Professor Connections

[ecg1810]

Out of curiosity, how much does a LOR writer's connections at the school to which you're applying help your admission chances, assuming you submit a strong applicaiton that is? (I'm not saying I have any connections--just interested to know.)

[NEPA]

My professors have absolutely no connections, but from what I've heard, it can be a big help since grad adcomms are likely to trust the recommendation of undergrad professors they know and respect.

[fuzzylogician]

It can make a big difference. Your recommendation will be coming from someone the faculty know and trust, so their word counts for more. If your recommender goes the extra mile and calls/writes their friends about you, that means they think highly of you. I know a few people who credit their acceptance to certain schools to a LOR's connections there. For example, one friend was accepted to 1 out of 8 schools she applied to a few years ago, and said her (current) advisor told her "if X thinks so highly of you, that's good enough for me!."

Edited January 21, 2010 by fuzzylogician

[socialpsych]

Huge help, in my experience.

[adri86]

Others have told me that it goes a long way. In fact, where my LOR writers have connections was a huge factor in drawing up my list of schools to which to apply.

[cleisthenes]

i would echo what has been said-- think about it logically. not all opinions are created equal. of course, there's no way of knowing what the particular professor(s) on the adcom reviewing your application think of the particular professor who wrote your LOR. if your recomender is a jerk despised by his/her colleagues, then it might *hurt* you, but the same is true of any kind of recommendation in any context.

i had a hard time not applying to one program where *three* of my professors did their grad work. unfortunately, though a top ranked program, there was no one there for me to work with, so i forwent it. still, definitely not a negligible factor.

[grad_wannabe]

I actually based my choice of LOR writers depending, in large part, on where they had connections. I did research on where they'd been educated and where else they'd taught or had residences. If there was any overlap at all with the schools I was applying to, I used it. I also name-dropped mercilessly when meeting with anyone from any of my choices.

Me: "Yes, so-n-so told me it would be good to meet with you..."

Him: "You know so-n-so?! How is he? Any friend of his is a friend of mine!"

I was told that in the art world, at least, connections are EVERYTHING. We'll see how far it gets me.

[lemur]

I actually based my choice of LOR writers depending, in large part, on where they had connections. I did research on where they'd been educated and where else they'd taught or had residences. If there was any overlap at all with the schools I was applying to, I used it. I also name-dropped mercilessly when meeting with anyone from any of my choices.

Me: "Yes, so-n-so told me it would be good to meet with you..."

Him: "You know so-n-so?! How is he? Any friend of his is a friend of mine!"

I was told that in the art world, at least, connections are EVERYTHING. We'll see how far it gets me.

Name drop shamelessly. I absolutely agree, and it's equally applicable in Computer Engineering, which leads me to believe that it applies to every field.

Edited January 22, 2010 by ECEPhDApplicant

[socialpsych]

Well...shamelessly but within reason. You don't want to make it sound too deliberate or over-the-top.

[DJLamar]

My undergrad research advisor did his PhD at one of my top choices (I think second tier, where first tier is MIT and Berkeley ). He knows enough people still that when I was freaking out about his late recommendation letters, he was able to find out and tell me that they had definitely not made any admissions decisions yet. He's definitely my best recommendation letter, and I mention him in my statement of purpose, so I'm hoping that will give me an extra boost there...

[gildedProgressive]

At my tie for first choice school, two of my LORs have very strong ties. One of these guys is buddies with one of the deans of the graduate school (and worked at this institution for a while), and both of the recommenders know well a majority of the people in the department. Hoping this is favorable, as was the intent.

[LadyL]

Just to show the other side of the coin - 2 of my 3 letters last year were from professors at one of my schools. They are under the psychiatry department, not psychology, but they do the same type of research as the psych program. One of my letter writers is also poker buddies with the head of the department I applied to. I did not even get an interview for the program. I have heard rumors that this school does not like to accept their undergrads into their grad programs, so I wonder if the same bias was at play, that they would prefer to take people who are not "in the system" already to promote diversity or something. My boss/letter writer actually seemed disappointed and maybe even a little insulted that his recommendation didn't get me considered (he called the adcomm "those bastards" and shook his head in disbelief). I suspect my less than amazing GREs might have got me cut in the first round, but either way, the letters did not override that obviously.

[grad_wannabe]

I have heard rumors that this school does not like to accept their undergrads into their grad programs, so I wonder if the same bias was at play, that they would prefer to take people who are not "in the system" already to promote diversity or something.

I have heard widely that this is the case. UC and Cal State schools have an unwritten rule that one is simply not permitted to return to their UG schools for grad work (though I'm sure there are exceptions). I had a friend at UC Berkeley, she said they made it abundantly clear to her that she was not welcome back on the campus for grad school.

I went to a group interview at NYU. Half of the kids in my group interview did their UGs their, and the department head conducting the interview made a point to bring it up: "Wait a minute, that entire half of the table all got their degrees here?"

I dunno, I would think having connections to a grad school because you did your UG there would kinda render those connections moot.

[cleisthenes]

yep, grad_wannabe is absolutely correct. what you want is to be applying to programs where you professors did their graduate work, not where you did your undergraduate work. even the possibility of appearing nepotistic is anathema to most academics and certainly for adcoms at top programs. for less competitive programs, this certainly happens, but it's always look at with a slant.

[ecg1810]

Yes. . . to echo Cleisthenes: I've been told the main reason professors discourage students from doing their graduate work at their undergraduate institution is because it's a kiss of death to have three degrees from the same school--it looks like the only reason you may have been accepted was due to connections.

Edited January 22, 2010 by ecg1810

[socialpsych]

There must have been threads about this before, but I just wanted to speak up as a person who will have bachelor's and PhD degrees from the same school (different departments/programs). True, some grad programs won't even take their own undergrads, and you should take seriously the danger of looking like you are only familiar with one approach to things, but it is not a black-and-white issue. My program is the top program in my field and I have an unusually great research fit with the professors here, so pretty much everyone, even at other schools, expected that I would stay here -- and few tried to tell me it was a bad idea simply because it was my undergrad. Also, if you start out already knowing a few of the profs in your program and feeling comfortable with their working styles, that can ease the transition and help you get started doing research sooner. And if that's the difference between an extra first-authored paper in a top journal, and nothing...I'd think it would at least somewhat balance out the damage to your CV .

Again, none of this is to say that the "inbreeding" worry isn't real, but there are tradeoffs. It's not like you should NEVER return to your undergrad school.

Of course, I won't know for sure how bad an idea this was until I go on the job market, but I'll keep you posted. (:

[ecg1810]

That's true, Socialpsych; there certainly are exceptions to the rule. I didn't mean to make it sound black and white.

Edited January 22, 2010 by ecg1810

[Matilda_Tone]

In answer to the original question, I also think yes. The undergrad professor who knew me best went to the school I applied/got into. I know he was in touch with a few people, and I am sure it helped at least a bit. The school cited my LOR’s as one of the reasons why my application stood out.