E-mailing professors

[CounselingGirl]

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I'm applying to PhD Counseling programs. I've e-mailed the professors I want to work with in each one, asking them questions about their research and if they are accepting students to mentor in Fall 2010.

I did not hear back from some of them. Should I assume they will be accepting students and are just too busy to respond to me and apply anyway? Or should I knock the schools off the list? :-/

Thanks guys!

 

[applebottom]

I guess it's a moot point now, but my PI told me to make my emails short and not to ask them about their research, but just if they're accepting students. Professors are very busy, so asking them to put the effort into devising an answer to your question, especially if the information is available on the website, is, according to her, annoying, and will make the professor less likely to respond. That said, it probably won't impact the admission decision. Since you've already sent the emails, maybe you can find out if they're accepting a student from the website. Or maybe try back in a couple weeks just expressing your interest in their research and asking if they'll be accepting a student. Hope that helps.

 

[JockNerd]

This happened to me with a few profs I emailed. I waited two weeks then sent another email that was exactly the same as the first one. I'd recommend not mentioning that you emailed them before; tone is impossible in emails and you don't want someone to think you're being rude.

 

[cara susanna]

I ended up just applying anyway, even if the profs I emailed didn't respond.

 

[livetosail]

I've had the same problem for some time now. I'm frustrated by the fact that nearly every school's website suggests emailing the professor you are interested in studying with, yet almost none of them respond. It kind of makes you wonder how exactly some students get an "in" with profs.

ESV

 

[krisrox]

I just asked this same question on another thread. The consensus was to apply anyways if you think you're a good fit and hope for the best. Do your research, though!

 

[cara susanna]

You are discovering what I did last year, unfortunately. There are people here who had great experiences with emailing profs, mind you, so I'm not trying to generalize--just sharing my experience.

I've mentioned before that the only people I got interviews with were people I hadn't emailed. 😉 I think that they get SO many emails that really, unless you stand out somehow or establish a meaningful dialogue, you're just one drop in a giant sea. I even met two of my POIs at a conference and I still didn't get an interview (of course, they were highly competitive). I think it's a mistake that so many people feel pressured into emailing to establish a connection, when really IMO it should be more about finding out who's taking students.

Like I said though, your mileage may vary.

 

[futureapppsy2]

I generally agree with cara. My main reason for emailing--apart from the taking students thing--from has been to see if my research interests mesh well with the faculty member's, as I'm interested in applying to both people who work with my population of interest and my topic(s) of interest (my proposed work is an intersection of the two). I basically want to see if the work I'm interested in would be up their research ally, so to speak.

The strangest reply that I've gotten would have to be one that essentially said "no, I'm not taking students--but I feel you would be a good fit here and should apply." Not really sure what to make of that, though the email was incredibly nice. 🙂

 

[deadmau5]

I just asked this same question on another thread. The consensus was to apply anyways if you think you're a good fit and hope for the best. Do your research, though!

i know... but what a waste of time and money if the 1-3 people you are interested in are not taking anyone....

i'm trying to ask anyone I can get a hold of (e.g. Grad students, haven't tried yet, but maybe email program advisors/chairs, etc.). I just want to know if there is space or if they are considering to look for students... that's all I need.

A couple of graduate students actually emailed me back. Foot in the door to say the least... They know I'm interested.