• Tuesday, May 29, 2012
May 29, 2012, 11:02:32 AM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with your Chronicle username and password
News: For all you tweeters, follow The Chronicle on Twitter.
 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: To Email Or Not To Email? That is the Question.  (Read 2375 times)
drphilthethrill
New member
*
Posts: 29


« on: November 30, 2011, 10:54:23 PM »

Hello All!

I'm currently playing the "waiting game" for graduate school. Do you think it is wise to email those in the admissions committee to find out what my chances are and if there is any way to improve, or maybe find out what they're looking for in an applicant, etc... or would that come off as "sucking up"? I ask this because a good friend of mine is currently applying to law schools and has tried this approach and it has paid off for him. My credentials are fine and do not concern me, but I want to be sure I take any approach necessary to better my chances of acceptance. Thoughts?
Logged
systeme_d_
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 11,580

ஜ۩۞۩ஜ


« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2011, 10:59:11 PM »

No, there is no way to do this until after you hear from the schools to which you applied. 

After you are officially rejected from a program, you can email the Director of Graduate Studies in that department and ask what you might focus on in order to strengthen your application for next year's admission cycle, but that's it.  And even that is pushing it.  Often, Directors of Graduate Studies are prohibited from communicating precise reasons for rejection, so you need to tread very lightly.

Right now, sit on your hands, don't touch that keyboard or that phone, and wait.
Logged

sciencegrad
Member
***
Posts: 213


WWW
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2011, 12:37:15 AM »

I second the idea of waiting until after you hear back.  I emailed a couple of the programs that rejected me and one told me that I was rejected due to poor grades my freshman year.  I explained that I had been overworking that year and that since all my grades were much better after I transferred my sophomore year, that my first year was not indicative of my abilities.  He told me that the committee would reconsider me and they did end up offering me admission to the program.
Logged
ls410
Senior member
****
Posts: 407


« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2011, 09:10:08 AM »

Most graduate programs have January deadlines (assuming you're applying for next fall).  Our department doesn't begin looking at applications until after this deadline and so we'd have nothing to tell you now.  At my school applications go directly the Graduate School and then the files are forwarded to the departments after the deadline.

Unless you are one of the applicants that didn't meet the university's minimum GRE score, we would not be able to tell you why you were rejected (and those minimum scores are not secret anyway).  As system_d wrote, there are often strict rules that dictate communication (just as there are for job searches once you finish).

Law school admissions might work differently, but in my social science field an email like this would definitely be sucking up and just plain weird.
Logged
drphilthethrill
New member
*
Posts: 29


« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2011, 10:21:44 AM »

Well the deadlines for this program are today and most have rolling admission so I should be finding out any time. Thanks for the input everyone! I'll just wait it out!
Logged
sugaree
shakin' it since 2007 and only a
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 3,486


« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2011, 10:42:53 AM »

Well the deadlines for this program are today and most have rolling admission so I should be finding out any time. Thanks for the input everyone! I'll just wait it out!

Good idea. And good practice for your future academic life, when you will have to wait to hear about fellowships, publication acceptance/rejection, job offers (if you're lucky!), and so on...
Logged

where's the bourbon?
shrek
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 1,613


« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2011, 11:59:01 AM »

I'm the DGS for my dept and I don't mind these questions at all. In fact I encourage them. But I think they need to come well before the deadline, the last minute stuff does bug me especially if  the applications are thrown together.
Logged
pigou
Senior member
****
Posts: 702


« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2011, 07:33:41 PM »

Quote
Do you think it is wise to email those in the admissions committee to find out what my chances are and if there is any way to improve, or maybe find out what they're looking for in an applicant, etc...
What kind of program are you applying to? I think in general the answer is no. It's usually not too hard to figure out what they're looking for in an applicant anyway: good grades, good letters of recommendation, some research experience... if you're applying to a very prestigious program replace good with "excellent" and, depending on the field, throw in a conference paper and/or peer-reviewed publication. For the statement of purpose, be specific enough for the school to know you looked at their website and have a clue what you're interested in, but not so specific that it looks like you're going to be stranded if one member of the faculty leaves. In some fields, you should be in communication with a potential adviser ahead of time, in others you should avoid contacting faculty.

In general, you should ask the people who write your letters of recommendation to assess your chances and tell you about the norm in your field. They should be familiar with the field you're applying to and by virtue of having agreed to write a letter for you also care enough to help you.

There's generally nothing you can do immediately before a deadline to make your application more appealing. The best use of this time may be to go to your school's writing center (if available) and have them look at your statement of purpose. Next, walk over to the career center and have them look at your resume/CV and make sure everything you did is on there and phrased/formatted appropriately. There are plenty of things, particularly with CVs that are easy to fix and can only benefit your application. If it turns out you don't have enough research experience, on the other hand, or your GPA is too low, you're not going to remedy that by the time the school makes its decision. Similarly with the GRE, but schools generally publish what their median scores are, so as long as you are above that it shouldn't be an issue. (If you are below, it's not necessarily a concern either - half the people who get accepted are so by definition. But it probably means you have a smaller error tolerance on other items.)

By the way: for rolling admissions, I hope you applied well in advance of the deadline? I think, generally speaking, it's easier to get in the earlier you apply.

Best of luck!
Logged
drphilthethrill
New member
*
Posts: 29


« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2011, 10:26:05 PM »

It's a M.Ed program and yes I did all of those things so just crossing my fingers now and waiting. Guess I should focus my attention on finals week of undergrad but instead I'm procrastinating on the forum.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2011, 10:26:42 PM by drphilthethrill » Logged
ticklemepink
bottom of the ocean
Junior member
**
Posts: 94


« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2011, 08:23:50 PM »

Just wait like everybody else.  Academia is full of waiting...waiting...waiting...and more waiting...
Logged
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.9 | SMF © 2006-2008, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!