| Most graduate schools require letters of
recommendation. You need to think strategically about
whom you choose to write these letters.
If you are applying to graduate school directly from
college, or a few years out, your letters should most
likely be from your previous professors. If you have
work experience, you may submit a professional letter of
recommendation along with one from an academic source.
Especially important will be a letter from a boss who is
active in the field your plan earn your graduate degree.
If you have been active in campus or community
organizations, a letter from someone who can speak to
your service, leadership, and commitment could be an
excellent supplemental letter to your academic and
professional letters.
Your third letter is most likely to be impressive to
admissions officers if your first two recommendations
aren't quite adequate to substantiate a story theme that
highlights your strengths, or possibly mitigate a
weakness, if you have determined that you must address
this in your application package.
Focus on Content, Not Status of
Author
The best letters of recommendation are those that
provide detailed examples of an applicant's writing,
critical reasoning, analytical, and research skills, and
other tools, like creativity, inventiveness, and
tenacity, which are necessary for success in graduate
study.
Also, you will want your letters of recommendation to
address how you regularly contributed to situations,
such as classes or jobs. Did you regularly arrive
prepared? Were you engaged and a regular contributor to
class discussions or a creative problem solver at work?
If so, you will want this information relayed to
admissions officers via your letters of recommendation.
Admissions committees are looking for students who are
going to be engaged in the classroom and the
graduate-school community, not passive observers who
merely do their homework and show up to class every day.
The person who can write the most effective letter of
recommendation is the person who best knows the
applicant. That person may be the TA for a particular
class as opposed to the professor. That person may be an
office manager or legislative aide as opposed to the
senator.
A common misunderstanding about letters of
recommendation is thinking that the personal or
professional status of a letter writer will make a
difference with an admissions committee. Applicants will
ask deans or high-profile faculty to write letters
instead of asking the TA or the assistant professor,
with whom they worked directly and is qualified to
attest to the applicant's strengths. What matters most
to the admissions committee is the content and
authenticity of the letter, so the people you ask should
be among those who know you and your work.
Asking For Letters of
Recommendation
It is important to be proactive about getting letters of
recommendation. Applicants should set up a meeting – in
person, if possible, or by phone – with the people they
intend to ask for letters of recommendation. Applicants
need to ask: Can you write a strong letter of
recommendation for me? Do you have time to do it? How
can I make it easier for you?
One other benefit of meeting with your potential
letter-of-recommendation authors is that it will give
you an opportunity to discuss your goals, career
interests, and the schools to which you are planning to
apply.
Faculty, in particular, get asked for many letters of
recommendation. They are also busy with research, and
teaching, and endless administrative work. They need
plenty of lead time to get the letters written and
submitted.
Admissions decisions are frequently delayed because a
letter of recommendation has not been received by the
admissions office. The applicant can make it easier for
the authors of their letters of recommendation by
providing a resume and, perhaps, examples of work or
project summaries that were done under the tutelage or
supervision of the writer.
Getting the Timing Right
You want to request your letters of recommendation early
enough to guarantee that your application receives
timely consideration. However, you also want to make
sure that your letters complement the rest of your
profile and support your case for admission. That means
that you should complete at least a rough draft of your
personal statement and any necessary addenda before
approaching your recommenders. Your recommenders can
draw on those drafts to tailor the content of their
letters to your needs. In fact, their comments may
actually serve to fill in any gaps in the rest of your
application file. It is critical for you to take a
holistic view of your application, just as admissions
committees do.
Save Something for a Rainy Day
Finally, if you are fortunate enough to have more than
two people who are able to write strong, detailed
letters of recommendation for you, it is often wise to
save at least one letter for later. You may get
waitlisted at your top choice school. When that school
reviews applicants on its waitlist for admission in the
late spring or summer, the admissions officers will be
looking to see that you updated your file with
additional information. An outstanding letter of
recommendation, particularly one that provides a
different perspective than your original letters, might
get you off the waitlist and into your dream school's
next incoming class.
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