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It's been hard finding professors in the area I am interested in. Is it common for people to only apply to one professor at lots of schools?
PhD/PsyD Is it common to apply to just one professor?
- Thread starter brightbluebirds
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Yes.
D
deleted343839
You mean, one professor for each school you apply to? Yes, I think that's more typical than finding a really good fit with multiple faculty from the same program.
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Yes, that's common.
That said, indicating a "stretch" person who *maybe* might do something you're interested in can be worthwhile. I ended up with one offer to one program when I applied, and I wasn't all that thrilled about the research area--my mentor had to accept a student to keep program numbers up, and I was a "take one for the team" kind of admit. But, I did a lot of my own stuff in addition to what my mentor studied, and I'm still actually doing work in my mentor's area even though that was never my intention. I'm also the only one in my cohort to have gone on to a faculty position, so.....yeah. Obviously don't apply to people whose research is not at all interesting. What I'm suggesting is that you look at other faculty members at programs where you've got one person you KNOW you're interested in their work, and think about if there are any others who might be OK.
That said, indicating a "stretch" person who *maybe* might do something you're interested in can be worthwhile. I ended up with one offer to one program when I applied, and I wasn't all that thrilled about the research area--my mentor had to accept a student to keep program numbers up, and I was a "take one for the team" kind of admit. But, I did a lot of my own stuff in addition to what my mentor studied, and I'm still actually doing work in my mentor's area even though that was never my intention. I'm also the only one in my cohort to have gone on to a faculty position, so.....yeah. Obviously don't apply to people whose research is not at all interesting. What I'm suggesting is that you look at other faculty members at programs where you've got one person you KNOW you're interested in their work, and think about if there are any others who might be OK.
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Some of the programs that I applied to I only got interviews with my secondary choices, so yes. Keep in mind that they were also good fits and not just random people I selected to increase my chances. 
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OP,
As you've seen the predominant answer is "yes". But I'm also an exception, like EmotReg.
I applied to a few programs (was intending to apply to A LOT the next year), and got in at one. I wanted to work with Dr X, as her reserach intersets were supposedly in line with mine. Got into the program, accepted as her RA and she tells me shes no longer doing that research. I ended up working with a guy who had some interests shared with me, and it worked out pretty well.
As you've seen the predominant answer is "yes". But I'm also an exception, like EmotReg.
I applied to a few programs (was intending to apply to A LOT the next year), and got in at one. I wanted to work with Dr X, as her reserach intersets were supposedly in line with mine. Got into the program, accepted as her RA and she tells me shes no longer doing that research. I ended up working with a guy who had some interests shared with me, and it worked out pretty well.
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What if you apply to work with two or more POIs at the same institution, but who have disparate research foci? I mean, I wouldn't apply to work with someone researching a field or topic I dislike or in which I'm disinterested, but would this hinder your admission chances, e.g. demonstrating less fit than a more single-minded applicant or less mature understanding and focus?
Is it just about creating a logical thread tying them together in a coherent narrative in your personal statements and/or interviews, or can you just separately address your fit and interest with each of the POIs?
Is it just about creating a logical thread tying them together in a coherent narrative in your personal statements and/or interviews, or can you just separately address your fit and interest with each of the POIs?
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You want to carefully review the application materials. While some of the advice on this thread is true for some programs, it is not uniformly true for all programs. In other words, some departments explicitly state that they expect you to apply to work with one mentor, and if that is the case, I don't think it would be in your benefit, and it may actually work against you, to list any other faculty. However, other programs, for example, the program I was admitted to, actually want you to be a good fit for the program generally, so they expect you to be able to fit in with a number of faculty in the program. If you only pick one faculty member and don't speak generally on your fit with the department, then your application will be dinged (and I've seen applications immediately thrown out for this reason). I can think of two and possibly three other programs that ran this model. Much of the reason for this is that some departments pool faculty money (either intramural or extramural funding) to admit students and then faculty share doctoral students. For example, I split my time between two labs, one was the primary mentor I applied to work with, and the other was one of the other two faculty I explained had complementary interests to mine. And it shows even within cohorts - my entire cohort had overlapping interests and its clear why they selected us, both as a cohort, and in regards to the program in general.
So in sum, just read application materials very closely. While most likely the norm is for programs to not exactly be clear about whether they run a strict 1:1 mentor model, or whether they rather see your fit within the general department/program, many do explicitly state what they want.
So in sum, just read application materials very closely. While most likely the norm is for programs to not exactly be clear about whether they run a strict 1:1 mentor model, or whether they rather see your fit within the general department/program, many do explicitly state what they want.
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Same here. Also, keep in mind not all programs formally admit by professor. Some even expect you to take the first semester to finalize a chair "match."Some of the programs that I applied to I only got interviews with my secondary choices, so yes. Keep in mind that they were also good fits and not just random people I selected to increase my chances.
