Contacting Professors

[meme1218]

Hi. So in the spirit of waiting to hear if I have received an interview at my top choice school for the Fall 2007 program, I am wondering if it is too late (or not recommended) to contact the faculty I would like to work with, as indicated on my Personal Statement. Has anyone already done this (prior to applications going under review?).

Any suggestions? Thanks

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[joetro]

I personally would not do this. It still is a little early ... some schools don't interview until March, so I think there is still quite a bit of time for places to notify you of an interview. Many may not even have read stuff/met as a group to make those decisions.

 

[Psychxiety]

I don't think I would do it either. Usually the point of contacting a prof before applying to is check and see if there is any chance they will be looking at accepting students. Since you've already spent your time applying then there is no point in asking about that. Expressing your interest/ drawing the prof's attention to you is just a side benefit of the pre=app contact. Your application already indicates your interest. I think calling/emailing at this point might just be considered a nuisance. If you are just curious as to when invites will come out...then I would contact the graduate program secretary (their number/email is generally posted somewhere on the dept website). Whatever you end up doing, good luck!

 

[Squarepants]

Is it mandatory to try to contact specific professors at any school you're applying to before you actually apply, or do people regularly get in without such measures?

 

[Psychxiety]

I don't think its mandantory...but I think it helps. I didn't contact anyone at BU & I just got an interview invite there. However, it says on their website not to contact professors. I think what profs expect varies by school. The main idea of doing the contacting thing seems to be to save yourself time & money if the prof doesn't have the funds/desire to take on a new student. I mean think about it...we prob put $200 into each app (assuming no interview) & countless hours of work. It just makes sense to check before wasting all of that.

 

[psycholytic]

My experience is that Prof's are annoyed by contacts most of the time.

They will tell you that they will look at your application when the time comes, simply due to their workload, eventhough you would be a good match.

I believe, it is mostly luck if you will be invited before the official deadline for small talk with the prof of your interest.

So, hopefully some of you will have that luck

 

[clinpsychgirl]

I disagree. I think that pre-application contacts can be very beneficial in many cases (an exception would be in a case mentioned above where there are specific directions NOT to contact professors). When I applied, I received very positive responses from the professors I contacted during the summer before applications were due. By iniating early contact, you learn valuable information, such as whether or not a professor will even be taking a student (not always on the websites and if so, not always up to date). Some professors may even set up a call with you to get more information!

That being said, I don't know that it would be well-advised to contact professors at this particular stage in the game. At this point, they will invite who they want to invite, and it may make an applicant come off as overly pushy or anxious if he/she inquires.

However, if you are really paranoid (and many if not all of us can be during this stressful process) call the department and ask if the interview dates have been set (if not explicitly stated on the website) and if invitations have gone out. Just do so without saying who you are, and don't abuse the kindness of dept. staff

 

[psychanon]

Is it mandatory to try to contact specific professors at any school you're applying to before you actually apply, or do people regularly get in without such measures?

No, it's not mandatory and most don't do this. It is a good idea, and most people who frequent this board probably did it because they read to do it here. But most applicants do not read this board, and would probably not figure out on their own to email professors.

I agree that it's a bit late to email people now, unless you want to check with them directly about the status of your application. What might be very helpful, though, is if one of your recommenders emails the faculty member to talk about what a great applicant you are.

 

[Psych_Ho]

1) Emailing profs while you are doing apps is a good idea to inquire if they are even taking a student the upcoming year, as not all profs take students & you don't want to apply and waste your money if they already know they are not taking one. In that case, keep the email short and simple.
2) Emailing *now* to a prof/school you applied to would not be a good idea at all, for a number of reasons. I also would advise against having a prof email on your behalf - that is what the LOR is for and trust me, it won't help your chances right now. Unless there is a close relationship between the prof you are asking to email and the advisor receiving the email... even then - that should all be contained in a letter of recc from that person. It's also putting the person you are asking you email on your behalf in a somewhat uncomfortable situation.
3) Overall- it is not *required* to contact the person you are applying to work with. For some programs though- those that are much research oriented - it can be a good idea if you have specific, legitimate questions for them.\

Good luck!!

 

[psychanon]

1)
2) Emailing *now* to a prof/school you applied to would not be a good idea at all, for a number of reasons. I also would advise against having a prof email on your behalf - that is what the LOR is for and trust me, it won't help your chances right now. Unless there is a close relationship between the prof you are asking to email and the advisor receiving the email... even then - that should all be contained in a letter of recc from that person. It's also putting the person you are asking you email on your behalf in a somewhat uncomfortable situation.
:

Let me clarify-- i didn't mean that you should ask your letter writers to email the professor. That would be a bit presumptuous, unless, like Psych_Ho said, you have that kind of relationship. I do know that it helps a good deal if they do do so, though, from having been on the other side of the process somewhat.

 

[amy203]

Let me clarify-- i didn't mean that you should ask your letter writers to email the professor. That would be a bit presumptuous, unless, like Psych_Ho said, you have that kind of relationship. I do know that it helps a good deal if they do do so, though, from having been on the other side of the process somewhat.

I asked my advisors to email my professors of interest (along with the letter of rec) IF they already knew the person, and it's made a big difference - I've been accepted to one of the schools, have an interview with another, and my advisor received a nice response from the third, so I guess we'll see what happens once they start extending interview invites. I'm very close with my advisors, and they were fine with doing it. I think it ensures that your professor of interest looks for your application (i.e. your app won't get weeded out before reaching the professor), shows that your advisor is extra-invested in your application, and gives your professor of interest a good way of remembering you (i.e. "oh yeah, she works with so and so.").

My only caveat would be that it might be a little late to send them now - most of mine went out in early January. If the schools you are applying to are already extending interview invites, it might look a little desperate.

 

[Psych_Ho]

Word of mouth, etc is always helpful. I myself have been on the other side as well. What I was trying to stress to meme1218's original post (which was asking about emailing NOW while waiting to find out about interviews and asking whether to contact prof of choice) is that directly contacting the prof right now yourself is not a good idea nor would be requesting that a LOR writer inquire *now* about it unless they volunteered to do so!!

Naturally, any way that an applicant can be brought to attention is just fine so long as it is done appropriately and sincerely and can make a difference - whether through your own direct emails during the application process or by having a LOR email a colleague at another university... in my experience, if the LOR writer wants to email on your behalf, they will do so but it is inappropriate to ask them to inquire for you simply due to anxiety that must be endured while waiting to hear.

 

[amy203]

I tried to time my advisors' emails so they went out during the "sorting" phase of the application process - so when admissions departments are sorting out which apps to send to which professors. That way, professors can request to have your application sent to them, or simply have your name fresh in their mind if your application lands on their desk. Some schools may still be in this phase.

 

[Psych_Ho]

Yes, Amy 203, I agree, that makes sense and can help. Sounds like you were in a nice position of having a prof who knew you well or did not mind emailing on your behalf, which is great.

However, not all applicants have this type of relationship with LOR writer so it may do more harm than good to ask them to send out emails at this time. However, of course if the LOR writer feels comfortable doing so and wants to help, then it can't hurt. Many LOR writers, however, are profs themselves and are swamped at this time of the year sorting & reviewing apps for students of their own!!!