Additional contact with potential advisor

[gelologist]

I know there's lots of forums about what to initially send to a potential grad advisor (see anything by the Professor is In, or other websites, or forums on TGC), but I figured I'd start something about how best to keep communicating with a potential grad advisor.

 

After your first email, and subsequent reply, how have you usually kept contact open with a potential advisor? How do you do so, especially if after your detailed+concise first email, you only get back something along the lines of "I'd encourage you to apply and let me know if you have questions"?  [Full disclosure, I'm actually in this position now. (I recently contacted a prof - probably too early in the year, I know - but I didn't expect a reply, unexpectedly got one, and am now wondering how to keep things going until the Dec/Jan app deadline...haha oops.)]

[TakeruK]

Personally, I would interpret "I'd encourage you to apply and let me know if you have questions" as a conversation ender. It's a good way to end but there is nothing else you really need to say (or they really need to say) unless there is a question the prof can help you with. I don't think you need to have an ongoing discussion with each professor from now until applications are due. Just reach out, get a positive response like the one mentioned here and then move on with your application. Of course, if you do have specific questions about the prof's research that you would like to discuss as an interest for grad school work, then you should certainly follow up with that.

[GeoDUDE!]

Contacting potential advisors will not lead to even weekly correspondence. I talked to my current PI 3 times before getting accepted, and I think that is a lot, and it was her contacting me.

Most professors that I've talked to keep a list of people that have contacted them and look for their applications. Getting on that list is important, but your application is still going to determine if you get in or not.  

[surfgirl87]

I am probably in a different situation, but my husband is military which more or less dictates where I can apply for schools, after initially contacting a potential advisor, he asked when we could meet to discuss, and then never got back to me.  So I showed up in his office after I was done working in the area of the school.  It worked out really well and we have emailed back and forth a couple of times.  He gave me a bunch of research papers to look over and told me he would take me assuming I got in (waiting on that now). I have been keeping up with him by asking him questions about the grant applications he put in for.  I suppose this shows initiative and willingness to work?  But again, my situation is unique in that I am applying to 1 school because it is the only school where I live with the program I am interested in.  It just worked out that they have someone doing research in what I am really interested in.

[gelologist]

Hey all,

Took a hiatus from TGC, but wanted to say thanks for the input! I also heard similar things from a PhD student friend of mine: email them, test the waters, otherwise no need to keep a full chat going from now until app deadlines or later, especially if the conversation is initially positive....after all, profs are awfully busy. Seems like that's the way to go. Good thing, too: it's one less thing to stress about, how to keep the email conversation alive and interesting