Having Good Correspondences with US Universities' Professors

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In certain cases, getting a scholarship does not guarantee to study at US universities. Another essential part is getting a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from one of the targeted universities. A scholarship without an LOA is in vain. 

Some effort can be made to get one. One of them is corresponding with the professors. Once we get the green light, it will likely be easier to get the LoA. I will share my experience when communicating with professors from various universities in the US.

I have communicated with many professors from different universities, particularly from the list given by BPI. Their responses were varied, but all of them were good. Inevitably, some professors did not resend responses at all, such as from the University of Washington, Ohio State University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I did not know why.

Some professors, for example, those from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, answered my email. Unfortunately, they acknowledged that they could not follow up on my application because my research interests were irrelevant to their expertise. They also perceived that my plan was not enough to align with their agenda. However, their responses still made me happy because they gave their attention and were humble and helpful.

I got better responses from Michigan State University, Penn State University, and Indiana University Bloomington professors. They welcomed and encouraged me to join by applying the application. When they realized that my interests were not relevant to them, they introduced me to those who were more fitting. Moreover, they guided me on what I had to do.

Responses from professors at the University of Florida, Indiana University Bloomington, and Florida State University were more promising. They offered an interview session via Zoom and sent the meeting. I accepted it without a doubt at all. They were surprisingly friendly and gave important information about their universities.

The best response came from a professor at the University of Minnesota. She offered me the opportunity to join her research group in 2025. She gave me a letter of recommendation that I later used to apply for the Pathway Scholarship. She also promised to recommend me to the admission office. Further, she introduced her students, who are Indonesian and asked them to guide me on how to study in the US and how to live in Minnesota.

What had I done to get good responses like those? I will share my experiences here.

Preparation

The most important thing to do is to make mature preparations. This includes writing a good resume, essay, and research plan. Professors perceived us by our writing. Excellent ones will create a good perception of us from their perspectives, which is essential for getting attention.

The selling points of my writing are my experiences and expertise. In my resume, I clearly and straightforwardly presented prominent activities and achievements using strong keywords. One of the most important was a project with a research team, which collaborated with one of the universities in the US, the North Carolina University at Greensboro. I also added important information to support my resume, such as my role as principal in research grants.

The personal statement is another important thing. I communicated how my experiences, expertise, and goals were interrelated in a three-page essay. I also related them to Indonesia's challenges, which is what I want to contribute to solving them. At the end of the essay, I wrote that studying in the US would help me to reach them.

Not all universities require a research proposal. However, having one is better to impress them. I have recognized and decided on one of the research interests I would like to develop for a lifetime. I wrote it in a brief research plan, which included the novelty. I used the latest literature from reputable journals to support it. 

Execution

Good responses can be received from the most appropriate professors. The most important thing to do is to seek universities, programs, and professors that align with our plans and research interests. I had checked so many professors, their expertise, and their projects until I got to those who were relevant. This was not an easy way. But I thought that I had to do it.

Once I had the appropriate professors, I emailed them. I did this many times. The main key was patience. I never gave up until I got the responses I wanted. The other key was to use effective and straightforward language. The title of the email had to be brief and informative. When they read it, they immediately knew what the content was.

Some emails involved long conversations, while others had one or two replies, depending on the topics discussed. These experiences taught me how to write effectively when communicating with people for whom English is their native language.

Interestingly, I also had a bad experience when I wrongly stated the university where the professors work. I sent an essay to two professors at the University of Washington, but I wrote "the University of Texas" in the essay. I previously sent an email to professors at UT and forgot to change it when sending it to the UW professors. They did not reply to my email. I believe that because of the wrongness of my writing.

In summary, what I share here is not a guarantee that you will be successful. However, communication with professors is one of the promising ways to open the door of universities in the US. When the door is open, we can more easily get an LOA. I hope.

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