<p>For a PhD program, how important do you think it is to contact professors in the department you are applying to? And if you are a current graduate student, can you share your experience on this subject with us?</p>
<p>All fields are welcome... In particular I'm wondering whether this plays a major factor in biochemistry/molecular bio admissions, and at UC campuses (UCSF, UC Berkeley, UCSD, etc)</p>
<p>I know I saw an old thread on this somewhere, but I don't know how to find it again, sorry.</p>
<p>I can't speak from a biosciences perspective, but here in ECE there's a slim chance that you will come into the program with an advisor. Most everyone that had one got one by having that professor be impressed with their application and wanting them as an RA, but those cases are rare unless you had some super specific experience or worked some before coming. For the others there's a lot of proving one's self to try to get funding, which typically takes 1-2 semesters.</p>
<p>For me personally, I didn't contact any professors ahead of time because frankly I didn't know what I wanted to do. In fact, most people do not know what they specifically want to do by the time they matriculate for grad school. I saw some survey over on a physics-oriented website that a good chunk (>50%) didn't find their area until some time during their first year. Ultimately, I got headhunted about halfway through my first semester by a professor who read my application and just got some new long-term funding.</p>
<p>I'm in biomedical sciences, and I did not contact professors.</p>
<p>It can be a helpful leg up if you really have somebody you want to work with and have a meaningful exchange with him or her prior to applications, but merely the act of emailing is not going to help in any significant way.</p>