letters of recommendation

[kasia]

after speaking to some yw folks, it seems like a number of you don't know how to properly go about doing this. want to share tips on what has and has not worked for you?

[jz87]

yeah, definitely find professors that have good impressions of you. An unknown prof who really knows you is much preferable over a famous prof who doesn't know you. I've certainly made this mistake in the past where I asked a famous prof whose class I took for a recommendation and got rejected everywhere.

Definitely go to office hours, I didn't really know about how office hour worked my first 2 years of college, but it gives you valuable outside of class contact with the prof and let them get to know you. Some profs are surprisingly approachable.

[hooligan]

Ask professors and people you're going to get ahead of time at least a month in advance. Touch up with them after 2 weeks. Also, UCLA has their own Letter of Rec (LOR) account and you're highly advised to use that. It's like 70 bucks and every colllege has their comparable system.

I went to a large school and I rarely got to know my professors personally. So, aside from the people in the community that I was going to ask I went to ask the professors where I got As and A+s. For a straight up academic reference. I'm looking to collect around 6 LOR where I believe I'm going to get a very strong one and around 2-3 weak, just a letter. I'm probably going to submit 4 per school I'm applying for.

Make a packet, make a envelope where you want to them to send your LOR to. Include instructions, the waiver form, and your resume and personal statement. These will help them and make it easier for them. Also, you might want to put a due date, but make sure that they have plenty of time to write it. Other than that, is there any tips you can share with me?

If you're in science they'd like a CV or something comparable, I know the NIH does something funny but I'm not a post-doc so I can't tell you. Oh, nor have I published any of the data I collected. : P Almost got an authorship, but the manuscript fell flat.

[kpih]

^Yep. Definitely good advice.

It is always a good thing to get to know the prof. You never know. It is a small world. Profs can be great connections to internships and jobs. (Aside from the whole business of intellectual curiosity and all…)

I always mention very specific strengths about students. Obviously it would be difficult if I did not know that person at all.

It is a delicate situation always. What I do is to ask for a ‘positive’ letter. You never know what the prof might actually think of you. Most profs would be honest.

Also another thing to consider is the matching of the prof, his/her field of expertise, and your intentions. (especially for grad school applications and academic jobs) For smaller fields, the network of the prof means a great deal.

Be prepared. Submit all relevant material (including a CV if you have one). Give the prof time. Some people do not like to be rushed.

Never forget to show appreciation. I always send a brief thank you note. You might need to ask more than once.

[hooligan]

You're a professor?!?

[kpih]

Yep.

[hooligan]

Yep.
What do you study if you don't mind me asking? (in other words, who are you?)

[kpih]

What do you study if you don't mind me asking? (in other words, who are you?)


Sociology and Criminology. Long story. Right now I am at a Criminal Justice Department.

[Tao]

so i just checked with my pre-med comittee at my school and they've only recieved 1 of the 4 letters of recs. how should i remind the other recommenders that it's due by june 1st? by e-mail, phone?

[kpih]

A polite reminder by either email or phone should not offend anyone. Polite...