When to email PI?

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Rising_Sagicorn

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I had been looking through my school's undergraduate research page and I found some labs that seemed of interest to me but these posts were made this past academic year. Should/ Can I email the PI to see if the opportunity is available for the upcoming academic year? Also since some of the posts were posted early last year (September/October), should I email them over the summer to meet? Thanks!
 
In my experience PIs are super busy people who aren't always the most organized, so, I wouldn't necessarily go by what their webpage says. If you see a lab you're interested in, send them an email. ASAP. If they have space and your enthusiasm for the work they do shines through, you'll probably get an invitation to stop by and meet them. If not, they'll ignore you (if this happens, politely email again) or they'll tell you they don't have space.

You've got nothing to lose by asking as long as you are sincerely interested, and send professional emails.
 
Try finding the post docs and grad students in the labs emails. They're much more likely to respond.
 
Can I email the PI to see if the opportunity is available for the upcoming academic year? should I email them over the summer to meet? Thanks!
Email now to get your best chance of affiliating with a project you're interested in, as opposed to having to settle for leftovers.
 
If you do email, make sure that you have a genuine interest in the research and maybe a smidge of background knowledge. Some PIs aren't too keen on students who just want to research so they can put it on AMCAS.

All that said, shoot your shot!
 
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