Reaching Out to POIs In Advance

[CKAW]

Okay guys, onto this step of the process. I've heard a number of people recommend getting in touch with the people you're interested in over email, to get some name recognition. Anyone willing to explain the theory behind this and the best way to go about it? My default is to shoot everyone an email saying "Hey, I'm interested in your work, what do you think I should do if I want to be as competitive as possible come September?" Maybe some of you can provide some insight that never occurred to me, as you have so frequently done in the past.

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[MCParent]

You have to email to ask if they're taking anyone. People retire, move, take sabbaticals, and if they are not taking a student you are likely wasting an application. I would not myself appreciate an email asking me how to be competitive; there are a lot of web sites and resources about that, and insufficient time to do the really good things (e.g., carry out a study). I'd more appreciate a professional and polite email expressing clearly sincere interest in my work and asking if I was taking a student.

 

[CheetahGirl]

If you are VERY SERIOUS about a POI, you should do some research on the work he/she has done and read one or two of his/her most current publications..then, mention in your email that you've read some of their work, and are interested in X, Y, and Z...and (as MCParent mentioned) ask if he/she is taking on new students. This way you demonstrate that you are truly interested in the POI's work and you are willing to become involved in furthering his/her work with your interests.

 

[CKAW]

Now do you guys see why I post these threads before doing anything grad-school related?

 

[CheetahGirl]

CKAW, search past threads...there's a plethora of info on SDN. I was an applicant too (once upon a time) reading away at the these threads, formulating decisions on how to proceed.

 

[thewesternsky]

Agreed with the other posters. You might have gleaned this as well, but in case not-- It's currently FAR too early to send that kind of email. Faculty won't yet know for sure how many students are entering their lab this year (for September 2014), which will affect whether they'll take students next round. Other things (funding, etc.) might also still be undecided. It seems as though July through November are the most popular months for this kind of email... I sent mine in early October and that seemed to be fine. Also be sure to check the faculty member and department webpage before sending the email. Some programs post this information online.

 

[cara susanna]

Emailing people didn't help me. In fact, I only got interviews with the people I didn't email. Haha.

 

[CheetahGirl]

That's too funny in an ironic-kind of way, Cara.

Emailing POIs helped me 'break the ice' on interviews b/c I referred to my emails (or the articles I read ) when I actually met the POIs in person. In fact, I named two faculty at my current program and one became my research advisor and the other became my academic advisor (and she is now on my dissertation committee). So maybe it will or will not help, but starting a dialogue early (say Sept/Oct before apps are due) could help narrow in on what you want to do and with whom.

 

[SomeRandomKid3]

I agree with all of the above posters, and will add that I've known several POI's at different institutions who save inquiry emails from applicants in a separate email folder. When it comes time to sort through applications, they go back to those emails to give the people who showed interest and initiative in their lab more thorough consideration.

Keep in mind that every program is different though. For some programs it won't matter too much at all. The most important thing to ask, and I repeat this because of it's importance, is if a POI is taking on new students for the upcoming year. Don't waste $50-$100 on an application for a faculty member who is not taking students.

 

[bcliff]

I saw this post the day after I sent out several emails to faculty members at programs that I'm interested in, but despite it being so early in the process, I have actually received a lot of feedback.

I kept the emails relatively short, mainly to avoid the potential of making a mistake (referencing the wrong professor/university's work; spelling the professor's name wrong; etc.) and also to avoid taking up too much of their time (especially if they aren't accepting students). I prefaced the emails by saying 'I know that it's still very early in the application process and that many programs are still wrapping up the 2013-14 application cycle, but I wanted to ask if you expect to be accepting graduate students in the 2015-16 academic year'. Most professors have said that it's too early to tell and that I should contact them later (Many said they would have a better idea in May/June), but some have been able to give me a (relatively) firm yes or no, which is very helpful in determining what programs are worth applying to.

 

[MiniLop]

I'll agree with the other posters and say that I think the emails are pretty essential just to confirm that a professor is planning to take a student. During my first two application cycles (yes, it took me three cycles to finally get accepted) I would read several articles by each professor and ask a question about their work, but I noticed that I never got terribly good feedback and often profs would completely ignore the research question and just say whether or not they were taking a student. So this past year I decided to just keep it short and say "hi, I'm interested in studying X, Y and Z and I think your lab would be a good fit for me. Are you planning on taking a student? Attached is my CV." Sometimes profs would read the CV or maybe say something more specific about their research, but generally they would just say thanks for getting in touch with me and say if they were taking a student or not. They have a lot on their plate and don't necessarily have a ton of time to chat with every interested person.

 

[CKAW]

I saw this post the day after I sent out several emails to faculty members at programs that I'm interested in, but despite it being so early in the process, I have actually received a lot of feedback.

