January 20, 2020
TRENDING
Waiting For Admissions Results: How To Stay Sane
•
Graduate School With A Low GPA
•
I Found A Typo In My Statement of Purpose After I Submitted!
•
How Important Is Publishing Before Grad School?
•
What If I Like The Program, But Not The Professor?
•
Online PhD vs. Online Doctorate — What’s The Difference?
•
Can I Turn Down An Interview?
•
I Haven’t Heard Back Yet, AM I REJECTED?
•
Grad School Interview Conflicts
•
Explaining A Low GPA in Your Statement of Purpose
•
Example Email To Professor
•
Top Universities You Didn’t Know Had Online Masters Degree Programs
•
You CAN Get Into Grad School With Low GRE Scores
•
My Recommender Is Famous, I’m Kind Of A Big Deal
•
Should I Contact Professors Before Applying?
•
How Many GRE Words Should I Learn?
•
Degree Inflation: 4 Ways It Impacts Your Applications
•
Graduate Application Differences: UK vs USA
•
GRE Writing Section: The Last Word On If It Matters
•
Where To Find GRE Practice Exams
•
Tips For Choosing Online Graduate Programs
•
What Is The Difference Between A CV And A Resume?
•
5 Best GRE Prep Books
•
10 Tips: Getting Into Grad School With A Low GPA
•
Grade Inflation And Graduate Admissions
•
Graduate School Application Timeline
•
Most Common Graduate School Application Mistakes
•
How To Write Your Own Grad School Recommendation Letter
•
Do I need to write a new Statement of Purpose for each school?
•
Should I Reapply After A Grad School Rejection?
•
How To Choose A Grad School Writing Sample
•
How To Write A Diversity Statement
•
A LoR Warning To European Students
•
Tips For Future Graduate School Applicants
•
How To Get An Amazing Letter Of Recommendation
•
The Summer Before Graduate School
•
Grad School Beginner’s Guide
•
Who To Ask For A Letter Of Recommendation?
•
Grad School Without Letters of Recommendation
•
Best Websites for Graduate Admissions Advice
•
Graduate Admissions Interview Questions
•
What To Expect At A Graduate Interview
•
TV Shows For GRE Vocabulary Study
•
Admissions Interview: What To Wear
•
How To Make The Right Grad Program Decision
•
Should I Contact Professors Before Applying?
This is a pretty common question among graduate school applicants: Should I contact a professor before applying if I’m interested in working with them?
The answer: sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Given how unhelpful that answer is, we’ll elaborate.
Useful Details
In almost all cases, faculty members cannot influence the admission process. Students generally contact professors before applying thinking it will help them get accepted. The truth is that if you’re applying to most US programs, contacting a faculty member won’t help your chances–even if they end up loving you.
There are (usually) two levels of graduate admission criteria: University and Departmental. The University has general standards they want their student body to adhere to, so typically the GRE and GPA are evaluated at the upper University level. Major GPA, Letters of Recommendation, and Personal Statements however, are generally evaluated at the Department level. This should make sense– the University has broad core standards, while each Department has specific requirements for its graduate student openings.
When To Contact
There are three cases where you should definitely contact professors before applying.
(1) To find out if that professor, department, or program is accepting new students.
In a given year each department/program will have a target number of incoming students based on research areas. This is important to keep in mind: it’s not uncommon for someone applying to a popular research area (e.g. Artificial Intelligence in Computer Science) to be rejected because the department wasn’t letting in new students to that area–but had the same person applied to another research area (e.g. Operating Systems) that was looking for new students, they would have been admitted. It behooves all applicants to know if their intended research areas and faculty are accepting new students before wasting so much of their time applying. Unfortunately this information isn’t always readily available on departmental websites.
Beyond research area, it’s possible for programs (even large ones) to decrease (or even cease) their grad student in take from time to time. Grant funding can waiver, they could have had an abnormally high expectance rate the prior year, and topics can fall out of favor. Applying to a program that’s only accepting two students or highlighting a professor that has no funding for new students can spell death for an application. There is no harm (and in fact it’s your responsibility) in ensuring that your target program/professor is taking on new students. Emailing faculty or administration directly to ask about their upcoming academic year can save you hundreds of dollars and countless hours, not to mention avoiding the psychological distress of rejections. This will ultimately help you put more effort where it counts.
(2) If the PhD program doesn’t do rotations, i.e. you join a group immediately.
