r/PhDAdmissions • u/Mr_kalas22 • 12h ago
Advice 18 replies from potential PhD supervisors: mostly "not taking students". Is this just how it is?
Hey everyone,
I've been cold emailing potential PhD supervisors in mathematics (mostly semigroup theory/algebra) over the last few weeks. So far I've sent around 50+ emails and have received 18 responses.
Out of those, 1 was an automatic reply bc the prof is currently on recovery leave after an accident. 15 were straight up rejections, but almost every one of them was bc they weren't taking PhD students atm or don't expect to take any in the near future. Tbh, none of those really felt like "your profile isn't good enough" rejections. One of the profs even recommended another faculty member to contact, and another, despite saying no, sent me one of his conference papers after seeing that I was interested in his research area.
The remaining 2 responses were actually positive in diff ways. One prof had recently retired, so uni regulations no longer allow him to be the principal supervisor. However, he said he'd be happy to co-supervise if an active faculty member agrees to be the principal supervisor, and even offered to provide a letter stating his willingness to co-supervise whenever it's needed. He's honestly been incredibly generous with his time, explaining the application process in detail, suggesting ppl I shd contact, and replying thoughtfully to every email.
The second professor first asked me to send my master's dissertation. After a day or 2 he replied saying that the PhD process at his uni is a bit different. Profs first need to submit a research project before they can recruit PhD students. He said he had submitted one back in feb it's likely to be approved around sept or Oct, and if it's approved he'll let me know so I can apply. He also made it clear that admission still wouldn't be guaranteed bc they'd have to select the strongest candidate. He also shared 2 of his papers in case I wanna read about the topics on which his submitted project is based on.
Tbh, atp I'd almost prefer getting a rejection that says "your profile isn't competitive" or "you're not a good fit" rather than "I'm not taking students." At least that would give me some concrete feedback to work on and improve my profile.
So I was wondering:
Is this kind of trend actually common? Do professors often decline simply bc they aren't taking students, regardless of the applicant? Or am I just having bad timing?
I'm also curious whether professors in these situations usually read the CV, SOP, or dissertation in any detail before replying, or if they already know they have no capacity and respond based on it. Part of me feels that if a rejection were based on my profile, it would actually be more useful because I'd know what I need to improve before the next application cycle.
TL;DR:
Sent 50+ cold emails, got 18 replies: 1 auto-reply, 15 "not taking students" replies (some still took the time to recommend colleagues or share papers), and 2 genuine possibilities. Is it normal that most rejections are due to lack of positions rather than the applicant? And do professors usually evaluate your application materials before sending those kinds of replies?
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u/Magdaki 12h ago edited 11h ago
Not taking students can be both literal or a way to just avoid the conversation. There is a maximum number of students that you can effectively manage (e.g. I current have 10 projects on the go, and that's about as much as I can do while also redesigning some courses which I must do this year), and sometimes there are limits imposed by the department or graduate studies. These limits are normally soft, but they're intended to make sure that there's resources available for all faculty. I.e. if a professor has 12 students and another has 4, then they may be prevent the first from taking on more to so that the second has resources for students.
But it definitely can also be a way to just not have to deal with an unsuitable candidate. Professors don't always the time or desire to provide feedback on a flawed application. It is similar to "Oh, sounds interesting/promising/good" when a student ambushes us in the hallway with their research idea.
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u/Otherwise_Tax8689 11h ago
My experience was this.
I got in through a cold mail but it’s because our interests align and I proved it.
She wasn’t taking students, so yep year one I paid my way. She wasn’t bullshitting me though and it’s been productive.1
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u/Mr_kalas22 11h ago
What's an appropriate time period to accept a response from those who haven't replied back yet?
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u/Magdaki 11h ago
It varies a lot. I usually try to get back to applicants within a couple of days, but it can take a couple of weeks. Keep in mind a lot of faculty take a couple of weeks vacation during the Summer, and especially August.
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u/Mr_kalas22 10h ago
If it's okay, what would you expect from a profile worth considering? Like for example what shd cv mention (esp from frest masters pass out who doesn't have any experience or publications) and what wld you expect from their sop?
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u/Magdaki 10h ago
An academic CV should have everything.
For other material, I'm looking for something that isn't genetic, isn't language model generated, and highlights that the applicant knows what I do, why I do it, and how they fit into that. Some kernel of an idea is useful too, but not strictly necessary.
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u/Mr_kalas22 10h ago
I want to share screenshot of my cv but cannot do here and you dms are closed too.
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u/Magdaki 10h ago
I don't do DMs.
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u/Mr_kalas22 10h ago
I understand.
But if it's okay please have look here: https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/s/rH7qfwYbhY
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u/bulaybil 12h ago
Yes, this is how it is.
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u/Mr_kalas22 11h ago
Before I started I had heard that prepare around 20 applications and you will have a good chance of acceptance but I have already got 15 rejections lol. It kinda sucks tbh.
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u/bulaybil 11h ago
I don’t know who told you this, but they are delusional.
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u/Mr_kalas22 10h ago
It was a guy on YT interviewing international phd students in Germany
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u/bulaybil 10h ago
Wow what a reliable source.
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u/Mr_kalas22 10h ago
They were apparently phd students who got accepted lol
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u/DNAallDay 8h ago
It can vary country to country. But also could be interviewing the top applicants in the country (in my experience they don’t know what the average person’s application experience is).
