POI may not be accepting students

[DGrayson]

Hey Guys! 

So I've started emailing potential POIs at a couple of universities, and while the few responses I've gotten back are positive, they have all mentioned that I should consider a professor at the University I'm at right now whose research interests match pretty closely with my own. I've spoken with this person, and they've let me know that they may not take any students next year. Should I inform those other potential POIs about this if they ask? 

[TakeruK]

No. What would be the purpose?

[DGrayson]

35 minutes ago, TakeruK said:

No. What would be the purpose?

That's where I was leaning towards as well, but I'm worried that since fit is better with the POI who may not be taking students, others are less likely to accept me because of the possibility I'll turn it down. I may also be overthinking this, since other POIs are unlikely to remember our conversation this far from the application deadline. 

Edited August 23, 2017 by DGrayson

[Sigaba]

23 minutes ago, DGrayson said:

Hey Guys! 

So I've started emailing potential POIs at a couple of universities, and while the few responses I've gotten back are positive, they have all mentioned that I should consider a professor at the University I'm at right now whose research interests match pretty closely with my own. I've spoken with this person, and they've let me know that they may not take any students next year. Should I inform those other potential POIs about this if they ask? 

I agree with @TakeruK. The information isn't solid ("may not"), the information isn't really yours to share, and you're going to need a much better answer if a POI asks a trap question with a couple of good answers and plenty of bad ones.

Changing gears a bit, please give very serious thought on how to great a group in a manner that displays a higher level of situational awareness--not everyone here is a guy.

2 minutes ago, DGrayson said:

That's where I was leaning towards as well, but I'm worried that since fit is better with the POI who may not be taking students, others are less likely to accept me. 

You may be focusing your view of fit too narrowly. A lot can happen between the time you' accept an offer of admission and start putting your committees together. Knowing with whom you'd like to work is not the only factor in determining fit.

[TakeruK]

8 hours ago, DGrayson said:

That's where I was leaning towards as well, but I'm worried that since fit is better with the POI who may not be taking students, others are less likely to accept me because of the possibility I'll turn it down. I may also be overthinking this, since other POIs are unlikely to remember our conversation this far from the application deadline. 

I think you are right that other POIs are not likely to remember all these details. It's not like profs keep detailed notes of every conversation they have with every person. Also, I do not think the worry that someone won't take you because you're a better fit elsewhere. That's not really how admissions work: every school/prof wants the best fit students they can get. The other POIs have no idea if you are even interested in the other school, or if you will be admitted there, so they aren't going to assume that you will turn them down because of the "better fit prof".

In addition, maybe this is not the case in fields where the prof has to come up with funding for every student (not sure if History is a field like this), but in the sciences, sometimes when a prof says, "I'm not planning on taking students next fall" they might really mean, "I'm not planning on taking a student like you this fall", or "I'll only take a student if they are exactly what I am looking for". I've known many profs tell people that their groups are full but then some applicant comes along that fits super well and they end up taking them anyways.

If you are still wondering about the best response to other POIs saying, "Have you talked to <best fit prof> yet?", I would suggest saying that yes, you have and thank them for the suggestion. I think the other POIs are saying this not because they want you to talk to best fit prof instead, but because they are trying to be helpful and also good colleagues think about their colleagues work as well as their own.

[AfricanusCrowther]

1 hour ago, TakeruK said:

 Also, I do not think the worry that someone won't take you because you're a better fit elsewhere. That's not really how admissions work: every school/prof wants the best fit students they can get. The other POIs have no idea if you are even interested in the other school, or if you will be admitted there, so they aren't going to assume that you will turn them down because of the "better fit prof".

This is certainly correct most of the time, but I happen to know that I was nearly rejected from a program because the admission committee thought I would probably go elsewhere, even though they liked my application. You often have to state the other schools that you are applying to. I imagine this is only a problem for small subfields like mine, where a couple of schools are famous for a particular specialization.

Edited August 23, 2017 by AfricanusCrowther