<p>wow so many responses lately!
what i’m basically getting is that knowing a professor won’t help me directly but the fact that he was impressed with my qualifications means that admissions officers should be fairly impressed as well
i guess i’ll just keep working on my EC’s, community service, and SATs (got a 2050 in Dec ughh but Jan scores come out on Thurs)</p>
<p>“the fact that he was impressed with my qualifications means that admissions officers should be fairly impressed as well”</p>
<p>No that’s not what that means. Professors won’t have an understanding of how you fit into the pool.</p>
<p>Maybe the thing to do is address the OP … </p>
<p>If this professor says your research is impressive, that is meaningful. Almost all professors have zero input, or knowledge, of admissions or the applicant pool at a research University. </p>
<p>A letter of recommendation would from a Brown faculty member would certainly be of value, as would a similar letter from Harvard, Duke, etc.</p>
<p>If you are getting to know this person simply as an angle for admissions, that would be pretty manipulative.</p>
<p>There is no place for a professor to “put in a good word”. However, if they are well known, a thoughtful letter can’t hurt. Anybody saying that knowing a professor makes you a “lock” doesn’t know how things work.</p>
<p>AHH soo many conflicting opinions >.<
i’ve honestly been so busy that i haven’t really had a chance to contact him again anyway so i’ll just read through his papers, maybe ask a couple questions about Brown and be done w/it… i don’t really have the time to stay in contact with a professor i’m not too interested in i was mostly hoping he could get me in touch with someone from a department i care about so i could find out a little bit more about it firsthand</p>
<p>For the people arguing over whether it would “lock” me in, that’s not even what I was asking, i asked if it would help AT ALL but that’s not the only reason why i’m doing it… i also want to find out a little bit more about the school i love other than whats on the website</p>
<p>anyway i think it will be better for me to focus on my schoolwork and my research HERE rather than trying to stay in contact with a professor 3 states away
hopefully all will go well in december of 2010 :)</p>
<p>gosh now i’m sounding defensive… whatever you guys don’t even know who i am so i guess i shouldn’t get too defensive but i feel like everyone is blowing what i say out of proportion</p>
<p>…most people are misunderstanding you at all. You sound very sensible.</p>
<p>I’m starting to get really annoyed with CC in general
I joined about a week ago and almost EVERY thread eventually leads to some giant argument over a small issue but blown out of proportion (will this help does not mean will this lock me in for admission so arguing over that because it won’t help anyone)
I just wanted some advice but people are now arguing over whether it would “lock me in” for admission which I know it won’t… nothing will, except maybe like a 10 generation legacy along with being a qualified applicant but even that isn’t 100%
But if it does make a difference I was a 2009/2010 Siemens semifinalist (idr if I mentioned that before) and I found out yesterday I made it to the 2nd day of my regional ISEF competition (top 30% of about 400 projects move on… not really anything amazing yet but it’s progress)… while NO this professor doesn’t know where I stand with the rest of the app pool I’m pretty sure he knows what these competitions are and if what I’ve won actually means something</p>
<p>hopefully, check your PM</p>
<p>I can’t wait till the day that students get into the Ivy League by knowing me…</p>