I kept the emails relatively short, mainly to avoid the potential of making a mistake (referencing the wrong professor/university's work; spelling the professor's name wrong; etc.) and also to avoid taking up too much of their time (especially if they aren't accepting students). I prefaced the emails by saying 'I know that it's still very early in the application process and that many programs are still wrapping up the 2013-14 application cycle, but I wanted to ask if you expect to be accepting graduate students in the 2015-16 academic year'. Most professors have said that it's too early to tell and that I should contact them later (Many said they would have a better idea in May/June), but some have been able to give me a (relatively) firm yes or no, which is very helpful in determining what programs are worth applying to.

I like this because it gives you a reason to contact them later, without intruding or seeming obnoxious. I was originally told to reach out to get name recognition with professors who are accepting students, not just to find out which professors aren't. Does this make sense? Fair perspective?

 

[Taly0402]

I asked professors what kind of research they'd be doing during the next academic year, if not stated on the website. Sometimes they'd only have a few publications listed, the most recent one being a couple of years old. It helped me determine if what they're currently studying matched what I wanted to do. Some professors ended up researching something completely different than what was listed on their website. I emailed them in October and got responses from all but one.

Good luck!

 

[QAsPsych]

I would add that some professors don't want these emails, and say so on their website, so it is really important to check-- and I think it is wise to wait, as funding situations can quickly change. I didn't email anyone at programs where the psych department website stated who was taking a student, and received interviews at many of these schools. I wrote to some POI's at the programs without that information and it did help me avoid wasting applications applying to people who were not taking students. I think it's best to be brief and think of it more as a way of checking whether it's worth applying to work with somebody than as a way of establishing name recognition with them, but some professors do take note of this.

 

[EmotRegulation]

And please check the website first. If I post on my website that I will be recruiting a student (which I do, in bold on the main page of my site) and then I get a message asking if I will be taking a student, it really annoys me. Asking questions about research, stating what of my work the applicant might be interested in, all that is perfectly fine, but don't ask information that is findable elsewhere. Creating name recognition is OK, but pairing your name with annoyance probably isn't so good.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

And please check the website first. If I post on my website that I will be recruiting a student (which I do, in bold on the main page of my site) and then I get a message asking if I will be taking a student, it really annoys me. Asking questions about research, stating what of my work the applicant might be interested in, all that is perfectly fine, but don't ask information that is findable elsewhere. Creating name recognition is OK, but pairing your name with annoyance probably isn't so good.

Agree, although on the flip side, there are definitely some programs that don't regularly update that information on the website. So I could potentially see an applicant emailing and saying, "the website mentions you will be accepting students, so I was just hoping to verify that prior to applying," to at least show they'd done some legwork looking into it on their own.

All in all, I honestly don't know that emailing POIs consistently helps or hurts people enough for any definitive advice to be given. My take: it's definitely worthwhile if you're unsure as to whether or not the POI is taking students in the upcoming cycle. Outside of that, it probably won't hurt (assuming the professor hasn't explicitly asked that you not send such emails), but I wouldn't really count on it helping at all, either.

 

[FLpsychstudent]

I agree with the above - check the websites first and as long as they don't explicitly state not to email them, just email and say I saw your website says you will be taking a student, and just wanted to confirm. When I emailed people I gave a brief 2-3 sentence background on myself and why I was interested in their work. Most people were very nice about responding, in fact I only had one person who did not respond. I emailed around Oct. and knew I was going to ABCT so when they responded if I knew they would be there I asked if they might have time to meet. Most people didn't respond to this, but I did meet up with one or two and others suggested I meet with their grad students so I did that instead. I think that was pretty helpful in narrowing down where I was most interested in as well as making it clear that I was enthusiastic about their programs. I got a good amount of interviews, but it's unclear if this tactic helped or not as I got some from people I met up with, one person I met with didn't invite me to interview, and one person who didn't even respond to my email invited me lol.

I think it really varies how much people care about these things...I wouldn't overanalyze the situation as most people don't put too much stock into your email. Also like people said above I wouldn't get too hardcore in asking research questions or things like that because I think it just gets annoying. I don't know if "name recognition" is really something you need to shoot for tbh.

 

[psychRA]

And just to add a different perspective, I did not email a single POI when I was applying, but still got 5-6 interviews and offers. I'm not necessarily recommended that as a strategy, as I may very well have applied to work with people who weren't taking students. But if you choose not to contact POIs in advance, it's not an automatic exclusion. My mentor in grad school would get a fair number of those emails every year, as well as applicants who would introduce themselves at conferences, and it didn't carry a lot of weight in terms of the actual admissions process.