Contacting POI after application

[neur0cat]

Just wondering if it would it be OK to contact the POI (whom I have previously contacted prior to submitting my application) about my application status? It seems a couple of invitations have been sent out by the school/program and I was wondering if all invitations have been sent out. I tried contacting the department administrator but it seems people will be away till January.

Edited December 27, 2016 by neur0cat

[GeorgeC07]

Yep the winter break will last till early January, for instance PennState is January 5th. So they probably won't reply before that. While some universities say that we can feel free to contact any faculty member and that these members have no control over admission, some programs, like ME at Gatech, leave the right to choose candidates to the faculty members, and will offer admissions to students who have received RA opportunities from those professors. So my advice would be to contact the professor, because eventually you have to contact the POI for funding opportunities after admission. At best maybe the professor you contact has the final say in whether to admit you.