About few years ago, I was nervous about the prospect of getting admission. I was not sure if the research project that I was doing was going to help me getting accepted to top programs. So I sent emails to professors at one particular school X I was interested in (not my school). I asked them what they were looking for from successful applicants, whether my research project is going to be helpful. Unfortunately, I was messed up with the formatting when sending emails to some professors, so I had to send emails to them again. Surprisingly, I got responses from about 10 professors within less than a day, which were all pretty positive and supportive.
However, in retrospect, I am concerned if my emailing was not in accord with the norms in academia. In particular, I heard someone saying that prospective applicants should not contact the faculty as they might appear native, not understanding the process. Do you think the faculty at school X will remember the emails I sent years ago ? Do you think professors who did not reply to my email will have negative impression about me? School X is one of my top choice.
Thanks.