get in touch with the prof, need ur help

[hairgreen]

Hi, I'm right now in the process of getting in touch with random profs I don't know, since I'm not planning to stay in my home university for grad school (it's a great school btw. I just want to change an environment). Anyways, just wondering if you guys/girls can take a look at the cover letter I'm going to send them and see if there is anything needs to be changed.

Dear Dr.XX:

How are you?

My name is XX, a fourth year biochemistry student from XX University. I am currently in the process of applying for graduate school and looking for a potential supervisor. I am writing today to explore the possibility of completing my PhD under your supervision.

Both my transcripts and resume are attached in this mail, but let me briefly describe myself first here. Compared to other universities, the undergraduate curriculum here at XX focuses less on the materials from textbooks or lab training from an established course, but rather more on the problem solving skills, presentation skills and hands-on experiences from real research labs. During my four years of undergraduate life, I had the privilege of working under three different labs in the field of chemistry, cancer biology, and immunology respectively. I

[glasses]

Questions:

1. Is it too long?

Yes!

[Serric]

First thing to keep in mind: professors have a hundred things to do at any given moment: there is no way in hell a professor is going to sit and read that wall of text from a student he doesn't know.

Second: your numbers, while they may be impressive, do not need to be put into your introduction to the professor.

Third: cut back on specifics. If you're applying to a professor's area with a similar background as his research interests, you don't need to list every single one of your skills: they'll likely be familiar with the skills acquired during your course of study. Even if it's not in the same/a similar area, they'll have a decent idea of the skills involved.

Fourth: ask yourself why you want to work with this professor, and read one (or more) papers and several abstracts. If you can, ask one or two questions in your introductory e-mail, but that leads us into point five:

Five: KEEP IT SHORT. It may be a bit of an exaggeration, but a professor's going to gloss over anything longer than a paragraph. Here's an example of the general letter I use for introducing myself to professors:

Hello, Professor X,

My name is (name) and I'm currently a (major) undergraduate at (institution). I'll be applying to (professor's institution) this coming fall, and I was wondering if you'll be accepting new students. I read several of your papers, including (paper), to get an idea of your work, and I feel that it would be a good fit for me. I also have research experience in (research field, especially if it applies to the lab's topic).

Thank you, and I hope to hear from you soon.

(note: I feel that even this length is pushing it a bit)

[socialcomm]

Completely agree with Serric! Some of what you've included in the original draft would be better in a statement of purpose, other parts will be in the application itself. Keep it as brief as possible.

[fuzzylogician]

Agree with comments above and add: don't attach your resume and transcripts to the introductory email. You can offer to do so, but only send them if the prof asks you to.

[jasper.milvain]

Serric is dead on. Once the prof replies and confirms that they are taking students and might be interested in you, you can go into more detail.

[JackieW]

I just wanted to say thanks to Serric for that little template! I am totally going to use that.

[Serric]

I just wanted to say thanks to Serric for that little template! I am totally going to use that.

No problem, and feel free to I feel slightly cheap using that whenever I e-mail a professor, but it gets results without having to re-write every time!

Also, for the OP, there's another topic on this page about getting in touch with the professors with some good advice in it, too.