<p>What's the etiquette for contacting professors at specific colleges before applying? I'm considering applying to a school with a professor who does research very similar to what I've been doing for the past two years; she knows my mentor/lab head and would certainly understand the importance of my research (in a way an admissions committee wouldn't).</p>
<p>Can I email this professor out of the blue and tell her that I'm interested in her institution and her lab (maybe working there if admitted)? Should I send her a copy of my paper, assuming my lab head doesn't object? Any opinions welcome--thanks!</p>
<p>At UG level.......professors are of little help at most places .......however if the communication carries on for more than 50 days....it cud give a slight edge.....</p>
<p>although for all ur communication be formal.... use standard letter formats and show courtesy......also be sure to use no abbreviations while writin there</p>
<p>You can contact whomever you want, just be realistic about receiving a response, as these are faculty members with their own full teaching loads, research responsibilities, and personal lives. I think that you have a mutual contact will help, but in general faculty members aren't going to be the most responsive to prospective students.</p>
<p>You can do all that you describe. It's fine to send the info in an e-mail while using smartmind's suggestions about grammar, courtesy, etc.</p>
<p>Assuming that you've got a serious interest in the subject and are asking for a serious response and that you use the guidelines described earlier, you'll probably get one. If you don't, I seriously suggest not applying to the college because it seems that it will not be the type of place that would give you the individual attention that you desire.</p>
<p>I know that when my S visited Emory, I asked a department chair whether it would be OK if S contacted faculty if he had a question about research that he was doing that related to a faculty member's expertise. The department chair said that he would be very disappointed if any of his faculty did NOT respond to that kind of sincere request from a h.s. student.</p>
<p>This is the way that faculty respond at student-centered places. Liberal arts colleges are known for such responses as are universities that put lots of emphasis on professors teaching, not just doing great research.</p>
<p>For those reading this who now are considering contacting professors just to show interest, please don't bother. Such queries only waste professors time and irritate the professors and adcoms. Sincere queries that are related to a professors' expertise are regarded differently because they are rare and demonstrate a high degree of interest in the college and field.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions!</p>
<p>I think I should receive a response--this particular professor and I are actually working on very similar aspects of the particular field, so hopefully I can come across as more than just a prospective student looking for an in. It's also a relatively "small" field (in terms of the labs pursuing this particular question), so my lab head and mentor certainly know this professor. I think a nicely worded email mentioning that I've been working with them should garner a response, if only as a courtesy to the members of my lab.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with Northstarmom, though--a visiting Colgate admissions officer suggested a month ago that anybody interested in science email a particular biology professor on campus, though I don't think anybody in my school did. Absent any particular association, it just seems unnecessary.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, did your son contact the professor at Emory? If so, did he receive a response?</p>
<p>No, son didn't contact the prof at Emory because S didn't end up doing research in that field. S did, though, meet with a prof at a state university near us who is working in a field that S is considering. S was a big shy about approaching the prof, do hesitated about contacting him. When S eventually did, the prof was very welcoming and informative. Even at large state universities, profs can be helpful if students demonstrate a serious interest in their subject.</p>