Rejection notice from POI

[tangerine15]

I received an email from a POI informing me that I was not going to be accepted into his school's program, as they favor students with masters degrees.  He went on to suggest I enroll in a masters program and then reapply.  The rejection was no big surprise as this is easily a top 5 program in my field. 

 

However, the reason he emailed me is because he said he had been very impressed with my application.  He also left a standing offer to contact him any time for professional advice. This did surprise me, because we had not been in contact beforehand. 

 

I am wondering if it is normal for POIs to personally email rejection notices of this nature? Would it actually be appropriate to contact him in the future for academic advice?

[geographyrocks]

No, it is not normal. Most people are stuck with the standard rejection letter unless they had prior contact with a POI. Even then most people get the standard letter. I would take this email at face value.

[Between Fields]

He's probably being genuine about offering advice, but it seems like it would be polite to ask him to help you strategize about his program, though. It sounds like you'd be a shoe-in for an MA there, though, so why not follow his advice? It couldn't hurt to have that to fall back on, and then you'd be there at a top 5 program once you finish that MA and are looking for a PhD program again.

[GhostsBeforeBreakfast]

Tangerine, that's awesome! 
If you do end up getting accepted to an MA program this application round, I would definitely keep this in mind for when you're applying to PhD programs again. You can likely reach out to him early on about application advice. You should also continue to update him bi-annually about your progress (That is, if you do enter an MA program.)

I am assuming you won't enter an MA program unless it's funded, so I hope you do get into a PhD program but I would take this as a good sign either way. There are so many things you can do with this, even if you do enter another PhD program, like introducing yourself at a conference and forming an academic connection outside of the program.

[tangerine15]

Between Fields - This school only has a Ph.D. program, so I would have complete my MA elsewhere.  

 

Ghostsbeforebreakfast - Thank you! I definitely intend to keep in touch, now that it seems to be a genuine offer as opposed to a stock response. His work has had a notable influence on my own interests, so his rejecting me personally was still encouraging.