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Tepid take: Prospective PhD students should reach out to professors they would like to work with. If these profs. don't respond or say they are too busy. That is a great signal about how you will be treated by said prof when you arrive. 1/n
Profs get a ton of these emails. Many are dead ends. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't respond or engage. 2/n
I'm sure at the big places (don't need me to name them) these requests are exponentially increased over the mean. But, students should be aware that they may get more/better access at a place where a professor responds than at un-named big place 3/n
Going to a highly ranked PhD program and not getting good mentoring is worse than going to a middle-tier place and working with a great mentor (my experience) 4/n
Of course, holding everything equal, going to a great place and having great mentors is preferred to all alternatives, but back to the start...if they can't even respond to you when in the courting phase, what will happen when they put a ring on it? 5/n
Also, always a good idea to reach out to multiple prospective advisors. You may need multiple advisors to serve different functions. I did. I needed someone to push me to be better, but also needed someone to support me when I struggled. Also, professors leave, retire, sabbatical
