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Email address etiquette - Which address should I use to contact professors?

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Email address etiquette - Which address should I use to contact professors?

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1

I am currently a master's student outside the U.S., and I plan to contact professors in U.S. universities for PhD applications. I have a bunch of email addresses available, and I don't know which one is the most appropriate for communication.

My main objective is to make sure my email doesn't get lost in the spam folder, and it wouldn't hurt to have a first decent impression.

My options:

(1) surname@university.edu.xx: Email given from the current institution where I attend.

(2) surname@alumni.university.edu.xx: Alumni email from the university where I got my undergrad degree. (5 years ago)

(3) surname@university.edu: Email from a well known U.S. university where I spent a year as an exchange student (around 8 years ago).

(4) f.m.surname@gmail.com or firstname.surname@outlook.com: Private email addresses

My question is, do you think the possibility of getting a response depends on the email domain? What email domain should I use?

A friend of mine who ended up at a top-5 grad program suggested me to use (3), saying that it could increase my chances of getting a response. However I am cautious that it may look pretentious or delusional, considering I have been there such a long time ago.

Am I overthinking this?

etiquette email

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edited 9 hours ago

academ

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• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Or get your own domain name and have control...
  
  – Solar Mike
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I cannot believe you still have access to an email account at a US university from eight years ago. If you still have a forwarder from that address (strange enough), I wouldn't use it because your outgoing mail server and email address won't fit, which is guaranteed to give you a high spam-rating.
  
  – Karl
  7 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @SolarMike Sure, the more obscure, the better!
  
  – Norbert
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Karl I still have email access to an account at a US uni that I graduated from in 1994. They use lastname.#. It's not unheard of.
  
  – mkennedy
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

1

I am currently a master's student outside the U.S., and I plan to contact professors in U.S. universities for PhD applications. I have a bunch of email addresses available, and I don't know which one is the most appropriate for communication.

My main objective is to make sure my email doesn't get lost in the spam folder, and it wouldn't hurt to have a first decent impression.

My options:

(1) surname@university.edu.xx: Email given from the current institution where I attend.

(2) surname@alumni.university.edu.xx: Alumni email from the university where I got my undergrad degree. (5 years ago)

(3) surname@university.edu: Email from a well known U.S. university where I spent a year as an exchange student (around 8 years ago).

(4) f.m.surname@gmail.com or firstname.surname@outlook.com: Private email addresses

My question is, do you think the possibility of getting a response depends on the email domain? What email domain should I use?

A friend of mine who ended up at a top-5 grad program suggested me to use (3), saying that it could increase my chances of getting a response. However I am cautious that it may look pretentious or delusional, considering I have been there such a long time ago.

Am I overthinking this?

etiquette email

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

academ

asked 9 hours ago

academacadem

622 bronze badges

New contributor

academ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Or get your own domain name and have control...
  
  – Solar Mike
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I cannot believe you still have access to an email account at a US university from eight years ago. If you still have a forwarder from that address (strange enough), I wouldn't use it because your outgoing mail server and email address won't fit, which is guaranteed to give you a high spam-rating.
  
  – Karl
  7 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @SolarMike Sure, the more obscure, the better!
  
  – Norbert
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Karl I still have email access to an account at a US uni that I graduated from in 1994. They use lastname.#. It's not unheard of.
  
  – mkennedy
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

I am currently a master's student outside the U.S., and I plan to contact professors in U.S. universities for PhD applications. I have a bunch of email addresses available, and I don't know which one is the most appropriate for communication.

My main objective is to make sure my email doesn't get lost in the spam folder, and it wouldn't hurt to have a first decent impression.

My options:

(1) surname@university.edu.xx: Email given from the current institution where I attend.

(2) surname@alumni.university.edu.xx: Alumni email from the university where I got my undergrad degree. (5 years ago)

(3) surname@university.edu: Email from a well known U.S. university where I spent a year as an exchange student (around 8 years ago).

(4) f.m.surname@gmail.com or firstname.surname@outlook.com: Private email addresses

My question is, do you think the possibility of getting a response depends on the email domain? What email domain should I use?

A friend of mine who ended up at a top-5 grad program suggested me to use (3), saying that it could increase my chances of getting a response. However I am cautious that it may look pretentious or delusional, considering I have been there such a long time ago.

Am I overthinking this?

etiquette email

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

academ

asked 9 hours ago

academacadem

622 bronze badges

New contributor

academ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

academ

asked 9 hours ago

academacadem

622 bronze badges

New contributor

academ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

edited 9 hours ago

academ

asked 9 hours ago

academacadem

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academ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 9 hours ago

academacadem

622 bronze badges

New contributor

academ is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 9 hours ago

academacadem

622 bronze badges

2 Answers
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7

• Personal email is OK, as long as it doesn't look too unserious (mickeymouse666@gmail.com is bad). Gmail looks more professional than other providers, but not by much.




• Avoid email addresses that will expire soon. Unfortunately, many university addresses are like that. An expired address means you won't get late followup answers (and trust me, there are emails threads in research that span decades).




• Avoid anything with alumni in it. Many people have a delete reflex when they see the word "alumnus", as it mostly appears in the context of panhandling by alumni orgs.




• There is nothing pretentious about .edu addresses.

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

darij grinbergdarij grinberg

3,53811 gold badge1414 silver badges2626 bronze badges

add a comment | 

0

You may be overthinking it, but everyone who wishes to communicate by email needs to find a way of avoiding spam filters.

