Hi!
I will be applying to biomedical sciences umbrella programs (neuroscience concentration) for Fall 2016, and I have heard mixed reviews on whether it is helpful to contact researchers that you are interested in working with or doing rotations with. I have heard that professors/researchers don’t really have much of a say in the admissions process. I’m sure they also get a bunch of emails, so I don’t even know if they would have the time to respond to everyone. Some people are still advising me to contact specific researchers, which I am willing to do if it won’t be bothering them and if it will actually help.
If you do it, don’t expect more than a perfunctory response. I get a lot of these requests and I am polite but tell the students to apply to the graduate program. The best approach is to see if you can engage the professor by discussing her/his research. This means that you need to do your homework and really read about the research, be able to ask intelligent questions and see if there are opportunities to volunteer.
Personally, I think that this is wasted energy as professors really don’t seem to have pull in the admissions process at that stage. Professors who interview you after the applications are initially read and you are invited to interview do have some pull. Instead of spending time contacting professors, spend your time crafting your best personal and research statement. Spend the time to make sure you have a properly formatted and acceptable C.V. (Notice I said C.V. and not resume.) Also make sure that you know your research well enough to talk about it during interviews.