Emailing current student

[rheya19]

I'm about to email a PhD student at a school I was accepted to. He's the student of my potential advisor. To be honest I don't know much about the program, except that the faculty are doing the kind of research I want to. It was one of the last schools I found out about during application season.

What kinds of questions do you all think I should ask this student to get a good sense of the program and advisor? I don't want to come across like I don't know anything about the place, but I guess I don't. ?

[Glasperlenspieler]

I've just been asking very general questions because I don't want to preempt potentially useful information because I didn't think to ask about it. So I'll just ask them to tell me about their experience there, strengths and weaknesses of the programs, why they chose the program and if they're happy with their decision, things they wish they knew before deciding to attend, etc. I think every student I've emailed has said that they'd be happy to answer new questions as they arise, so I usually ask a few follow up questions based on the information they give.

Obviously, if you have more specific questions, ask them. In particular, when I know that a student is in the dissertation phase, I ask about placement/job market, and if you know a student is working with an advisor you're interested in, I think it's perfectly fair to ask what working with this professor is like.

Thus far, I've received a number of detailed and very gracious responses, many of which have turned into an extended back-and-forth. So definitely don't hesitate to just ask about the program even if you don't have a lot of specific questions. Remember, they were in your position not long ago.

I think there are also a few good lists of questions to ask on visits somewhere on these boards. Many of these would be good to ask students. 

[lkw1001]

^ I agree with the post above. Don't be afraid to ask any questions that you have about the program, school or supervisor. Current students will be one of the best sources of information about how well you will fit in there. In my experience when talking with students they are usually more than happy to answer questions you may have.

A couple questions I have asked was what has your experience been like working with 'x' supervisor. What sort of opportunities/projects have you gotten the chance to work on. What is it like attending 'x' university, you can also ask about classes you would potentially take and what the typical schedule is like. Even asking about living situations is also good to get a sense of where to live (if you are out of area of course). Showing interest in what the current students are studying also doesn't hurt. I think the more specific your questions are the better and I'm sure more questions may arise from conversation. 

Good luck, and congrats on the acceptance!

 

[Glasperlenspieler]

Here are two lists of visit questions to ask (for philosophy and literature programs respectively, but a lot here is probably pretty universal). Many of these are probably useful things to ask current students.

 

[qkhitai]

I did the same thing recently, after my supervisor-to-be put in touch with one of the current grads. My general questions were:

1) What is your opinion of the department/what is the department atmosphere like?

2) What is your average day/week like?

3) TA responsibilities and workload etc

3) What is the campus like? (in a general atmosphere way, not a scenic way. Also campus rules and regulations that might affect you)

4) What is the city around/near the campus like?

5) Miscellaneous mini-questions about accommodation, extracurricular activities, department specific stuff

 

[mdivgirl]

I ended up having a hard time formulating e-mails but it ended up they were willing to chat on the phone.  I found it was much easier to formulate questions when I had some sense of who I was talking to, and it probably took less time for both of us than composing detailed e-mails.  The questions just came up as we went along.  (Actually, one of them was nice enough to anticipate I wouldn't know what to ask and started with an introduction of himself and his research so that also made it easier.)