Having been in your position a few years ago, namely wishing to engage the attention of professors who would never had heard of me, my strategy was to use an obviously personal email address, a very clear but brief subject, and a very brief email message (in impeccably grammatical language) with a clearly stated question, such as "Would you be willing to consider me as a possible graduate student?".

Brevity is crucial, but for a counter-example consider Ramanujan's unsolicited letter to GH Hardy. Ramanujan stated theorems that were very exciting but not so exciting as to suggest that he was a crank. Unless you are offering material of that quality, I advise a short clear statement of what you want from an honest personal email address.

share|improve this answer

answered 7 hours ago

JeremyCJeremyC

2,30233 silver badges1414 bronze badges

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7

• Personal email is OK, as long as it doesn't look too unserious (mickeymouse666@gmail.com is bad). Gmail looks more professional than other providers, but not by much.




• Avoid email addresses that will expire soon. Unfortunately, many university addresses are like that. An expired address means you won't get late followup answers (and trust me, there are emails threads in research that span decades).




• Avoid anything with alumni in it. Many people have a delete reflex when they see the word "alumnus", as it mostly appears in the context of panhandling by alumni orgs.




• There is nothing pretentious about .edu addresses.

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

darij grinbergdarij grinberg

3,53811 gold badge1414 silver badges2626 bronze badges

add a comment | 

7

• Personal email is OK, as long as it doesn't look too unserious (mickeymouse666@gmail.com is bad). Gmail looks more professional than other providers, but not by much.




• Avoid email addresses that will expire soon. Unfortunately, many university addresses are like that. An expired address means you won't get late followup answers (and trust me, there are emails threads in research that span decades).




• Avoid anything with alumni in it. Many people have a delete reflex when they see the word "alumnus", as it mostly appears in the context of panhandling by alumni orgs.




• There is nothing pretentious about .edu addresses.

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

darij grinbergdarij grinberg

3,53811 gold badge1414 silver badges2626 bronze badges

add a comment | 

• Personal email is OK, as long as it doesn't look too unserious (mickeymouse666@gmail.com is bad). Gmail looks more professional than other providers, but not by much.




• Avoid email addresses that will expire soon. Unfortunately, many university addresses are like that. An expired address means you won't get late followup answers (and trust me, there are emails threads in research that span decades).




• Avoid anything with alumni in it. Many people have a delete reflex when they see the word "alumnus", as it mostly appears in the context of panhandling by alumni orgs.




• There is nothing pretentious about .edu addresses.

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

darij grinbergdarij grinberg

3,53811 gold badge1414 silver badges2626 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

answered 9 hours ago

darij grinbergdarij grinberg

3,53811 gold badge1414 silver badges2626 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

darij grinbergdarij grinberg

3,53811 gold badge1414 silver badges2626 bronze badges

answered 9 hours ago

darij grinbergdarij grinberg

3,53811 gold badge1414 silver badges2626 bronze badges

0

You may be overthinking it, but everyone who wishes to communicate by email needs to find a way of avoiding spam filters.

Having been in your position a few years ago, namely wishing to engage the attention of professors who would never had heard of me, my strategy was to use an obviously personal email address, a very clear but brief subject, and a very brief email message (in impeccably grammatical language) with a clearly stated question, such as "Would you be willing to consider me as a possible graduate student?".

Brevity is crucial, but for a counter-example consider Ramanujan's unsolicited letter to GH Hardy. Ramanujan stated theorems that were very exciting but not so exciting as to suggest that he was a crank. Unless you are offering material of that quality, I advise a short clear statement of what you want from an honest personal email address.

share|improve this answer

answered 7 hours ago

JeremyCJeremyC

2,30233 silver badges1414 bronze badges

add a comment | 

0

You may be overthinking it, but everyone who wishes to communicate by email needs to find a way of avoiding spam filters.

Having been in your position a few years ago, namely wishing to engage the attention of professors who would never had heard of me, my strategy was to use an obviously personal email address, a very clear but brief subject, and a very brief email message (in impeccably grammatical language) with a clearly stated question, such as "Would you be willing to consider me as a possible graduate student?".

Brevity is crucial, but for a counter-example consider Ramanujan's unsolicited letter to GH Hardy. Ramanujan stated theorems that were very exciting but not so exciting as to suggest that he was a crank. Unless you are offering material of that quality, I advise a short clear statement of what you want from an honest personal email address.

share|improve this answer

answered 7 hours ago

JeremyCJeremyC

2,30233 silver badges1414 bronze badges

add a comment | 

You may be overthinking it, but everyone who wishes to communicate by email needs to find a way of avoiding spam filters.

Having been in your position a few years ago, namely wishing to engage the attention of professors who would never had heard of me, my strategy was to use an obviously personal email address, a very clear but brief subject, and a very brief email message (in impeccably grammatical language) with a clearly stated question, such as "Would you be willing to consider me as a possible graduate student?".

Brevity is crucial, but for a counter-example consider Ramanujan's unsolicited letter to GH Hardy. Ramanujan stated theorems that were very exciting but not so exciting as to suggest that he was a crank. Unless you are offering material of that quality, I advise a short clear statement of what you want from an honest personal email address.

share|improve this answer

answered 7 hours ago

JeremyCJeremyC

2,30233 silver badges1414 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

answered 7 hours ago

JeremyCJeremyC

2,30233 silver badges1414 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

JeremyCJeremyC

2,30233 silver badges1414 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

JeremyCJeremyC

2,30233 silver badges1414 bronze badges