Unsolicited Visit: Fair game?

[Leafytea]

I'm going to go present a paper this weekend at a school I applied to for PhD. I'm pretty sure the faculty I would want to work with are involved in some way with the conference, at the very least because their students are heavily involved as presenters and discussants. I also live quite far away from this university.

Question: Is it a good idea to contact the profs I'm interested in, and say, "Hey, I'm going to be in town, so if you have any questions in your deliberation process, I will be around to answer them"? Or would that be totally gauche?

I mean, I might run into them by accident, anyway. But I might not start a conversation...and I'm pretty sure they would not remember who I am unless I mention my status as an applicant.

So basically, it's a question of whether I should offer them an opportunity to interview me without having had to fly me there. Which seems a bit presumptuous.

[katalytik]

I'm going to go present a paper this weekend at a school I applied to for PhD. I'm pretty sure the faculty I would want to work with are involved in some way with the conference, at the very least because their students are heavily involved as presenters and discussants. I also live quite far away from this university.

Question: Is it a good idea to contact the profs I'm interested in, and say, "Hey, I'm going to be in town, so if you have any questions in your deliberation process, I will be around to answer them"? Or would that be totally gauche?

I mean, I might run into them by accident, anyway. But I might not start a conversation...and I'm pretty sure they would not remember who I am unless I mention my status as an applicant.

So basically, it's a question of whether I should offer them an opportunity to interview me without having had to fly me there. Which seems a bit presumptuous.

If you don't know them, then I would not do this. It is exactly as you said.......presumptuous. If you run into them by accident (or plan to run into them "by accident"), then maybe.......if you can do it in a subtle manner.

[piccgeek]

It would be easier to negotiate (but still probably awkward and maybe gauche) if you've been in contact with a potential adviser there...especially in a LOT of contact, as in, that person would not be surprised or confused to see an email from how sitting in her/his inbox. Otherwise...I'd say play it polite rather than pushy. It's painful to pass up such an opportunity to show your face and make an impression, but you don't want to make any kind of negative impression. Of course, if you run into a prof and you can get to chatting and the person asks what you're doing and you can say "oh, well, right now I'm applying to PhD programs..." and hope they follow up with "Oh really? Where?" then you are totally in the green, I would think.

[origin415]

I wouldn't, not while they are in the middle of the decision process.

I definitely would take the chance to scope out the area, campus, and department building though, if you haven't already.

[fuzzylogician]

It depends. If you've previously communicated with a POI at this school, you could contact them again to say you're coming to this conference from out of town and would appreciate a tour of the department/facilities. That would be a non-pushy way to get to know the prof and have some one-on-one time with them, in a non-committal way. If you had extensive communication with a POI, I think it would also be OK to say you'd love to have a cup of coffee with them during one of the breaks. However, if you've had no contact with anyone at the school it might come across as pushy and I think it would be better to strike up a conversation near to the coffee table than send an email in advance, if you have the courage to do that. Some people are open and friendly, others seem unapproachable, unfortunately you won't know until you get there.

Edit: another option that comes to mind is to contact one of the current students you know will present at the conference. Students are much more approachable, and it won't seem like you're pushy or trying to influence decisions. At the very least you'll get to hear a current grad's view of the program; at the very best you'll also get introductions to professors out of it.

Edited February 3, 2010 by fuzzylogician

[modernity]

Edit: another option that comes to mind is to contact one of the current students you know will present at the conference. Students are much more approachable, and it won't seem like you're pushy or trying to influence decisions. At the very least you'll get to hear a current grad's view of the program; at the very best you'll also get introductions to professors out of it.

This sounds the best to me. I wouldn't email the professors themselves ahead of time, I think this is one of those situations where you have to be a little subtle.

[lemur]

Question: Is it a good idea to contact the profs I'm interested in, and say, "Hey, I'm going to be in town, so if you have any questions in your deliberation process, I will be around to answer them"? Or would that be totally gauche?

It's a good idea to contact them, but why not be more direct. Tell them you're going to be in the area and would appreciate the chance to meet with them. It's simple, honest, and non-presumptuous. I've done this and it's worked out to my benefit.

[Leafytea]

Hm, thanks for all the tips. I've actually met face-to-face with two of the profs before, having successfully engineered meetings during the application process. One of my current advisers helped out by writing an introductory email. So they *might* recognize me.

But I guess this period is actually more sensitive, since they've now seen my entire file, as well as all the other applicants' files. So I'll play it cool. Perhaps I'll "run into" them. =)

[kdilks]

I don't think it's a bad idea, it just sounds like you'd be going about it the wrong way. Something like "Hey, I'm going to be in town, so if you have any questions in your deliberation process, I will be around to answer them" is definitely not what you want to say. It gives the impression that you think there's something wrong with your application and/or you're trying to suck up to get accepted (not to mention the fact that they're not going to ask you any questions). Just tell them that you've applied, you're going to be in town, and you'd be interested in talking to them about their research and the program. Normally I'd say it would be a little bold to directly contact senior faculty yourself, but it shouldn't be a problem if you've met them before, or have your advisor help set something up.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I don't think it's a bad idea, it just sounds like you'd be going about it the wrong way. Something like "Hey, I'm going to be in town, so if you have any questions in your deliberation process, I will be around to answer them" is definitely not what you want to say. It gives the impression that you think there's something wrong with your application and/or you're trying to suck up to get accepted (not to mention the fact that they're not going to ask you any questions). Just tell them that you've applied, you're going to be in town, and you'd be interested in talking to them about their research and the program. Normally I'd say it would be a little bold to directly contact senior faculty yourself, but it shouldn't be a problem if you've met them before, or have your advisor help set something up.

I agree--be more forthright. I did just this (was in town for a conference) and made appointments to talk to people about their research. One of those appointments turned into a grilling about why I had so many issues with my application (I was a less-than-stellar applicant on paper), but I defended myself well and the guy ended up being very impressed by me. (He railroaded my application through the adcomm and offered me a summer job to boot.) So I would tell you to go for it.

[modernity]

I've actually met face-to-face with two of the profs before, having successfully engineered meetings during the application process. One of my current advisers helped out by writing an introductory email.

Can you ask your adviser what they think about your idea? The reason why I am warning about being subtle is that how the profs are going to take this is very much going to depend on their personality. Some profs are very easy going, or would appreciate a free chance to get to know a candidate better. Other profs would see it as inconvenient or presumptuous, and might take offense. So if you have someone that knows them a little better, I think their advice would be much better than anyone could give you here.