Questions About Contacting Professors..

[velvsop]

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Hey Everybody,

Is it too late to be emailing professors to ask if they are taking students in the Fall (October 25th-planning to send my last batch out today)?

Also, how long should I wait before recontacting them if I don't get a response? I emailed a few this past weekend and haven't heard back..

For the professors I know that are taking students, based on their websites, it is too late to send them an email notifying them of my interest and intent to apply?

I know some of this stuff has been covered, but I didn't find anything about issues like things being too late..

Thanks!

 

[Psychology 76]

No it's not too late. I don't think it really is ever too late assuming you have time to fill out the application.

I normally wait about a week. Then I resend my email. If they don't reply to my second email then I don't apply 🙂

 

[cheeze]

Agreed.

Usually if they don't reply I check if theres another professor that I would also be happy working with before I entirely eliminate the school. I've emailed about 1/2 of my professors and I'm working on some of the emailing myself.

If you are emailing them to see what they have (like ask about opportunities, if they r taking students, what their lab has to offer) then do it. If you just want to get ur name out, the dont bother.

 

[velvsop]

Thanks cheeze and Psychology 76.

What do you do about informing your recommenders if you are eliminating a school? I am getting nervous about waiting on professors to reply and the fact that it determines whether I apply to the school. I want to give my recommenders a list of all schools and deadlines by next Monday, but would it be annoying to be editing the list after giving it to them?

 

[Psychology 76]

Thanks cheeze and Psychology 76.

What do you do about informing your recommenders if you are eliminating a school? I am getting nervous about waiting on professors to reply and the fact that it determines whether I apply to the school. I want to give my recommenders a list of all schools and deadlines by next Monday, but would it be annoying to be editing the list after giving it to them?

I'm kind of in the same boat with you on this. I'm going to send my recommenders a list by the end of this week. I'm waiting on only one or two schools (who are not top choices). I think that i'll go ahead and send my list even if the schools don't reply. If they reply after I'll just notify my recommenders. I don't think they'll mind because its just another email they have to reply with their letter. Not a big deal I think.

 

[LM02]

If you already know that a professor will be accepting students, based on their website or a department website, I'd be inclined to not email in advance. Emailing someone your 'intent to apply' is not going to make any difference, really. And you do run the risk of irritating the professor - after all, the relevant information is already posted online!

I say this as a professor (albeit in a medical school), but one with several peers who are professors in psychology departments (some of whom have even been mentioned on this site!).

 

[velvsop]

If you already know that a professor will be accepting students, based on their website or a department website, I'd be inclined to not email in advance. Emailing someone your 'intent to apply' is not going to make any difference, really. And you do run the risk of irritating the professor - after all, the relevant information is already posted online!

I say this as a professor (albeit in a medical school), but one with several peers who are professors in psychology departments (some of whom have even been mentioned on this site!).

Interesting. It is a bit of a mind game because I suppose different professors prefer different things. I read on a certain professor's website that unless you email him before applying (before October), he would not give you serious consideration. Who knows how things work.

 

[LM02]

Interesting. It is a bit of a mind game because I suppose different professors prefer different things. I read on a certain professor's website that unless you email him before applying (before October), he would not give you serious consideration. Who knows how things work.

Well obviously, if someone has explicit instructions such as those, I would follow them. But the point is that they are explicit instructions (however odd they may be!).

But in the absence of any such instructions, if a professor clearly provides information on his/her website indicating that he/she will be taking a student next year, what exactly will emailing your "intent to apply" accomplish?

Also keep in mind that the impetus behind providing this information up front is to minimize the number of emails a professor has to field from prospective students. Most (not all) people are gracious and nice about it, but between research, teaching, advising, and other administrative duties, there are only so many hours in a day. If you have a strong application, it will be reviewed favorably come application time. Emailing your "intent to apply" with no other purpose isn't going to change that.

 

[O Gurl]

Well obviously, if someone has explicit instructions such as those, I would follow them. But the point is that they are explicit instructions (however odd they may be!).

But in the absence of any such instructions, if a professor clearly provides information on his/her website indicating that he/she will be taking a student next year, what exactly will emailing your "intent to apply" accomplish?

Also keep in mind that the impetus behind providing this information up front is to minimize the number of emails a professor has to field from prospective students. Most (not all) people are gracious and nice about it, but between research, teaching, advising, and other administrative duties, there are only so many hours in a day. If you have a strong application, it will be reviewed favorably come application time. Emailing your "intent to apply" with no other purpose isn't going to change that.

