<p>You should not judge possible PIs by their willingness, or lack thereof, to reply to your email before you have been accepted. Once you’ve been invited for an interview, the game changes. PIs are much more eager to engage in conversations, whether in real time or via email, once the applicant is more of a real possibility. Take Mollie’s PI: if he is getting all those emails, there’s no way he would want to invest the time in reading and answering email if 90% of those people will never make it into the program. </p>
<p>That’s not to say that contacting professors is a BAD idea – and some programs actually require it – but that you should not read too much into a non- or cursory reply. Those who do not contact are not at a disadvantage – witness Mollie’s success.</p>