OVERLY DUMP WAY TO WRITE TO YOUR PROFESSOR [or Potential Professor] with some examples
“…And God…. tell us the reason, youth is wasted on their young!”(Lost Stars-Adam Levine)
Ok! This posting is quite important, let me write it in English. While if I write in Indonesian, I can’t control my emotion on it.
Sometimes my Sensei ask me to help him checking for International Students application. Sometimes also some of my juniors in university ask me my opinion about their application. Some of them are really good.. but some of them, errrrrr 🙁 I almost got hypertension because of it. I have a nice friend who always become a “positive”person and said “Calm down, Marissa… they just need more information on it” but now… now…now… he is away. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA…. I am unstoppable now, so I made a resume of “Dumb ways to contact your professor”and because I love all of you (although I look like a godzilla sometimes), I will provide you an example about how to contact your Professor or Professor-be.
Yes… sit down there, I will explain everything to you. It is okay to do some mistakes, but never make too-dumb mistakes.
WHY YOU CONTACT A PROFESSOR?
There are millions reason why you should contact a professor. If you are student now, you may need to ask some questions regarding to your research. If you are “student-wanna-be” you may find professor who willing to accept you in his/her lab.
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOTICE?
1. You are in the position need the Professor! Not the other way.
2. They are not in your age! They are older than you (oh come on, I can’t believe I should write this one)
3. While they are older than you, and perhaps not as “hi-tech”as you are, kindly make everything as compact and as simple as possible. NEVER! give any difficult link, with crazy password and the password should be written in Cyrillic, Arabic, and Chinese character. Trust me, even me… I will not open it.
4. Please be polite… keep your manner on it.
Well, can you give us any examples?
I will… I will… what’s no in this blog… Welcome to our main menu Today
OVERLY DUMP WAY TO WRITE TO YOUR PROFESSOR (Or maybe your Professor-Be).
1. Don’t Overvalue your Skill…. I mean, would you mind please to be: HONEST
Trust me I found this cases several times. I understand that you really want to show that you are “outstanding”… that you are “Distinct” from any other candidates who may contacts your potential professor. But, it doesn’t means you should write everything “too-much” and “too-far”
For example:
And please don’t be surprised if then the professor will try to “test” you like this (this example is only an illustration, sorry for any mistakes on Kanji, etc :p)
What will be happens to you:
I am also surprised, because it is not one or two times then some student ask me the meaning of their e-mail. Gyaaaa… I am not better than them. It is fine if we just ended mourning about our stupidity on that field, but if you want to believe me… I also sometimes find someone who blame me “Are you sure you can’t translate it? What are you studying there then?”
Huh?
Okay…
Let me tell you, you can say “I am able to do XYZ” if you already passed some official test and gain any certificate on it. As my knowledge, Japanese for example thought that if you say “I can speak Japanese” at least you are in N3 or N2 level. If you still in “kore-kore” and “sore-sore” level, you still in my level… come here, join newbie club :’D
If it is still not clear for you…
Well… listen to me.
Not because you read Quran everyday, still with sooooo many error in tajweed and so on and so on, doesn’t mean you can speak Arabic.
Not because you can say “Ich liebe dich” to your crush, you can say you able to speak Germany.
Not because you can use microwave, you are an engineer!
Okay, it is no use to explain about it too much.
Let me show you how to solve this problem… here a little example that may help:
Remember, you contact for very important and busy person… please appreciate them. One wise way to appreciate them is also to ask for their solution and suggestion for your problems.
2. Don’t act like you are the busiest person in Planet Earth.
This is very common mistakes… and unbelievable also.
For example, something like this:
Take your time honey… don’t even need to wait for the reply because you will not get any :p
What do you think?
Your professor is very busy, so much more than you!
He has so many conferences, journals, research deadlines, and maybe also so many missed calls from his family who keep asking why he doesn’t have time.
Oh come on….seriously!
Except you are in special condition, and you afraid you are not available soon when your professor try to reach you. Maybe you can write something like this
Remember! You are in position “needy” not “needed”
3. Don’t be LAZY! and please be SERIOUS on it.
The most important point you should show to you professor is: Your interest to study and how serious you are. That’s why you need to write them your research plan so they can check whether your field is “click” with him or not, furthermore it is also to check how serious you are to study, your mission is to make you “targeted professor” can think “Oh wow, this student is good… he even already prepare about what he want to do”
And just to let you know that: Your professor is not working in University Admission office! So, please don’t ask him to send you all university requirements and forms. Because what: 1.) Every university has a website, 2.) Your prof. probably also lost about admission system. He knows, but maybe not in details.
I am really sleepy… I will stop soon.
But there are several additional questions, I usually got.. let me answer it in short:
1. I want to study abroad, but I don’t have TOEFL/IELTS. Why the university not accept me just because that small certificate?
“…. because, you will not speak in your mother language here. Seriously. ”
2. I see so many happy faces in facebook, study abroad must be easier.
“…. our life is not as beautiful as our selfies. Please don’t judge a person by his/her selfie”
3. Why my Professor not answer my e-mail?
“… just wait for abour 3-4 weeks, if no response just contact another professor. He may very busy”
4. Where I can get scholarship?
“…. There are lots of source of it, you can google it 🙂 ”
5. Why there are so many requirements to get the scholarship?
“…. excuse me, are you complaining? Come on… there is an institution which want to fund you to continue your study by FREE. Of course they will make very high qualification.”
6. I am poor, I am stupid, I can’t do anything…. can I continue my study?
“… I am also not come from rich family, I am also not smart, I have nothing except my dreams and people who really loves me. Once in my life I want to make them proud of me with reaching my dreams. And here I am now. Is it enough to answer you question? Listen to me… life is tough, we should strong enough to face everything!
7. What will I learn in graduate degree?
*Throwing the syllabus*
To close this posting, I humbly want to say you something…
Maybe it is important for you to look distinct, outstanding, awesome… and what can I say? it is your right. But do you know what is more important? To be well mannered!
You smart, you rich, awesome, almost perfect… but you can’t show that you have lovely personality, then everything just become a waste.
Education, in fact, exist not for making you become The Almighty… or become an ego-centrism human. It trains your way of thinking… make you more humble when you realize how many people give their time to teach you, when you see so many people who are better than you. In the same time, it trains you to accept your self… to say “It’s okay myself you already did your best” while you will realize that you may very good in something but really moron in something else… that’s a process to make you realize that “Ah I need anybody else in this planet.”
Education maturing and nurturing your heart and thought.
And while you are still a “green apple” would you mind to show to your teachers, your seniors, your friends that you ready to learn from them and in one point of time you can become a sweet “red apple” and from you there will be a high quality of apple trees 🙂
Now… it’s back on you 🙂
Have a nice day 🙂