Makes sense. I have actually heard professors complain about receiving these emails even after they have already posted their status on taking a student on the department website.

 

[cheeze]

I actually have a related question of my own. I've been talking to several faculty, mostly just to figure out if they were taking students and to get a better idea of what they do, and what their graduate students routinely do in research. Most of them seem willing to respond.

Their responses have given me quite a bit of information, is it appropriate to propose research ideas at this stage? before I've even submitted my application? I don't want to seem too pushy...

Most appear the be somewhat closed, like just answering my questions, and one professor gives me the feeling he's waiting for something innovative to come from me... (i'm not sure if i interpreted correct though)

Or should I just end the conversation with a nice thank you?

 

[LM02]

I actually have a related question of my own. I've been talking to several faculty, mostly just to figure out if they were taking students and to get a better idea of what they do, and what their graduate students routinely do in research. Most of them seem willing to respond.

Their responses have given me quite a bit of information, is it appropriate to propose research ideas at this stage? before I've even submitted my application? I don't want to seem too pushy...

Most appear the be somewhat closed, like just answering my questions, and one professor gives me the feeling he's waiting for something innovative to come from me... (i'm not sure if i interpreted correct though)

Or should I just end the conversation with a nice thank you?

These kinds of discussions are great to have over the interview weekend. But at this point, I would try not to drag out the internet correspondence, and instead keep things short and sweet.

 

[cheeze]

These kinds of discussions are great to have over the interview weekend. But at this point, I would try not to drag out the internet correspondence, and instead keep things short and sweet.

What if one professor has said to me more than once that he takes students who can expand on his research/he's open to new ideas from students?

Thanks!

 

[postitnote]

Eliminating schools solely because faculty members do not reply seems like a bad idea to me. What if they are on sabbatical? out of town/the country? bad with email?

 

[psychapps]

Eliminating schools solely because faculty members do not reply seems like a bad idea to me. What if they are on sabbatical? out of town/the country? bad with email?

Agreed. In this situation, I'd email the grad secretary/admissions coordinator and politely ask if she knows if Prof. X plans to review applications this year.

 

[Psychology 76]

Agreed. In this situation, I'd email the grad secretary/admissions coordinator and politely ask if she knows if Prof. X plans to review applications this year.

Agreed. I only did this for one school because it was low on my list anyway. I'd only apply if I received an enthusiastic reply.

An odd anecdote on this topic: I'm kind of weird because 2 months ago I was emailing clinical programs and if the person replied I received very brief yes or no replies. I realized I'm much more interested in pure research programs so now I'm emailing experimental programs. All but one has replied and most send very nice replies asking about my research experiences. 🙂

 

[hellosunnydays]

Agreed. In this situation, I'd email the grad secretary/admissions coordinator and politely ask if she knows if Prof. X plans to review applications this year.

On many of the PsyD program websites, they have faculty listed so I wasn't sure if they were accepting students the oncoming year. That's great advice to ask the graduate secretary!

 

[Psych Dork]

Should I still apply to a program where the professor I am interested in working with has not returned my e-mails?

 

[Xararsis]

I have been told by many people that some professors are really bad at getting back to incoming students. Has it been a long time since you've emailed the person? I wouldn't fret too much especially if you have multiple potential professors to work under at the program.

 

[Existenz]

yes I would apply; however, if a prof isn't returning emails this s a bad sign of things to come. All the best ones seems responsive to emails and calls. Before this application season, I spoke with 7 researchers before I even applied via phone.

 

[Psych Dork]

Thanks, I was really excited about this school and professor, so I will definitely still apply. I plan on e-mailing all the professors I contacted once I've submitted my application. Do you think I should still e-mail the non-responsive one? I don't want to seem like a bother...

 

[lookitssara]

PsychDork, there are professors in my department that do not respond to emails until they've received the second one. For many, they receive 150 emails in a day and just forget about the non-crucial ones. I'm a big fan of resending/forwarding the email back. Sometimes I just resend the exact same thing, others I tack on a "not sure if you got this the first time, my email has been acting out of sorts".

Also...GO GREEN!

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I agree with the others thus far--unless you've explicitly heard that a professor/program isn't taking students, then it generally can't hurt to apply (other than financially, anyway).

 

[cara susanna]

All of my interviews were with people who never responded to me, so I say heck yeah.

