written in front
For college graduates, the most painful thing is that after finally passing numerous tests and finally getting a verbal offer from the instructor of their dream school, they thought they were only one step away from successfully landing the job. Unexpectedly, the instructor is actually "raising fish" ... …
In every year's research recruitment magnet, there are always various "fish farming" incidents happening. How do research researchers judge whether they have been "fish raised" by their instructors? Should I contact other tutors after my favorite tutor agrees to an offer? As a "vulnerable" party, how can we effectively respond and try to avoid this kind of thing?
01. What is “fish farming”?
Common fish farming moves
After the researcher sent the tutor an email, he received a variety of replies. Let's take a look at several common ways of replying. Based on the content and tone of the tutor's reply, we can judge whether the tutor is engaged in fish farming.
ambiguous reply
Under normal circumstances, receiving this type of email means that either the instructor is raising fish, or the instructor politely rejected you. If the tutor is vague about whether to make an offer, he may be raising fish. He will screen the graduates based on their educational experience, grade points, scientific research competition results and other conditions to select the students he is most satisfied with. In another case, the tutor vaguely stated that he had no interest in the student and politely rejected the student.
Let students join group study in advance
After sending the magnet email, some instructors will be very enthusiastic and proactive, welcoming students to apply for their studio or laboratory. For example, they may provide their own WeChat ID, ask for students’ undergraduate information, care about students’ postgraduate plans, and draw students into group chats for research groups, etc.
In addition, tutors may invite students to join their research groups in advance. This situation usually means that the tutor has expressed interest in the student, hopes to learn more about the student's abilities, seize the opportunity, and is likely to give the student an offer of admission.
However, we must also consider the possibility that we may be “fished” by our mentors. Sometimes, we encounter some tutors who have always been enthusiastic, especially in weak COM colleges, who will create more illusions for students. But ultimately students may be met with relentless rejection. Therefore, we need to be mentally prepared, aware of the possibility of this situation, and not rely too much on or believe too much in the promises of a certain mentor.
Why fish farming by tutors is becoming more and more popular
In the process of postgraduate admissions, a common phenomenon has emerged, that is, the number of master's degree places is limited, but the number of postgraduate admissions is very large. In this case, some excellent tutors have become hot targets. They have many candidate students, forming so-called "fish farming" conditions. Tutors hope to select the best and most suitable students, so this phenomenon of "fish farming" occurs.
This phenomenon is actually a two-way selection process. Not only do tutors want to select the most suitable students, but students also want to find the tutors and projects that are most suitable for them. Therefore, tutors and students "raise fish" for each other.
It is not uncommon for students to "pigeon" schools and tutors every year. In order to prevent being "pigeoned" by students and ensure that they can recruit a sufficient number of students, some tutors will accept offers from more students, and finally select the best ones who meet the requirements. s student. All in all, both tutors and students want to select the most suitable candidate and achieve the best match. This two-way selection leads to the phenomenon of "fish farming".
How to tell if you are being fished
Judging by the instructor’s email reply
We can judge whether the tutor is "fish-raising" by the tone and content of the tutor's reply email.
Generally speaking, if the tutor agrees to make an offer, but the content of the email is more official and polite , such as "I have remaining places for you, you are welcome to apply", the tutor generally does not have much interest in the student, and the postgraduate student will not be able to apply. Don't hold out too much hope , but continue to recruit other mentors.
However, if the tutor agrees to the offer, and the content of the email reply is relatively enthusiastic and expresses the willingness to further advance, for example, "I still have a place for you, you can add my WeChat account first to facilitate further communication", "Yes Sign up for my graduate program and find time to chat in the near future," "I'll reserve a spot for you, give you a paper to read first, and communicate with you in two days," etc. This means that the instructor is obviously more interested in the student .
In this case, the researcher should fully seize the opportunity to communicate with the tutor, follow the tutor's requirements, respond to emails in a timely manner, show his academic enthusiasm and ability to conduct in-depth research, and easily obtain an offer from the tutor.
