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Re: PhD in Accounting - How proactive should you be in outreaching to schools
I think it can go either way. I reached out to just about every school I was applying to, usually just one or two professors I might want to work with, and always with legitimate questions about research focus, etc. most schools responded and all were positive; nobody said “go through proper channels.” Most conversations were over email but a few folks suggested phone calls.
My take is that it’s not a bad idea, but not necessary. The reasons to do it are 1) get more info and 2) build recognition for your name before the official review round when your name is one on the list. The reason not to do it is that if you are perceived as annoying or petulant you could bias the committee against you. If a school says not to (I think Wharton did?), I didn’t.
For what it’s worth, I got into some schools where I didn’t reach out and got rejected by a program where I had nice back and forth emails and phone calls with two folks. But most of the places I reached out to gave me offers, and I think it helped me (being a “non traditional” applicant).
I guess to sum up: some people will, some people won’t, if the school says not to don’t, it’s not required, it may help just a hair, do it if you think you will benefit from getting the answer to a question, don’t email to say, “just wanted to introduce myself.”