Contacted Faculty got replies....now what??

[gurumaster8899]

So i got some replies from faculty....some telling me to keep them posted with my aplpication progress...others telling me not to bother as they have no funding....what happens now???

the ones that give you a positive response...do u just leave it there??

Edited October 28, 2009 by gurumaster8899

[pea-jay]

I took the next steps. I am meeting with them two weeks from now.

[radquish7]

I contacted one faculty member (I sent them a really nice long email about my interests and how it relates to their work). I put a lot of thought into it and asked if they would have the time to meet with me in person. The faculty member replied in a very terse manner that I could come to their office hours if I wanted to, but that its hard to say if there will be a long line of students waiting to meet with her then.

Is this negative? I felt a little stupid after taking so much time to craft my thoughts into a nice email should i stop by her office hours!?

[coyabean]

Consider it a conversation; a professional conversation. If you have further questions or insights, share them. If you come across an article of interest, forward it. And then if you decide to apply send them a note letting them know that they were instrumental in your decision to apply.

[peffy1962]

I got a response too and don't know what to do! Haha. (I'm currently 1 for 4, but that's unimportant at the moment. )

Anyway, the professor basically outlined his upcoming research agenda for me and it all sounds really great and like he has a lot of interests that mirror mine beyond what I included in my introductory e-mail. I feel like I have to respond back with something like "I'm interested in all that too! Yay!" but I want to keep it professional. His response is seriously inclusive of everything I want to study in graduate school. I'm like, really ecstatic about this and have identified him as my top choice advisor.

So what would be an appropriate response? "Your work sounds so interesting, please please please let me help?" Hahaha. No. But really, any insight into this would be great. I'm drawing a complete blank.

[kyung]

I got a response too and don't know what to do! Haha. (I'm currently 1 for 4, but that's unimportant at the moment. )

Anyway, the professor basically outlined his upcoming research agenda for me and it all sounds really great and like he has a lot of interests that mirror mine beyond what I included in my introductory e-mail. I feel like I have to respond back with something like "I'm interested in all that too! Yay!" but I want to keep it professional. His response is seriously inclusive of everything I want to study in graduate school. I'm like, really ecstatic about this and have identified him as my top choice advisor.

So what would be an appropriate response? "Your work sounds so interesting, please please please let me help?" Hahaha. No. But really, any insight into this would be great. I'm drawing a complete blank.

How about asking the professor to give you a reading list on the research topic? After reading them, you can ask questions and/or express your ideas on that topic. That's what I have done. Fortunately, he seemed to like my ideas. He said he could write a recommendation for my application to his program.

[peffy1962]

How about asking the professor to give you a reading list on the research topic? After reading them, you can ask questions and/or express your ideas on that topic. That's what I have done. Fortunately, he seemed to like my ideas. He said he could write a recommendation for my application to his program.

Great idea! I'm definitely going to ask for a reading list. Thanks so much -- I was completely spacing!

[Ziz]

I know this has been asked before, but if a professor responds and signs his first name only (it wasn't an automatic signature), is it ok to reply with "Dear First Name" or should you continue to call him "Dear Dr. Last Name"? I'm fairly informal and the professor is young, so my first inclination would be to just address him by what he had signed his name with, but I do realize that it may not be appropriate.

[Amanda]

I know this has been asked before, but if a professor responds and signs his first name only (it wasn't an automatic signature), is it ok to reply with "Dear First Name" or should you continue to call him "Dear Dr. Last Name"? I'm fairly informal and the professor is young, so my first inclination would be to just address him by what he had signed his name with, but I do realize that it may not be appropriate.

I don't know about most people but I tend to operate on the basis of if they want you to call them something other than Dr. Awesome, they will tell you. I've actually gone on calling professors "Dr. Awesome" long after knowing them personally because they never corrected me (like when someone says, "Oh, you can just call me Amanda!") and I've also been told that I come off as exceptionally respectful. They might not be related but I wouldn't be surprised.

Anyways, yeah. If they want you to call them something else, they'll say so.

[captiv8ed]

The whole name thing is so weird for me. I go to a school where all professors are addressed by first name. It is automatic. I have met some heavy hitters in my field, and I met them in an environment that was first name basis automatically. So using Doctor or Professor would have never occurred to me and I was glad I saw that advice on here earlier! I plan to continue with "professor" to all new contacts unless specifically told otherwise.

[rising_star]

I know this has been asked before, but if a professor responds and signs his first name only (it wasn't an automatic signature), is it ok to reply with "Dear First Name" or should you continue to call him "Dear Dr. Last Name"? I'm fairly informal and the professor is young, so my first inclination would be to just address him by what he had signed his name with, but I do realize that it may not be appropriate.

