How Do I Ask For A Letter Of Recommendation For Graduate School

there is probably one group of people thathates dealing with letters of recommendation even more than applicants – and that isthe professors who are asked to write them. as an applicant, you only have to worry aboutrounding up one set of letters, for yourself. but a professor is probably dealing with dozens,even scores, of letter requests at any one time.and whereas you stand to gain a huge benefit

How Do I Ask For A Letter Of Recommendation For Graduate School, from a well-crafted letter of recommendation– admission to a targeted graduate program – your recommender's only reward is likelyto be additional letter of reference requests. here are some steps you can take to make theprocess easier on your recommender. (and, not incidentally, to increase your chancesof receiving strong recommendations that are

submitted on time.)give your recommender plenty of lead time to write your letter.try not to ask for a letter of reference any later than 6 weeks prior to your applicationdeadline. this means, of course, that you must have your applications near final nomore than 6 weeks prior to the deadline as the letters of reference should be used totie all of your story themes together. tell your recommender, in writing, what schoolsand programs you're applying to, and why. if you want their letter to address some specificpoint about your academic performance, mention it to them in writing. they may not be ableto keep track of a verbal request. remind your recommender what classes you tookwith them and when.

give them a copy of the paper or other workyou prepared for that class to remind them of your performance. keep in mind, you havejust one professor to remember from the class, whereas your professor has to remember anywherefrom a dozen to several hundred students. even if your recommender says he or she remembersyou, it doesn't hurt to help them recall some specifics about your background, interestsand class participation. ask your recommender if they want a copy ofyour resume or transcripts as well. if so, provide them.try to ask for letters to all the programs you are applying to at the same time.give your recommender a written list with the contact information and deadline for eachprogram, in an easy-to-scan 'checklist' format.

fill out as much of the letter of recommendationcover sheets as you can before giving them to your recommender.don't expect your recommender to type in your name and other identifying information. ifyour recommenders are being asked to mail letters directly to the schools, provide themwith pre-addressed, stamped envelopes. make sure you list the recommenders, and not you,as the return addressees. whether you are planning to apply late orearly in the admissions season or you just want to discuss some pre positioning issues,we're to help. call us at 1.800.809.0800 to learn more about how we can help you maximizeyour graduate school admissions chances.