 

[SnowBubble]

Hi guys,

So I was considering emailing profs but I'm not sure if I have anything to say... I found enough information on the school's websites to determine whether they were taking students and what their research interests are. I suppose I could ask them what their current projects are, but I've already given my letter writers my rec info so I'm already def applying to these schools. A couple people have expressed that there really isn't any point to "intent to apply" emails, which is what I was planning on doing at this point. I guess I assumed that by not emailing I was setting myself up for a disadvantage? I know there are the exception cases where emailing def helps and not emailing doesn't make a difference, but in general...any thoughts? I sort of have mixed feelings now. Should I email profs or not?

Thanks!

 

[nycegurl]

I feel like it doesn't necessarily place you at a disadvantage since many times, professors may not remember your name or your stats even if you had exchanged an email or two with them. Especially professors that have been bombarded with emails. So I think that if you already know that you're applying to that program and told your letter writers so, then what you mainly need to do is just make sure you have a good personal statement and when the time comes a good interview.

Best of luck!

Hi guys,

So I was considering emailing profs but I'm not sure if I have anything to say... I found enough information on the school's websites to determine whether they were taking students and what their research interests are. I suppose I could ask them what their current projects are, but I've already given my letter writers my rec info so I'm already def applying to these schools. A couple people have expressed that there really isn't any point to "intent to apply" emails, which is what I was planning on doing at this point. I guess I assumed that by not emailing I was setting myself up for a disadvantage? I know there are the exception cases where emailing def helps and not emailing doesn't make a difference, but in general...any thoughts? I sort of have mixed feelings now. Should I email profs or not?

Thanks!

 

[RejectClinical]

Hi guys,

So I was considering emailing profs but I'm not sure if I have anything to say... I found enough information on the school's websites to determine whether they were taking students and what their research interests are. I suppose I could ask them what their current projects are, but I've already given my letter writers my rec info so I'm already def applying to these schools. A couple people have expressed that there really isn't any point to "intent to apply" emails, which is what I was planning on doing at this point. I guess I assumed that by not emailing I was setting myself up for a disadvantage? I know there are the exception cases where emailing def helps and not emailing doesn't make a difference, but in general...any thoughts? I sort of have mixed feelings now. Should I email profs or not?

Thanks!

It won't hurt to email them. Furthemore, I know there was one prof whose website stated she was accepting students, but I found out otherwise when I emailed her last year. I also think it is helpful to contact profs to find out their current research direction since their websites may not be updated.

 

[Psychology 76]

I've had great success contacting professors and it has really helped me narrow down a final list of schools. Most of them have replied and a decent amount have offered to talk about research and stuff on the phone. I think if you are able to talk to a POI over the phone they will be much more likely to remember you come application time.

However, even though I had good pre-application correspondence I have no idea if it will actually help me get accepted...

 

[krisrox]

I've had great success contacting professors and it has really helped me narrow down a final list of schools. Most of them have replied and a decent amount have offered to talk about research and stuff on the phone. I think if you are able to talk to a POI over the phone they will be much more likely to remember you come application time.

However, even though I had good pre-application correspondence I have no idea if it will actually help me get accepted...

It may not help you get in directly, but it will help you determine a few key factors. 1. you get to talk about research, so you can be sure that you're a good research match, or weed out the faculty with whom you don't have a good match; 2. you get a feel for the faculty's personality over the phone; and 3. you have the peace of mind that the faculty member cares enough about his/her students that he sets up phone talks with applicants!

 

[SnowBubble]

Thanks nycegurl! Yeah, thinking about tailoring an email to so many faculty when I don't even have very much to say is overwhelming!

Thanks RejectClinical, that's one of the big reasons I was considering email faculty even though I've already chosen the schools. I might just email a few faculty, for my top choices, just to double check that they're accepting students!

 

[phdhopeful2011]

I have a quick question about graduate school. I was wondering when you wrote your perspective mentors what you said in the e-mail. Did you talk about yourself and why you're interested in working with them? How long was the e-mail? Did most of them write you back?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

It's been a little while since I went through this, but from what I remember, my initial contact was rather brief--I mentioned my name and that I was interested in applying to work in their lab, asked if they were planning on accepting students for the next year, put in a SHORT blurb (i.e., one or two sentences) detailing what aspects of their current/previous work I'd found interesting, and asked if they had any favorites/recommendations as to publications I should read up on.