Contacting Potential Advisor Post-Submission

[Frontline]

Like most of us, I was quite busy in the run-off to the submission deadlines and missed out on the opportunity to contact potential supervisors.

I was recently in touch with a friend at one of the Politics departments I am applying for, and he strongly encouraged me to contact potential supervisors, even though deadlines have passed. 

As a student from France, it's not wholly clear what is expected from me. What are your views on this? How should I formulate the letter?

Any advice is warmly appreciated,

Thank you,

F.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Frontline

[pebs]

I have seen conflicting advice on this question all over the place, so I will be following this thread with great interest.

[Frontline]

 

14 hours ago, wet gremlin said:

I have seen conflicting advice on this question all over the place, so I will be following this thread with great interest.

Hey Gremlin! Do you have any web links to previous threads on this question? 

[DBear]

I've seen some similar discussion threads here and there on gradcafe and though I think it's better to not send them an email if all you have to say is, in a nutshell, FYI, I applied, I've seen some people find excuses to email - Questions about admissions timelines/ procedures (if your POI was answering these before). I'm really tempted to email some POIs I had positive contact with just for the sake of doing something... But I don't want too sound like I'm sucking up to them blatantly and any questions I have are more for administrative staff so I don't want to bother people who are busy reading applications... Just my thoughts... 

[cabraloca]

My situation may be a little bit special, since I am applying to the school where I did one year studying abroad. Since I knew some of the professors already, I emailed two of them with whom I had the best learning experiences and are the closest to my research. They both emailed me back saying they would be happy to recommend me and to have me back at the University. This is of course good and comforting news, even if it is not at all an official admission. So I would definitely shoot an e-mail and share a little about yourself and why you're interested in working with them. Good luck to all!

[Frontline]

2 hours ago, cabraloca said:

My situation may be a little bit special, since I am applying to the school where I did one year studying abroad. Since I knew some of the professors already, I emailed two of them with whom I had the best learning experiences and are the closest to my research. They both emailed me back saying they would be happy to recommend me and to have me back at the University. This is of course good and comforting news, even if it is not at all an official admission. So I would definitely shoot an e-mail and share a little about yourself and why you're interested in working with them. Good luck to all!

Thanks, this is very helpful. Though I am not in a similarly comfortable position, I did receive an email from my friend, who working with two POIs, strongly encouraged me to do so. I am just not a hundred percent sure how to go about this. 

Should I simply reach out and introduce myself? Should I share my SOP, CV,...? I sort of mention in the SOP why I am interested in their work so it feels bit awkard mailing them and rephrasing my SOP. 

[cabraloca]

@Frontline I would just do a simple e-mail and then send them SOP,  CV and writing sample if they ask for more info. This is what I did and if interested, professors will be the ones to ask you to send them more information about yourself! That, and, if they are in the admissions committee they will probably already have access to your information anyway. Hope this helps!

[Frontline]

Thanks a lot - very helpful indeed @cabraloca! Good luck on your apps!

[Frontline]

Does anyone else have views on this?

[shur42]

I feel that it's too late to reach out to people you don't know in a sense that it won't get you any additional opportunities or points. It's a completely different story if you had contact with them before and they expressed interest in you, though! 

[fuzzylogician]

41 minutes ago, Frontline said:

Does anyone else have views on this?

I don't know your field but in mine it's usually not that helpful to reach out to professors before the deadline, and I don't think there would be any benefit to reaching out after, unless there is an actual reason to do so (like, you're trying to obtain a paper of theirs that's not available online). Emailing to introduce yourself and say you're interested in the professor's work won't do you much good at this point in the process, it's too late for that. I wouldn't email anyone at this point. 

[Quickmick]

I would agree with the "don't email now" advice. I was in contact with potential supervisors before I applied, and sent them a note letting them know my file was complete (reminding them of who I am) and thanking them for their help in the process--but had I not had the pre-submission contact I would not have reached out to them after. I doubt it would help much (if any) and might--to some--smack of a last ditch effort to get in (certainly not your intention, and your application probably stands on its own just fine).

You can always hedge your bet and try it with 25% (you name the number) of your apps.

good luck.