There are two general types of PhD program structures. One is where students are admitted and do rotations. In this set up they enter without commitment to any given professor, and throughout their first year (sometimes even into their second) they decide on a thesis advisor. The other type is one where an advisor commits to you based on your application. You enter the program already having a thesis advisor. In most cases you can switch if you want to, but there are no rotations and your initial funding is based on that faculty member agreeing to pay for you the first year.
If you’re applying to a program that matches students and faculty from the very start– it’s very important to be engaged with faculty as soon as possible. While your application still has to be approved by the university in these cases, faculty will “refer” your application, essentially telling the graduate school that they want you to be admitted. For this program structure it’s a good idea to not only have a very concrete idea of what you want to work on, but also exactly who you want to work with before starting the application. Contacting faculty early on in the process can be a game changer when it comes to admissions.
That said, if you’re applying to rotation based programs, contacting faculty is largely a waste of time. They have no say so in the admissions process and usually shy away from getting too involved with students until they know whether you’re attending or not.
(3) If you legitimately have a question about their research or research direction.
This is an obvious resource but often shrugged off by timid applicants. If you have an actual question about a persons work or future ambitions, or even a question about an idea you have– it’s completely ok to write a faculty member and ask them about it. If you’re genuinely interested and looking for legitimate feedback (and not just sucking up for the sake of admissions), most faculty members will have no issue sharing that kind of information or discussing research. Make sure you frame it so that it’s clear you’re not looking for an admissions boost, just due diligence to make sure your research interests align.
When Not To Contact
If your situation doesn’t fall into one of the three categories above, it’s probably best to delete that draft email and focus on more important aspects of your application. If you’re applying to a relatively large department that consistently lets in at least 10-20 new graduate students a year and has a rotation system for first year students–contacting faculty is a waste of your (and their) time.
Keep in mind that each department and subject operates a little differently. Some programs are heavily focused on networking (e.g. business/economics), others tend to be more cut and dry (e.g. biomedical engineering). Depending on your field, contacting faculty may be more or less common. If you’re in doubt, just email the program. The admissions administrator has no say so on who gets in, so you don’t have to feel stupid, and in most cases they’re super helpful and provide a lot of useful information. Send them an email asking if it’s appropriate to contact professors before applying and you’ll get a very direct answer–that’s what they’re there for!
Readers Comments
Trending Topics
Can I Turn Down An Interview?
December 25th, 2016Yes. But you probably shouldn’t turn down a grad school interview. Next question…… Not a satisfying answer? Ok, we’ll elaborate. Note: If you want to attend, but have ...
Grad School Interview Conflicts
December 13th, 2016Grad school interview conflicts are a great problem to have, but a problem nonetheless. The first time you get an interview invitation, it’s incredibly exciting. Then ...
Trending
What If I Like The Program, But Not The Professor?
March 25th, 2018You’ve landed a spot at one of your top programs. You’re so excited for the prospective visit weekend that you can’t sleep. You’ve worked on ...
Waiting For Admissions Results: How To Stay Sane
December 24th, 2016All your applications are submitted. The holidays are over. All that’s left is waiting for graduate admissions results to roll in. Life is great, right? ...
Trending
You CAN Get Into Grad School With Low GRE Scores
June 19th, 2016Grad School With Low GRE Scores? Yes! We’re going to try and convince you that you can get into graduate school with a mediocre GRE ...
How Many GRE Words Should I Learn?
May 10th, 2016Learning GRE words can be a daunting aspect of your study program. It’s about practicing questions andlearning material, which is a process that can takes weeks, months, or even years. This ...
Trending Topics
Can I Turn Down An Interview?
December 25th, 2016Yes. But you probably shouldn’t turn down a grad school interview. Next question…… Not a satisfying answer? Ok, we’ll elaborate. Note: If you want to attend, but have ...
Grad School Interview Conflicts
December 13th, 2016Grad school interview conflicts are a great problem to have, but a problem nonetheless. The first time you get an interview invitation, it’s incredibly exciting. Then ...
Trending
What If I Like The Program, But Not The Professor?
March 25th, 2018You’ve landed a spot at one of your top programs. You’re so excited for the prospective visit weekend that you can’t sleep. You’ve worked on ...
Waiting For Admissions Results: How To Stay Sane
December 24th, 2016All your applications are submitted. The holidays are over. All that’s left is waiting for graduate admissions results to roll in. Life is great, right? ...
Trending
You CAN Get Into Grad School With Low GRE Scores
June 19th, 2016Grad School With Low GRE Scores? Yes! We’re going to try and convince you that you can get into graduate school with a mediocre GRE ...
How Many GRE Words Should I Learn?
