a sign of my lack of seriousness aka applying on a whim at the last minute?

[LJK]

I wonder whether it is too late now to inquire a prof after a program and the possibility to work with him. I just found out about a new program, the deadline of which is January 15 for September 2011 intake.

Will the adcomm take note of how late I contact the program and consider it as a sign of my lack of seriousness aka applying on a whim at the last minute?

When emailing the professor you could mention that you somehow had not been aware of this particular program, but that it fits your interests very well, and that you are glad/excited/relieved that you became aware of it before the application deadline. That way if asked, the professor knows that you are serious- you would have emailed earlier if you had been aware of the program/program fit. It would also be an explanation for why any application materials (such as GRE scores) are a tiny bit late, without them thinking you are lazy or don't really care. I would definitely email just so you don't rush apply spending lots of time on figuring out the logistics to find out that the professor wasn't accepting students and it was a waste of time and money.

[chocolate_blanche]

When emailing the professor you could mention that you somehow had not been aware of this particular program, but that it fits your interests very well, and that you are glad/excited/relieved that you became aware of it before the application deadline. That way if asked, the professor knows that you are serious- you would have emailed earlier if you had been aware of the program/program fit. It would also be an explanation for why any application materials (such as GRE scores) are a tiny bit late, without them thinking you are lazy or don't really care. I would definitely email just so you don't rush apply spending lots of time on figuring out the logistics to find out that the professor wasn't accepting students and it was a waste of time and money.

Thank you. I did just that, and now we can all see what will happen.

[sofia]

Hello! I have a question about contacting/reminding professors after submitting the application. So today I decide to drop those potential advisors a note saying "I did apply to your program and mentioned you in my application...''

But my question is: If I mentioned three professors in my personal statement, is it okay for me to send those reminding letters to all three of them (considering that I have contacted all three of them before I applied and was confirmed that they are accepting students). or is it better to contact only one professor that I would like to work with the most? Does that matter?

I'd like to hear what you guys think. Thank you very much!

[TMP]

If they encouraged you to apply and you've been in great contact, then there's no reason NOT tosend a confirmation e-mail. If things had been so-so or quite formal, then don't do anything. Depends on your relationship.

Edited December 12, 2010 by ticklemepink

[Application_Overwhelmed]

Hello everyone,

I am currently applying to public administration programs (NYU, UW, American, George Washington). I'm a little behind with my applications and know I need to start contacting professors. I think I have just been putting it off because I'm not sure what to say and am a little intimidated. Any advice on what to say in an email to professors? Anything that has worked particularly well for any of you? This is what I have so far for one professor:

Dear Professor XXX,

My name is XXX and I graduated from the University of XXX in 2008 with a B.A. in International Studies. I am applying to Wagner to pursue a master’s degree in public administration with a focus on nonprofit management.

My primary research interest is in refugee and immigrant education. I did research for my senior thesis on the education of working children in Ecuador and I currently work with a nonprofit organization providing academic support to low-income immigrant and refugee children.

I am currently interested in researching the impact on changes in demographics in public schools and how nonprofit organizations are responding. I found your research on education policy and the education of immigrant children especially intriguing and in line with my own research interests. I am very interested in hearing what your current research projects are and if there would be a possibility of studying under you next year.

Thank you for your time. I’ve attached my resume in case you would like more information.

I hope to hear from you soon.

-XXX

[eklavya]

This looks pretty good. I would move the 'are you taking new students next fall?' type of question to the front of the email from down where you have it right now. Am not saying your style is wrong.. that's just the way I prefer.

Also, please search the forums first before posting. This is a very generic question and the number/type of responses you get will be limited. If you search the forums, you will find threads on this/similar topic from not only this year, but from previous years as well, and those could be more helpful.

[Application_Overwhelmed]

Thanks for your advice! I'll definitely search now. I just signed up for this, so I'm still figuring the site out.

Thanks!!

[sofia]

Still the question about contacting/reminding professors after submitting the application.

My question is: is it okay to send such confirmation emails to more than one professor at one university? I am not sure if professors prefer applicants who "only want to work with him/her in that school"?

Also, considering my application deadlines were 12/1 or 12/15, is it better to send those confirmation emails now or wait until early January (when they come back from the break and maybe officially start to read the applications..)? Thank you!

Edited December 13, 2010 by sofia

[LJK]

I think it depends on the field you are applying to, if you would be most happy working with one of them or are truly content with any of the three to be your main advisor. If you are in a field where you have multiple advisors and/or don't have to choose prior to starting (do rotations if science or start with classes and choose your advisor within the first two years) then emailing all of them is probably a very good idea, any one of them might pull for you. If you are truly interested in working with any of them, emailing them all shouldn't be that much of an issue. But ultimately, I don't really know, I'm not a professor and I have never dealt with the politics of acquiring grad students. Unless their ego is humongous, I don't think it would be a big negative for you to be interested in multiple professors and have them looking out for your application.

Edit: for your second point - I would email now because you don't know when they start reviewing, they could do an initial sweep before break.

Edited December 13, 2010 by LJK

[Zouzax]

so, is the consensus that it's OK to contact professors after submitting the application? I haven't contacted anyone at one of the schools I applied to, & now I'm thinking I would like to contact one of the professors I'm interested in working with, saying that I applied to the program & am interested in working with him, will he be taking any new students this year, etc.

If I havent contacted anyone before applying, should I contact them now? Or would this seem strange?

