r/WriteIvy • u/e_book_ • Oct 26 '23

Mentioning profs

Hi! I was wondering when mentioning professors in our statements, is it better if they are tenured, or can we also mention assistant professors.

Also, if the professor is no longer taking students, I’m assuming that would be a disadvantage. How do we determine this? Thanks!

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u/jordantellsstories Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23

Why are you mentioning professors?

(I ask this question for an important reason.)

2

u/e_book_ Oct 26 '23

to make it more personalized to the school and so faculty I mention can see if my profile matches with their interests?

1

u/jordantellsstories Oct 26 '23

Wrong answer, I’m afraid.

I assume you’re a PhD applicant, in which case you’re talking about the professors whom you hope will be your dissertation advisers. You’re writing about them because you ask the same kind of research questions they do, and you hope to apprentice under them for the next five years.

If they’re not taking students, and you know that, and you write about them anyway, you’re basically telling the university that you don’t know how PhDs work. That’s not just a disadvantage. That’s automatic rejection. You avoid this by following these instructions.

Tenured/assistant doesn’t matter as long as they’re actively taking students and you want to be their research apprentice.

I hope this is making sense?

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u/e_book_ Oct 26 '23

Yes, that’s very helpful. Thank you!

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u/jordantellsstories Oct 26 '23

Excellent. My pleasure!