Need your help regarding Concordia University application !

[Rockyrock]

Hi everyone ,

I would like to apply for PhD in civil engineering at Concordia University. The university website says that once the application is submitted, we can contact the potential supervisors with our student ID and research proposals.

Is there somebody who contacted a supervisor after submitting his/her application and successfully obtained admission ?

Similarly, is there anyone who was able to find a supervisor in Concordia university before submitting an application ?

I am confused because what if I submit an application and my desired professor responds negatively. I already told my previous supervisors ( my references) ,who are famous Japanese professors , that I would submit three applications to three different universities ,and I have already submitted one application , therefore, I have two more chances, and I want to use them wisely. This is because my referees dont have so much time to keep recommending me for many universities.

 

[shannon388]

Seems unrelated to immigration.
From my experience, in North America contacting a professor upfront is *much* better than blindly trying. Even better, if feasible, is to ask your currennt supervisor to find someone (e.g. his friends/collaborators). In Canada a professor has to cover you financially, at least partially, with his/her fundings.

>I am confused because what if I submit an application and my desired professor responds negatively.
This happens all the time, that's a reason for contacting a professor upfront if you can.

>This is because my referees dont have so much time to keep recommending me for many universities.
This is in most cases uploading a pdf letter, and competing some form. It takes 10 minutes or less...

 

[Rockyrock]

Thank you very much for your response and your invaluable insights.

I am aware that many universities in Canada require their applicants to directly contact potential supervisors before submitting an application. However, Concordia University guides their applicants to contact a supervisor after submitting their applications.

 

[shannon388]

"Concordia University guides their applicants to contact a supervisor after submitting"

it is exactly as that, "guides", not rules.

I am pretty sure you would gain a solid advantage with the hiring committee if you have a professor inside speaking for you. Depending on the university, these "hiring committees" do not *decide* the hiring, since hiring is discussed and voted at department meetings - hiring committee does only the paperwork and communicates with candidates/secretaries.

Most positions have far more applicants than openings, and such meetings often starts with "who wants this candidate?". Other common questions are "who wants to financially support this candidate?", and "who wants to be supervisor for this candidate?". Then if all openings are filled, hiring is done. If not, a later department meeting might be done to see *if* they want to hire other people from the remaining pile.

Keep also in mind that when you have 150+ candidates (this is not uncommon in many fields) for 10 positions, it is likely that your file is read *very* quickly (if read at all...) by the professors - from personal experience, <5 minutes per file is not uncommon (and this requires each professor to put 12+ hours just to read the files...). So be warned if you intend to impress someone only with CV or research proposal...

The key step is to get the position. Finding a supervisor is a far easier (Concordia is in Montreal, so you have also other huge universities e.g. McGill, UdeM, UQAM, all within few metro stops -- it is very common to have a supervisor in one university, and a co-supervisor who really guides you in another)

(This is from my experience -- I am not in Concordia, but quite familiar with North American academic hirings.)

 

[Rockyrock]

Hi Shannon ,

It seems that you have good knowledge about the selection procedures of the North American Universities. You are absolutely right about contacting a professor before submitting the application so that I have a professor speaking for me in those meetings. So far, I have contacted almost all of the professors in the top 30 universities of Canada that offer PhD in civil engineering . I have received four responses so far , two professors said that they do not take graduate students at this time, the other two said that because of unavailability of funds at this time , they will save my email and will let me know if the situation changes. Therefore, when I saw Concordia's website , I thought their selection procedures are different than those of other universities . Then I thought that I shall give it a try ; like releasing the arrow in dark in hopes of hitting the bull's eye because I do not have any other option at this moment. Other universities strongly recommend of being accepted by a supervisor before applying , and Concordia does not. So, this raised some hopes for me before you clarified the situation.

You mentioned that finding a supervisor is easier , and I agree with that, however, once I find them , it is tough to get a reply from them , and I have almost sent an email to every potential supervisor except top universities like U of T, Mcgill, U of British Columbia. Well, they say that professors are busy and I do not know how much that plays into them not responding.

 

[shannon388]

> Then I thought that I shall give it a try ; like releasing the arrow in dark in hopes of hitting the bull's eye because I do not have any other option at this moment.
You absolutely need to try if no other chances are here. The alternative (i.e. not trying at all) is sure fail.
My point was *if* you could get a supervisor it is much better. But blindly trying can still be succesful (albeit at lower chance...).

> Well, they say that professors are busy and I do not know how much that plays into them not responding.
At this stage the most you can get is "feel free to put me as your potential supervisor". Although nice sounding, this kind of answer is absolutely non binding, and means essentially "you're welcome to give a try" or "you're not out yet"... It can be "strongly recommended" (but almost never "required") to get a supervisor upfront, but nothing stops you from applying anyway and try your luck.
More common answers are the negative ones you got -- these are set in stone, since fund availability and openings are mostly well known at this time.

Think this from a professor's perspective: in many fields, they can get 40-50 such emails, and responding to one could easily invite more future emails from the candidate. Doing this for 40-50 candidates means potentially 100-150 more emails, and above this, keep at least basic track of each candidate's situation (confusing between candidates can be embarassing...). Also hiring is very big impact for the candidate, but can confidently tell you that hiring a PhD is more of a chore for a professor.
Also most senior professors can have their successful candidate decided way in advance (e.g. they will hire the student of a colleague, or even a student of their own...)

This happens all the time in academia, at all levels, that's why connections are so crucial in getting everything (unless you're world class famous...) But, if you have no better choice, blindly trying is the best you can (and I would say "must") do -- even if some university "strongly recommends" to get a supervisor upfront. Candidates receiving only 1-2 PhD offers out of 100+ applications (in Canada + USA) are common.

 

[Rockyrock]

Yep !
Thank you very much for the thorough explanation. I am definitely going to give it a shot , and see what happens.