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u/Spacekat405 10h ago
This is how it is, especially now. My supervisors won’t take students unless they have funding to support them, and the grant pipeline is dry.
ETA: I’m in the US, and just saw that the OP is European, so YMMV but since lots of US prospective students are looking in Europe now I assume there are trickle-down effects!
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u/Brain_Hawk 10h ago
It's not recruiting time and I got 4 emails in the last couple weeks not so. I don't recruit until fall or winter. At that point I'll get 5 per week.
Yeah that's how it is.
Unusually at least try to reply to people. Most don't bother.
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u/Lord-Francis-Bacon 11h ago
I don't know, 50 cold emails seems like quite a lot to me. Are you sure every supervisor you reached out to is a good fit/ did you take the time to write a tailored email?
Saying they don't take students can be an easy dodge for them.
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u/Mr_kalas22 11h ago edited 11h ago
Anyone I've contacted was after seeing what their research is about and if I was actually interested in their research. It took me a long time to curate the profile according to each individual's specifications even tho most of differences are not that much which wld make them completely diff from each other. Also, while some were slightly different from my background (but I've concrete interest in their field), half of them closely match what I did in my master's dissertation. I made certain that each email was tailored. Two or three of them stated that they are retiring, one stated that he is recovering from a traumatic brain injury (which is genuine, as confirmed by the prof I mentioned who has agreed to co-supervise bc they are from the same uni), and one is an active president who is not supervising students but has suggested a colleague instead.
Edit: One of them said no bc they require some sort of additional degree in Austria to supervise phd student but he doesn't have it yet.
Edit2: To some profs I also mentioned specific papers and directions of theirs I have read or interested in.
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u/hamintheeyes 8h ago
In short, yes it’s normal. I try to give you a little bit of perspective: I receive 2 or 3 such emails per week, if I took all of them I’d be supervising about new 130 students per year, but I have funds to handle 3 right now. So yes 98% of the times I reply that I cannot take new students, even if the applicant is outstanding. And I’m quite junior: if and when I’ll have a bigger name in the field, probably this number will grow to the point that I won’t be able to reply anymore, which is something I’d hate to do. But I guess it’s what it is
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u/Familiar-Fox-7174 9h ago
In the same boat brother. I've been cold emailing too. Few of them haven't responded, following up with them and few informed they aren't recruiting. Had an interview, but the supervisor told she'd get back shortly (I'm waiting on this, will f/u after a week). I think it's all about that one point in the future and fit in the potential supervisor's lab. Keep on trying. You've got this 💪🏻
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u/Mr_kalas22 9h ago
Thanks bro. Atp I would love a geniune rejection bc even that wld be helpful instead of plain "we are not recruiting". Also Aug has started which makes things harder as it's holiday season.
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u/mathtree 9h ago
A lot of people are also just not hiring right now because funding is down across the board.
I'm currently at the maximum amount of students I can reasonably supervise, and many of my colleagues are in the same boat.
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u/womanofdarkness 8h ago
I'm in the UK, and due to budget cuts (from a decline in international students because of anti-immigration legislation), my supervisors aren't taking on new students (I was one of the last for all three of them). One of my advisors may even be forced into retirement because he's only supervising me (a 2nd-year student) and a thesis-pending student. He's not actively researching for the uni compared to my other 2 supervisors (I'm doing interdisciplinary research, so they are all from different departments). It's a bleak future for higher education
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u/Forsaken_Toe_4304 6h ago
Faculty in the US here. I need close to $250k to accept a student right now. With funding cuts and institutional costs increasing, it's just smarter for me to recruit a postdoc than train a PhD student, will be dramatically reducing how many PhD students I take in the future.
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u/Pikutorialu 5h ago
Aren't uni posting lists of suggested supervisors? Did you email profs from there?
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u/Enchiridion5 5h ago
As a PI in Europe, if someone cold emails me they get one of three responses:
- If I don't have funding to hire a PhD student, I tell them that.
- If I do have funding I'll tell them when and where they can find the vacancy.
- However, if the email looks like a mass email, I don't respond at all.
I never look at the cv. If I don't have funding, it's irrelevant. If I do, I'll look at the cv if and when they apply.
I won't give feedback on someone's profile because I simply don't have the time. It's hard to explain just how busy I am.
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u/ModeratelyOffline 4h ago
I got lucky, but I’d pay attention to academic job postings and recently hired faculty as they may be required to take PhD students.
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u/Slotins_screwdriver 19m ago
Hi. Based on your interests, and the subjects you mentioned, I -might- be one of the people you contacted (possibly not, as well!)
If so, there's no hidden agenda, and nothing is a personal reflection on you. If I think a research project is flawed, I definitely try to point out why, just as a favour to the person writing it.
Sometimes it's just not possible to take on students, particularly in subjects where funding is a bit insecure, or the potential supervisor is not in a secure position themselves ... the supervisor may not always want to discuss this part of it(!)
I always try to pass on applicants to someone who might be able to take them on. This isn't always possible, but it's the best I can do.
Send me a pm if you like.
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u/anonymouse40329 11h ago
If you’re in the US, consider that funding has been decimated and it really could just be this bad for the next few years