I always call people Dr. LastName in correspondence until explicitly told not to. In fact, I think most of my MA calling my advisor Dr.LastName in emails, even though I called her FirstName in person. But maybe I'm just weird/overly formal.

[LateAntique]

I always call people Dr. LastName in correspondence until explicitly told not to. In fact, I think most of my MA calling my advisor Dr.LastName in emails, even though I called her FirstName in person. But maybe I'm just weird/overly formal.

+1 on this. I always call a professor "Professor Such-and-Such" or "Dr. Such-and-such" until they explicitly, unequivocally say something like, "I insist, please call me (first name)."

[peffy1962]

Back with another question - shock! Ha. I apparently need some serious hand-holding this time around.

Anyway, when should you let an e-mail correspondence with a professor end? For instance, I wrote a professor, he wrote back, I asked for a reading list, he provided one. Do I leave it at that, or do I respond with a thank you? I don't want to flood his e-mail, obviously, but I feel weird just letting it break off. So I guess what I'm asking is, should I have the last word in the correspondence, or should the professor?

Any insight would be great. Things are coming along!

[rising_star]

Anyway, when should you let an e-mail correspondence with a professor end? For instance, I wrote a professor, he wrote back, I asked for a reading list, he provided one. Do I leave it at that, or do I respond with a thank you?

It's never a bad idea to thank someone.

[profound_g]

Back with another question - shock! Ha. I apparently need some serious hand-holding this time around.

Anyway, when should you let an e-mail correspondence with a professor end? For instance, I wrote a professor, he wrote back, I asked for a reading list, he provided one. Do I leave it at that, or do I respond with a thank you? I don't want to flood his e-mail, obviously, but I feel weird just letting it break off. So I guess what I'm asking is, should I have the last word in the correspondence, or should the professor?

Any insight would be great. Things are coming along!

In my email conversations I try not to flood them. It doesn't matter who has the last word. Reply when you have something substantial to add, whether it's right away, or a week later.

Edited November 7, 2009 by profound_g

[JerryLandis]

When choosing between calling someone by their first or last name, the age of that person is a misleading factor. In my experience, the younger tutors I have had have been much more ambitious than the older ones, and are very proud of their academic positions. I always call people by their professional names (Mr./Ms./Dr. X) unless they insist I use a first name. If I were to be adventurous and use a first name, I would probably be more likely to do so with older faculty members, as younger ones who have only recently become doctors seem to relish in their cool titles.

[Thanks4Downvoting]

I always call people Dr. LastName in correspondence until explicitly told not to. In fact, I think most of my MA calling my advisor Dr.LastName in emails, even though I called her FirstName in person. But maybe I'm just weird/overly formal.

You're not overly formal. I think this is just an widely accepted social convention.

[keylimekai]

How's this one...I'm applying directly after undergrad and the prof. told me to take a year off! that hurts the nerves...

[pea-jay]

How's this one...I'm applying directly after undergrad and the prof. told me to take a year off! that hurts the nerves...

-ouch-

I'd cross that school off the list esp if the prof has any say in admissions.

[rising_star]

How's this one...I'm applying directly after undergrad and the prof. told me to take a year off! that hurts the nerves...

Most geography graduate students come in with real world experience, which was probably the profs point. Also, going straight through makes it much more likely that you'll suffer from burnout.

[Amanda]

I always call people Dr. LastName in correspondence until explicitly told not to. In fact, I think most of my MA calling my advisor Dr.LastName in emails, even though I called her FirstName in person. But maybe I'm just weird/overly formal.

+1 on this. I always call a professor "Professor Such-and-Such" or "Dr. Such-and-such" until they explicitly, unequivocally say something like, "I insist, please call me (first name)."

I am the exact same way. I'm not sure about others' experiences but I would feel very uncomfortable doing otherwise. I always wait until I'm told to use the first name before doing so unless I'm introduced to them by first name. And even then...in email form I revert to last name. I definitely feel like it comes across as more respectful.

How's this one...I'm applying directly after undergrad and the prof. told me to take a year off! that hurts the nerves...

I had a professor ask if I was planning to apply to any other schools. Haha. He further clarified that he didn't mean to imply anything but that it's just good advice for PhD candidates in general. Even though my mind should have been at rest, it took me a few days to really get over that. I think all of us probably have a tendency right now to blow small things way out of the water. I doubt s/he meant anything by it, or if it was it was just in the heart of constructive advice.