SoP & Famous Faculty

[rainy_day]

The thesis of my SoP is framed in the language of Spivak's "Can the Subaltern Speak?" and I am planning to apply to Columbia, where she teaches. I am not naive enough to think she will read my work and think "I will mentor this student!" but I certainly need to acknowledge the fact that she teaches there.

Are any of you in a similar situation? How have you dealt with it? I don't quite know how to manage this, without sounding presumptuous or needlessly groveling.

Have any of you reached out to rock star scholars via email? Have you had any luck?

[GoodGuy]

Have any of you reached out to rock star scholars via email? Have you had any luck?

Hey rainy_day

As I was looking around at schools last year, there were a few "rock stars" with whom I wanted to work at four of the six schools I applied to. There were also some assistant and associate profs who aren't "stars"; some were up-and-comers, some were just interesting-sounding. I wrote short, direct emails to all of them, letting them know a little about me and my research interests, how I thought my interests might dovetail with theirs, and asking whether they were looking to work with new graduate students. All the "rock stars" got back to me; it was a few of the "lesser knowns" who often didn't get back to me! One of the "rock stars" liked the sound of my potential project enough to offer some advice about ways to actually streamline one of my ideas.

That said, I got into three of the six programs I applied to. The one I chose to go to houses a couple of the "rock stars" who got back to my original emails. It's also the school where I mentioned in my SoP that one of the "rock stars" had offered me advice about my potential research, and that that sort of professorial outreach hadn't happened at any other school I'd applied to.

So...I'm definitely of the opinion that a nicely-worded, polite email correspondence can be a good thing--not saying that it takes the place of great recs, and a solid SoP and writing sample. But I don't think expressing interest in potentially working with someone can be a bad thing at all--"rock star" or no!

Good luck on your apps!

[rising_star]

So I'm not in literature but this is what happened in my PhD apps. One of the schools I applied to has a prominent faculty member (Dr. T) whose work was foundational for theorizing my master's thesis. So, he's mentioned by last name in the list of theorists I drew on for my thesis. Then, in the "fit" paragraph, I mentioned that we had corresponded about my interests and working further on that. That said, he wasn't the primary focus for me, mainly because my interests shifted so there was actually another professor I wanted to advise me. Dr. T actually called one of my recommenders (because they're friends) and asked some questions about me and apparently gave him the heads-up that I was going to be admitted... I ended up not attending the university because it didn't feel right when I visited.

[Pamphilia]

I've emailed all the profs I'm interested in working with and their moms (practically). Almost all of them have responded, actually, some really thoughtfully and in ways that have led to a semi-regular correspondence. Some of the people I contacted have been Big Deals--not necessarily as big a deal as Spivak, but pretty up there on the big cheese scale. For the people whose work I really, really admired (not necessarily work of scholars in the big cheese category) I wrote something of a fan letter, but made a concerted effort (successfully, I think) not to engage in any ass-kissery.

I say go for it--email her! Knock her socks off. Maybe she will want to be your new best friend.

And, in your SOP, definitely articulate why she is an especially big draw for you at Columbia, but get specific and frame it in a unique way. I would imagine that because she is a rock star, a lot of people applying to Columbia name-drop her in their SOPs, so you'll have to distinguish yourself from the rest of them.

***Disclaimer: I am in the process of applying to grad school for the first time, so my take on this is based on 1) advice from professors and successful applicants I've spoken to, and 2) what I'm doing in my own application process.***

[cooolmlk2]

I go to Columbia for English right now and I am almost positive that she will not answer your e-mail. Additionally, she does not teach anymore so the fact that you want to work with her will be of no consequence to the admissions committee. It may even be a detriment in that it will reveal that you haven't sufficiently researched the program. That being said, there are a lot of interesting and noteworthy other post-colonial scholars working in the English department who you might want to contact. It seems that Columbia is quite well known for that field so it would probably impress the admissions committee more if you had a more nuanced idea of what kind of work was going on there in your field.

[fromeurope]

Or, write "I am well aware of the fact that Spivak do not take on students anymore, as I was told so on a forum, but I believe she will make an exception for me, as I am post-genius, and also a genius punner, and therefore, you must admit me, otherwise no such exception can be made, and that would be a great loss, for you, that is; I'll be fine, because I'm a post-genius, and also a genius punner; and if I repeat myself, it is because the truth bears repetition, and it, indeed, in probablity, ontologically grounded in structural re-occurence." 8)

I'm not helping, I guess.

[rainy_day]

p7389, I love your advice! And thanks for the inside scoop, cooolmlk2. That is mostly what I expected.

I guess I am wondering how people acknowledge that a rock-star is part of the faculty, but obviously not really taking on students. I can't ignore her existence at the school in my SoP, but I'm at a loss for the words to use.

Thanks, everyone!

[geilezeit]

I think you're right that you should acknowledge Spivak in passing. Maybe you could write your fit paragraph, focusing on the professors with whom you expect to work, and then add something like, "Spivak's research on Awesomeness has also influenced my interest on Fabulousness in X ways: (insert reasons)."

[ecritdansleau]

Perhaps you could slip it in by mentioning how the presence of such an influential scholar as Spivak being at Columbia demonstrates how well the department supports postcolonial research, which relates to your intention to explore [topic A in poco studies] etcetera