With all these thoughts floating around in my head (and with a little incentive from Lynn) I decided to start contacting faculty for my top schools. This was sort of a difficult task for me. Who would I contact first? How many faculty for each school? After reviewing some my grad. school data sheets I realized that all of my applications (except one) are due in December, therefore I decided to just contact all of the faculty I was interested in for each of my schools.
I sent out a total of 15 e-mails on a Friday and was receiving responses on a Saturday! I have had 11 of the 15 e-mails responded to in a week time span.
All of the responses are very encouraging and some even say things such as "I will look carefully at your application when it comes in". Not only does this make me more excited to apply, it also allows me to see which schools are being responsive and will help me to decide which schools I will be visiting shortly.
The main point I want to stress is that a simple e-mail can make such a huge impact on getting faculty to notice you and when they start hearing your name multiple times before receiving your application they are going to remember that name. I also strongly encourage you all to start corresponding with faculty because it makes the process seem like more of a reality and really boosts your energy on delving into the application process.
Kayla, I'm so glad that you made this post! Yes, yes, yes. I will forever continue my mantra of saying that scholars that make contact and visit schools, are usually accepted and receive funding at those schools. Making contact is the true key! Go Kayla!
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