Please stop telling undergrads who want to go to grad school that they should try to set up a Zoom conversation with potential advisors before they've even applied. I am begging you.

That's right. Start telling them "don't go"

100%. I tell students to apply to the best well-funded programs for their interests & ensure there’s more than one person they’d like to work with in a dept since life happens/things change (as will their own interests). Look for folks who collaborate. And they’ll figure out the rest upon acceptance

That’s freaking weird and unprofessional

Sending a cold application to a program without having reached out to potential advisors via email, at least, is a great way to waste a bunch of money on application fees. We specifically suggest doing so. IDK about zoom meetings but in the life sciences, email's been standard practice for decades.

Ok, so...Microsoft Teams?

They don't do it because they think you are special. They do it because they are struggling to define their future, and wanna show interest in your research field. This is not about you.

I did mine at the University of Toronto. I wish I had done some background on my first supervisor. All three of us, their MA students, had to change supervisors. But this was long before zoom and even Facebook. This person is still highly regarded and the go-to media persona for my field.

You should setup a Cameo account instead Why do the work for free

Also, it really doesn't help when you do take that Zoom conversation & a student starts off with "I'm interviewing you to see if you would be a good fit as an advisor." When you are applying to grad school, you are asking me to commit ~30-500 hours of my precious time to your education & career.

Over and over friends in higher ed describe their everyday gig as customer service. It’s entirely the parents’ fault