May 10th, 2016Learning GRE words can be a daunting aspect of your study program. It’s about practicing questions andlearning material, which is a process that can takes weeks, months, or even years. This ...
Should I Contact Professors Before Applying?
May 24th, 2016
This is a pretty common question among graduate school applicants: Should I contact a professor before applying if I’m interested in working with them?
The answer: sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Given how unhelpful that answer is, we’ll elaborate.
Useful Details
In almost all cases, faculty members cannot influence the admission process. Students generally contact professors before applying thinking it will help them get accepted. The truth is that if you’re applying to most US programs, contacting a faculty member won’t help your chances–even if they end up loving you.
There are (usually) two levels of graduate admission criteria: University and Departmental. The University has general standards they want their student body to adhere to, so typically the GRE and GPA are evaluated at the upper University level. Major GPA, Letters of Recommendation, and Personal Statements however, are generally evaluated at the Department level. This should make sense– the University has broad core standards, while each Department has specific requirements for its graduate student openings.
When To Contact
There are three cases where you should definitely contact professors before applying.
(1) To find out if that professor, department, or program is accepting new students.
In a given year each department/program will have a target number of incoming students based on research areas. This is important to keep in mind: it’s not uncommon for someone applying to a popular research area (e.g. Artificial Intelligence in Computer Science) to be rejected because the department wasn’t letting in new students to that area–but had the same person applied to another research area (e.g. Operating Systems) that was looking for new students, they would have been admitted. It behooves all applicants to know if their intended research areas and faculty are accepting new students before wasting so much of their time applying. Unfortunately this information isn’t always readily available on departmental websites.
Beyond research area, it’s possible for programs (even large ones) to decrease (or even cease) their grad student in take from time to time. Grant funding can waiver, they could have had an abnormally high expectance rate the prior year, and topics can fall out of favor. Applying to a program that’s only accepting two students or highlighting a professor that has no funding for new students can spell death for an application. There is no harm (and in fact it’s your responsibility) in ensuring that your target program/professor is taking on new students. Emailing faculty or administration directly to ask about their upcoming academic year can save you hundreds of dollars and countless hours, not to mention avoiding the psychological distress of rejections. This will ultimately help you put more effort where it counts.
(2) If the PhD program doesn’t do rotations, i.e. you join a group immediately.
There are two general types of PhD program structures. One is where students are admitted and do rotations. In this set up they enter without commitment to any given professor, and throughout their first year (sometimes even into their second) they decide on a thesis advisor. The other type is one where an advisor commits to you based on your application. You enter the program already having a thesis advisor. In most cases you can switch if you want to, but there are no rotations and your initial funding is based on that faculty member agreeing to pay for you the first year.
If you’re applying to a program that matches students and faculty from the very start– it’s very important to be engaged with faculty as soon as possible. While your application still has to be approved by the university in these cases, faculty will “refer” your application, essentially telling the graduate school that they want you to be admitted. For this program structure it’s a good idea to not only have a very concrete idea of what you want to work on, but also exactly who you want to work with before starting the application. Contacting faculty early on in the process can be a game changer when it comes to admissions.
That said, if you’re applying to rotation based programs, contacting faculty is largely a waste of time. They have no say so in the admissions process and usually shy away from getting too involved with students until they know whether you’re attending or not.
(3) If you legitimately have a question about their research or research direction.
This is an obvious resource but often shrugged off by timid applicants. If you have an actual question about a persons work or future ambitions, or even a question about an idea you have– it’s completely ok to write a faculty member and ask them about it. If you’re genuinely interested and looking for legitimate feedback (and not just sucking up for the sake of admissions), most faculty members will have no issue sharing that kind of information or discussing research. Make sure you frame it so that it’s clear you’re not looking for an admissions boost, just due diligence to make sure your research interests align.
When Not To Contact
If your situation doesn’t fall into one of the three categories above, it’s probably best to delete that draft email and focus on more important aspects of your application. If you’re applying to a relatively large department that consistently lets in at least 10-20 new graduate students a year and has a rotation system for first year students–contacting faculty is a waste of your (and their) time.
Keep in mind that each department and subject operates a little differently. Some programs are heavily focused on networking (e.g. business/economics), others tend to be more cut and dry (e.g. biomedical engineering). Depending on your field, contacting faculty may be more or less common. If you’re in doubt, just email the program. The admissions administrator has no say so on who gets in, so you don’t have to feel stupid, and in most cases they’re super helpful and provide a lot of useful information. Send them an email asking if it’s appropriate to contact professors before applying and you’ll get a very direct answer–that’s what they’re there for!
@
