First, I understand profs are busy people. Second, I'm mostly asking this because finances are tight and I have to limit the number of schools I apply to
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I would think of that probably as a bad sign, but I say that only as an applicant for this cycle whose top-choice advisor got back to her the very next morning...
long windedthe_answer_isSeptember 30 2009, 23:28:48 UTC
How long has it been since you sent the original email? How long since the second email? I am assuming that they are getting bombarded right now, and its not their favorite thing to get to, so I'm giving a lot of room and also thinking that I will have to make phone calls as those are harder to ignore than emails. My experience so far
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Some respond, some don't respond. But generally, if they're taking students they will respond back to you. You could try contacting the grad coordinator and ask for a listing of who is taking students next year, but like I said unfortunately (at least in my experience) a non-response = no room for new students. Should you continue to apply? No, unless you have 2 more faculty members that you'd be interested in working with at that department (and they're taking students). Many programs want you linked up with a mentor either before or during the application decision process, if you have no shot at getting a mentor don't waste your time and money.
If it's a program I'm strongly interested in, absolutely. I'll have my entire master's sequence to build relationships and refine my research interests, and I'm not desperate to work with any one given adviser - their not immediately replying won't make much of a difference in my work. (Note that this is in the fuzzier side of social sciences and absolutely does not apply if you need to, say, wangle a slot in a lab or something.) (Also, this hasn't actually happened to me yet, I'm extrapolating. Everyone I've contacted has gotten back to me, even just to say "sorry, I'm on maternity leave/researching/not taking on new students.")
It depends. What is your field? I know that in the sciences it is more common to connect with a potential adviser before you are accepted. I am in the humanities, and this is far less common.
The programs I am really interested in all have a number of faculty who interest me, so if I don't hear back from one, I'm not worrying as much.
For me, reaching out to faculty members is a nice bonus, you know?
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You could try contacting the grad coordinator and ask for a listing of who is taking students next year, but like I said unfortunately (at least in my experience) a non-response = no room for new students.
Should you continue to apply? No, unless you have 2 more faculty members that you'd be interested in working with at that department (and they're taking students). Many programs want you linked up with a mentor either before or during the application decision process, if you have no shot at getting a mentor don't waste your time and money.
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The programs I am really interested in all have a number of faculty who interest me, so if I don't hear back from one, I'm not worrying as much.
For me, reaching out to faculty members is a nice bonus, you know?
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