Should I contact PoI

[TanZor]

Hey everyone!

Couldn't find the answer anywhere so posting here:

I recently applied to psychology grad schools in UK and USA. UK universities explicitly ask potential students to contact potential supervisors, so I did. This wasn't the case for American universities, so except for one Stanford professor that I previously met in a conference, I didn't contact any american professor before applying. Yesterday an Israeli professor who graduated from MIT BCS told me that I should have contacted my professor of interest in MIT. Do you think it makes sense to contact him now? I haven't received any invitation yet, and MIT seem to have released invitations already. 

Thanks,

-Tan

(not sure if relevant, but GRE v: 164 q: 170, w:4.5, GPA: 98/100, neuroscience MSc Summa Cum Laude)

[stereopticons]

It usually helps to contact them before applying. You can make sure they are taking students that year and introduce yourself so that they know who you are when admissions time comes around. That said, I don't think not contacting them is going ruin your chances of getting in.