1/36 VERY LONG THREAD!: Some thoughts (from advisor point-of-view) about reaching out to prospective grad-school advisors. First, disclaimers: These are my views, I’m just one person informed by my own path/experience, as well as privilege and biases. Seek advice from many! https://twitter.com/Tay_Tayy3/status/1288990105370275842

2/ Additionally, my thoughts are specific to my field (geoscience) and may not be relevant/applicable to all fields. And, of course, this is not meant to be comprehensive or exhaustive, is merely some tips to ponder. Okay, let’s get into it.

3/ There are four components to my advice for final-year undergraduates (or those who have recently graduated) regarding reaching out potential graduate programs:

(1) Start early
(2) Do the research
(3) You’re applying to work w/ a person
(4) Writing the initial email

4/ *Start Early*: I recommend getting your research going on what programs/advisors you’re interested in ~one year ahead of time at the latest. For example, if wanting to start grad school in August 2021, you would be educating yourself about options in August 2020.

5/ Application deadlines for typical admission cycle is usually December/January, meaning that if you wait to start researching advisors until well into the fall semester, you may find yourself working through the process hastily, which is not ideal (and can be stressful!)

6/ Another reason to start early is because it takes *time* for correspondence (more on that below) to happen. It may take several weeks or even a few months to have meaningful back-and-forth correspondence w/ a potential advisor.

7/ Starting early also allows for possibility of meeting with a potential advisor (e.g., via Zoom/Skype, at an in-person conference, etc.) — such meetings don’t always happen, but if you reach out too late, it definitely won’t

8/ *Do the Research*: Learning about potential advisors, programs, and areas of research requires more effort than you might think. What is the application process? When is the deadline (which will differ depending on institution)?

9/ I suggest creating a spreadsheet w/ rows for potential advisors/programs and columns for basic info found on most department websites. Gather this info *before* you reach out to a potential advisor (there’s no need to ask them questions that can easily be found on a website)

10/ Creating this database will allow you to keep track of the sometimes-confusing information as you go — and you can put notes, thoughts, ideas, etc. in there that can help you make decisions (e.g., pros/cons of different options)

11/ Regarding what type of area of research, this can be less straightforward than the basic info in many cases — many potential advisors have personal/research-group websites that explains what they do and is kept up to date — but, beware, not everyone does this!

12/ Some things to look for on such websites (not an exhaustive list) include: recent publications, recent/active funded grants, a ‘people’ page that summarizes current/past grad students, post-docs, etc.

13/ It’s not expected that you instantly become an expert in what they do and read all their papers … but, getting a feel for the *kind* of work they do (e.g., modeling, laboratory, field, integrated, etc.) is important

14/ There’s obviously a whole bunch more that could be said about this, so reaching out to others for advice is key — also, all this feeds into why starting early is important: it takes effort (and, therefore, time) to do your ‘homework’ about this

15/ *You’re Applying to Work With a Person*: This is an aspect that could significantly differ by discipline, I can only speak to my experience — applying to graduate school is fundamentally different than applying to college/undergraduate

16/ It’s less about the institution/university and more about the *person* you will work with and be mentored by — to be clear, I’m not saying the institution/department doesn’t matter, just that there’s more weight on the advisor

17/ The advisor-grad student relationship can be similar to an apprenticeship (at least some aspects of it are) — you will be learning the trade of doing science/research from a mentor, thus that relationship will be fundamental

18/ It’s impossible to learn *everything* about what it’s like to work with someone in this scenario, but if you do end up connecting with them (e.g., phone or Zoom), you can get a sense. You could also reach out to current/former grad students.

19/ There is so much more that could be said about how to gauge what a mentor-student relationship might be like, including numerous stories of awful/toxic advisors — again, this is where starting early can hopefully reveal those to steer clear of (regardless of their prominence)

20/ *Writing the Initial Email*: You’ve made it to the part of this long thread you were probably most interested in. First, perhaps this is obvious, but there’s not really a ‘form’ email for this, if there was you probably would’ve found it by now.

21/ Draft this email as you would any important document. Create a Word/Google doc and take your time crafting it, don’t rush it while on your phone while eating lunch or something. Again, this is where starting early provides the time.

22/ What should this initial email say? This is where there could be some significant difference of opinion from others (faculty: feel free to chime in here) — thus, yet another reason to seek out advice from multiple people — okay, here’s what I like to see:

23/ Not too short, not too long, two paragraphs max. State your name, current/former institution, degree you will be getting (or have). State what you want, e.g., “I want to pursue a master’s degree in geoscience and your research program looks like a great fit for my interests.”

24/ State your longer-term goals. Are you interested in going into industry after a master’s? Getting a Ph.D. and academia? I appreciate you may not know yet, so I think it’s okay to communicate that too!

25/ The above would be in that first paragraph, which would close with the “ask”, that is you want provide them a clear-cut task to do (i.e., to answer you). For example, “Will you be accepting new grad students to start in 20XX?” You might even put that in bold.

26/ The second paragraph can *succinctly* summarize what you’ve done/are doing that is potentially associated with their research group. Maybe it’s a class you are taking, or some undergraduate research you participated in.

27/ Don’t get too hung up on if this doesn’t *exactly* match what they do (it’s likely it won’t) … that’s okay … for me, I like to see that a prospective student has had some exposure to participating in research, in need not be in my specific field.

28/ Don’t go overboard on this second paragraph! I’ve gotten some emails that are simply way too long. Keep it succinct. You can refer them to your resume/CV for details.

29/ Speaking of resume/CV, I recommend converting to a PDF (instead of keeping as a Word doc) and then include your name and year in the filename. Having multiple files on my computer called “resume.docx” is bothersome. (I know this is a nit-picky thing, but it’s real.)

30/ Get at least one person to read this draft email before you send. Okay, you’ve sent off the email, now what? Unfortunately, it’s unlikely you will get an *immediate* response. Who knows, that person could be on leave or just incredibly busy. Don’t take it personal.

31/ In my view, if you don’t get a reply in 2-3 weeks, I think it’s appropriate to send a follow-up email. You are hopefully understanding why I’m harping on why it’s useful to start this process early.

32/ When you do get a reply, hopefully it’s solid info for you. They might say “I’m sorry, but I’m not accepting any new students to my group this cycle.” — This is huge disappointment, I know, but it’s important to know it so you can move on.

33/ Or, they might say “Please contact me in X weeks because I’m waiting to hear about a pending grant.” — remember, in most cases, they are trying to raise $$ that supports grad students (how you will get paid) and sometimes the timing isn't perfectly aligned

34/ Or, they might reply “Yes, I will be accepting students, I encourage you to apply.” — this is an excellent reply because it provides you a straightforward next step (preparing/submitting the application)

35/ If you are encouraged to apply, you might respond that you are aware of the deadline and know the process (communicating that you are “on it”) — and, this is the opportunity to ask any follow-up questions

36/ Although this thread is now ridiculously long, it isn’t an exhaustive thread of all the possible scenarios, just a few tips.
Finally, I strongly encourage you to seek out advice about this process from multiple people to gather a broader, more diverse range of opinions /END