Too late to contact POI?

[Extra Espresso]

I started this whole process pretty late in the game because life (AKA senior design project) got in the way, and I haven't contacted any POIs yet. I have identified a few at each school I am applying to because it was how I determined if the school was a good fit. My question is, would it help me or hurt me to contact people at this point? I don't want to hurt myself if the professors think that I am doing it just to get a leg up when I am actually super interested in their research, but I also don't want to be overlooked because I didn't contact anyone. Thoughts?

Other note- most of my apps are due 12/15. There were three due 12/1. 

[SynBioGuy]

I  e-mailed some POIs 2-3 weeks before the deadline. I got replies from most of them. I think it is more about the content of the e-mail that matters. If you manage to convince your POIs that you are a good match to their labs, I don't think they mind when you send the e-mails.   

 

[FeelTheBern]

I agree with @SynBioGuy! I think that sometimes it is overwhelming for professors to be contacted too early in the semester a lot of times. For example, I contacted a POI in September, and he told me that I sounded like a great fit, but to contact him again in December to schedule an informal phone/Skype interview. So for some POIs this may be the perfect time!

[fuzzylogician]

I don't know if/when you sent the email, but today is Friday the 11th, and the applications are due Tuesday, the 15th. With the weekend, your advisor probably won't look at your email until the day before the deadline, if that. I can easily imagine this email leaving a bad impression. It's one thing to email 2-3 weeks before the application is due. It's quite another to email 2-3 days before the deadline. 

[Extra Espresso]

@fuzzylogician Thank you for the advice! I ended up deciding not to contact them because I am too close to the deadline. I wanted to ask- do you think it will negatively impact me that I haven't contact POIs? Most of the schools I am applying to do a rotation program, so you don't get accepted straight into a lab, so I can't decide how important it is one way or the other.

[fuzzylogician]

I am in a different field than yours, so I don't know the answer to this one. In my field, it's not necessary to contact anyone and you're admitted to the department as a whole and not to any particular lab. It is important that there are people who you could work with, to establish fit, but at least at most schools you don't have to commit to working with anyone in particular before you arrive. Some people do email professors (I didn't), but again in that case I don't think that doing so a day before the deadline would leave a good impression.

Your situation sounds somewhat different, but I don't know if it means that there have to be people who will commit to "yes, we'll take Extra Espresso for a rotation" for your to be admitted, and if so, if you actually need to reach out to them for that or if establishing fit through the SOP is enough. Normally I would say that you should ask your professors, but since the deadline is so near, maybe you want to try and search here to see if anyone has posted about this, or ask in the dedicated forums where it's more likely that people with knowledge of your particular programs might read. If you find out you do have to contact professors, then even though it's very last minute, you should probably do it anyway, because not doing so would also mean bad things for your application. So see if you can't find out today, or ask a professor tomorrow morning, and have a draft of an email ready to go in case you find out that you do need to email. 

[biotechie]

I'm biomed, which is still not the same field, but much closer. I do not think this will negatively impact you. I did not contact POIs until I was invited for interview. Then I got to pick professors that I interviewed with. It is really important that you picked institutions more than one professor you could be happy working under. Sometimes you'll rotate and then find out you don't like them. Other times, your POIs won't be taking students for the 2016 cycle due to funding or lack of space. It is in your best interest to have lots of options!

As a side note, even if you had selected POIs ahead of time, it might not even matter in the end. I ended up joining the lab of a new faculty member who wasn't even at the institution when I interviewed, and it was the best choice I could have made. This professor is available when needed (he checks in a couple of times daily) and is very involved in making sure I get career development opportunities, learn new techniques, and write in addition to moving my projects forward and intellectually running them. Often times the first couple of students of professors that become awesome become very successful as well. New professors have more time to devote to their students, and, since they're setting up a lab and aiming for tenure, you being successful is directly tied to their success. My goal is to do well and enjoy the hands-on approach this new PI has for my PhD and go into a big, well-known lab for post-doc. If you get this opportunity and you fit really well in their lab, I do highly recommend it so long as you can be sure the professor will be a good teacher/mentor for you. When you do your rotations, this will be fairly obvious. The rotations system is very helpful, and I'm glad most bio programs use it. You may love the research, and you may even like the PI, but you may find that they aren't pushy enough, are too pushy, or that their lab members constantly fight, etc. There are a lot of things that could keep you from joining a lab that you won't see on paper. 

The most important thing is that you pick a PI and Lab where you feel that you fit and that the PI is going mentor you appropriately for you to reach your end career direction. I rank that even over your dream project; you can aim for those when you're going for postdoc. You may join one of your POIs labs, or you may just surprise yourself and join a lab going in a completely different research direction that is just too awesome to pass up!

Of course, before you can have that kind of fun, you've got to get through your interviews. I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck!

[Extra Espresso]

20 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

In my field, it's not necessary to contact anyone and you're admitted to the department as a whole and not to any particular lab. It is important that there are people who you could work with, to establish fit, but at least at most schools you don't have to commit to working with anyone in particular before you arrive. Some people do email professors (I didn't), but again in that case I don't think that doing so a day before the deadline would leave a good impression.

 

16 hours ago, biotechie said:

I did not contact POIs until I was invited for interview. Then I got to pick professors that I interviewed with. It is really important that you picked institutions more than one professor you could be happy working under. Sometimes you'll rotate and then find out you don't like them. Other times, your POIs won't be taking students for the 2016 cycle due to funding or lack of space. It is in your best interest to have lots of options!

I reached out to one of my friends who applied to BioE/BME last year and was successful in her applications, and she seconded all of this! She didn't reach out to professors before she was admitted, and she agreed that it didn't negatively impact her at all. She also ended up choosing a professor who was new to her institution as a PI, and she's really excited about it. This all makes me feel so much better!! 

All of the places I am applying to have at least three or four professors whose research I find fascinating and who I feel I would enjoy working under, so I think I should have some options. I am definitely looking forward to interviews (if I get ones ) because I know that'll help me a lot in finding my best fit. I also definitely second the rotation program being a great thing!

P.S. @biotechie I really appreciate your blog on this site!!  

[artsy16]

Current psych PhD applicant - most of the schools I applied to listed the professors who will be accepting students. 2 didn't (my 2 top choices!) and I hadn't realized. I emailed one less than a week before the deadline and another the day/evening of the deadline. They both said that they were accepting students, were impressed by my CV, and look forward to reading my application. I was worried that it would have a negative impression, especially since I submitted my applications in October, but it doesn't seem like it did. For one, I wrote something like "in my excitement over the admissions process and learning about your research, I forgot to email and ask if you are accepting students". It was, thankfully, well-received. 

 

Good luck!