Although the tone and content of the tutor's reply email can provide a certain degree of judgment, it is not completely certain whether the tutor can "raise fish". When faced with this situation, researchers must maintain rational thinking and proactively understand and evaluate the mentor's research background, strength, and team situation to ensure that they choose a mentor and team that is truly suitable for them.
Collect information and understand tutor evaluations
By collecting feedback from previous students in the past three years, checking the tutor evaluation website and post on postgraduate experience, we can have a preliminary understanding of the tutor's recruitment style and whether he has a tendency to "raise fish". Generally speaking, if a certain instructor has a "fish farming" situation in the feedback from previous students, then there is a high probability that the instructor will still have this tendency this year.
However, it should also be noted that instructors who did not have the habit of "raising fish" in the past may also change their strategies and start "raising fish" this year. Therefore, we need to conduct comprehensive analysis and judgment on the information.
In addition, when the information is relatively abundant, we can also try to guess the quota indicators of tutors . By observing the admissions status of previous students and understanding factors such as the size of the tutor's laboratory and research projects , we can initially infer the range of students the tutor may recruit. But this is just a speculation. The actual situation needs to be determined from the admission notice or the official reply from the instructor.
Ask if there are any other competitors
During the postgraduate guarantee process , we can also determine whether the tutor is "fish farming" by understanding whether the tutor has issued offers to other students and whether there are competitors. In some online posts such as the QQ group and Weibo Super Chat, some insurance researchers will share the progress of the research and the tutors' replies to emails. We can know whether other students have received offers from their tutors.
If you find that there are competitors, you need to prevent the instructor from "raising fish" and leave more options for yourself. The important thing is that we don't have to worry too much about the existence of competitors, but should maintain a positive and optimistic attitude, focus on improving our competitiveness, and find more opportunities for ourselves.
02. Strategies for being “raised as fish”
If you are a very interested mentor, strengthen contact and express yourself
If the tutor agrees to make an offer, you should proactively communicate and report to the tutor. First of all, you can ask your tutor whether you can join the research group in advance; secondly, take the initiative to ask your tutor if you can arrange some learning tasks, which can be tasks such as literature reading in related fields, training of experimental operation skills, or data analysis; in addition, ask your tutor regularly It is also very important to report on recent study and research progress. This ongoing communication can strengthen the connection with the mentor and make the mentor trust you more.
At the same time, if you have contacted your mentor earlier, you can seize special opportunities such as holidays, the mentor's birthday, or the mentor receiving major recognitions to send blessings and congratulations to the mentor. This will not only enhance the intimacy with the mentor, but also leave a positive image in the mentor's mind.
The intention is not particularly strong, so I have several teachers.
For researchers, regardless of whether they can tell whether the instructor is "fish farming", they should make alternative plans in advance, just in case. Even if we successfully establish contact with a certain mentor and obtain a verbal offer, we should not be too excited. Instead, we must adjust the content of the cover email in a timely manner and continue to establish contact with other mentors. In this way, even if we unfortunately meet a "fish-raising" mentor, we will not have no choice because of rejection.
In addition, by contacting multiple mentors, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of each mentor's research direction, laboratory atmosphere and academic orientation, and select the mentor who is most suitable for us.
Actively participate in pre-recommendation exemptions from other colleges and universities
If the instructor contacted by the summer camp "raises fish" and is rejected by the instructor before and after filling in the postgraduate admissions system, the postgraduate admissions officer should immediately adjust his mentality and proactively look for pre-recommendation exemption opportunities from other schools.
The pre-referral system will be open for about 20 days. Pre-referral graduates should seize the opportunity of pre-referral exemption, collect more information, pay attention to other schools’ pre-referral exemption policies and timetables, find suitable research directions and mentor resources, and prepare carefully Relevant application materials, actively participate in the pre-recommendation and exemption, and strive for opportunities for postgraduate study, and you will definitely be able to successfully land.
BAOYANDAO
write at the end
In the current postgraduate research environment, it is actually a helpless move for instructors to choose "fish farming". Therefore, we need to stay alert, identify early, stop losses in time, and leave a way out for ourselves. Only by keeping your eyes open and creating more choices for yourself can you find a path that suits you and move more steadily in the complex competition for insurance research.