[eklavya]

so, is the consensus that it's OK to contact professors after submitting the application? I haven't contacted anyone at one of the schools I applied to, & now I'm thinking I would like to contact one of the professors I'm interested in working with, saying that I applied to the program & am interested in working with him, will he be taking any new students this year, etc.

If I havent contacted anyone before applying, should I contact them now? Or would this seem strange?

Yes, it is OK to contact professors after submitting application, given that the deadline has not passed already. If your POI has already started looking into candidate files, sending an email might bias his/her judgment - since this can swing either way (good or bad), you don't want to take the risk. If the deadline is little late, say, after Jan 15, then I don't see why you can't talk to someone whose research interests you.

You can still contact profs if you didn't do it before sending out the apps. I might actually do that.. am heading to a conference in mid Jan, and I know that this prof will be there. I already have indirect link to this prof via another prof in the same dept (I emailed this second prof, and he said that including him, the first prof (the one coming to the conf) would also be interested in me) but now I want to meet him and talk to him. And the conference data is before the deadline for this school. I digress. I did contact few professors in other schools before I applied, and they encouraged me to apply, and said they'd be excited to see my application. But that's all they will say. However, one leg up you'll have is that they'll remember (hopefully, right?) your name, and you might stand out based on pseudo-familiarity.

[Zouzax]

Yes, it is OK to contact professors after submitting application, given that the deadline has not passed already. If your POI has already started looking into candidate files, sending an email might bias his/her judgment - since this can swing either way (good or bad), you don't want to take the risk. If the deadline is little late, say, after Jan 15, then I don't see why you can't talk to someone whose research interests you.

You can still contact profs if you didn't do it before sending out the apps. I might actually do that.. am heading to a conference in mid Jan, and I know that this prof will be there. I already have indirect link to this prof via another prof in the same dept (I emailed this second prof, and he said that including him, the first prof (the one coming to the conf) would also be interested in me) but now I want to meet him and talk to him. And the conference data is before the deadline for this school. I digress. I did contact few professors in other schools before I applied, and they encouraged me to apply, and said they'd be excited to see my application. But that's all they will say. However, one leg up you'll have is that they'll remember (hopefully, right?) your name, and you might stand out based on pseudo-familiarity.

thanks for the helpful response. actually, the deadline was December 7th ... so I'm thinking I shouldn't try to contact the professor. Even though, I was thinking that the semester is probably over/nearly over & they won't be looking at apps until the spring session starts -- but that's all conjecture I suppose

[RPCV Cameroon]

Yes, it is OK to contact professors after submitting application, given that the deadline has not passed already. If your POI has already started looking into candidate files, sending an email might bias his/her judgment - since this can swing either way (good or bad), you don't want to take the risk. If the deadline is little late, say, after Jan 15, then I don't see why you can't talk to someone whose research interests you.

You can still contact profs if you didn't do it before sending out the apps. I might actually do that.. am heading to a conference in mid Jan, and I know that this prof will be there. I already have indirect link to this prof via another prof in the same dept (I emailed this second prof, and he said that including him, the first prof (the one coming to the conf) would also be interested in me) but now I want to meet him and talk to him. And the conference data is before the deadline for this school. I digress. I did contact few professors in other schools before I applied, and they encouraged me to apply, and said they'd be excited to see my application. But that's all they will say. However, one leg up you'll have is that they'll remember (hopefully, right?) your name, and you might stand out based on pseudo-familiarity.

 

 

What if the deadline was just a week or 2 ago?  (i.e., it's December 23rd, and deadlines were 12/1 and 12/15)

 

What about attaching your SOP and CV (or other application materials) to your email and just saying they're "for your reference"?  I figure it's convenient for the prof -- they have them if they want/need them.

I suppose it could go either way, but I figured it would be stupid and lazy to not reach out with an update and a thank you...  

 

PS --- I'm referring to emailing profs you had a previous, positive conversation with.

Edited December 23, 2014 by RPCV Cameroon

[isilya]

What if the deadline was just a week or 2 ago?  (i.e., it's December 23rd, and deadlines were 12/1 and 12/15)

 

What about attaching your SOP and CV (or other application materials) to your email and just saying they're "for your reference"?  I figure it's convenient for the prof -- they have them if they want/need them.

I suppose it could go either way, but I figured it would be stupid and lazy to not reach out with an update and a thank you...  

 

PS --- I'm referring to emailing profs you had a previous, positive conversation with.

This seems a bit odd to me. You've already had previous contact with them and the know who you are, so they are very likely to personally review your application materials. Why send your application materials if they already have them? I just don't see what the purpose of this email would be.

[Yobatef]

Hi, so an interesting opportunity has presented itself and I'm not sure if I can use it to my advantage or not. Let me illustrate the scenario (hopefully it's not too hard to follow):

 

So it turns out that this professor that I'm interested in working with (let's call him K) knows someone (call him V) whom I know. They know each other because they worked on project Y together, which entails Topic X. I know V because I worked in the same lab as him. Although I didn't work directly with V, he is familiar with my goals and knows that I am interested in applying to graduate school to study Topic X. V knows these things because I specifically asked him for advice about my career.

 

Would it help or hurt my case if I asked V to "virtually" introduce me? Or would it just be better to mention to K that I know V and that I'm familiar with project Y?

 

Maybe neither of those. Is there anything I can do to maximize my chances of having K take me as a student?

Edited December 27, 2014 by Yobatef

[Yobatef]

Can anyone give me advice?

[RPCV Cameroon]

Can anyone give me advice?

  

 

Not sure which ... maybe ask V what he/she thinks.