Emailing as reapplying

[vstrindberg]

Hi,

Last year I applied 5 schools for PhD and all have rejected me. I was a little bit late to apply. I completed my application in January and tried to contact in mid-January. Sent mails to 11 prof. and only 2 replied me. One of them said that he would take a look my application. The other prof usually do interview with all candidates in February, so we did it. At the end, I have not been accepted.This year, I will again apply for PhD. I will add other schools to my options. However, I would like to add some schools from previous years list. 

Is it fine to send an e-mail to a potential PhD advisor even he did not reply to my e-mail last year? If so, should I send in August or September or when? 

[Hope.for.the.best]

If you are really into his project, I don't see why you shouldn't email him again this year. However, since he didn't reply you last year, chances are he thinks that you are not a suitable candidate for his project. In my opinion, you will need to emphasise in your application why you are interested in his project and why you are a suitable candidate for his project. It would be better if you have gained something more in your CV over the past year, e.g. conference presentations and publications. I would also suggest that you learn from last year's experience. What could you have done better? Maybe have someone to review your applications and do trial interviews with you. 

I am not sure whether there are policies in your schools of interest as to when you need to contact potential advisors, but it is often better to contact as early as possible. Your applications likely draw more attention to potential advisors when they don't have a lot of applications to review closer to the deadline. To my knowledge, some advisors take students on a "first-come, first-served" manner.

Good luck! 

Edited August 12, 2017 by Hope.for.the.best