How to Ask Your Professor For a Letter of Recommendation For Graduate School Application

Letters of recommendation are important for admission to graduate school.

Admission to graduate school is competitive and letters of recommendation from faculty are very important in the decisions universities make when choosing which applicants to accept. Professors want their students to be successful and to be admitted to graduate school; however, they need to know the student and her work to write a credible positive letter. Students need to ask professors who are familiar with them and their work for letters of recommendation. Give the professors enough time and give them all the information they need to write a positive letter.

Things You'll Need

• Application forms
• Envelops addressed to universities

Instructions

Long Term Preparation for request

1. Begin preparing to request letters of recommendation early in your undergraduate program. Select the field in which you wish to go to graduate school and review the websites and get catalogs from the universities which offer a graduate program in that area.

2. Take a number of courses in your chosen field from the same professors so they will remember who you are. Offer to assist these professors in their research, preferably for credit. Take at least one directed individual study (DIS) with a professor, so he will know you and your work.

3. Explain to each professor that you wish to go to graduate school. Ask the professor to write you a letter of recommendation during the last class you take with her and to save it for when you will be applying to graduate school. You want to ask while the professor has a fresh memory of you and your work.

Short Term Preparation for request

1. Get applications from each of the universities to which you want to apply. Many graduate programs have specific forms for professors to complete along with a letter of recommendation. Get a form for each professor.

2. Make a table listing all the universities to which you are applying with the information required from letter writers (forms, letters) and deadlines for submission. If the university requires letters to be submitted online put that in the table with specific instructions on how to do it.

3. Address envelopes for each graduate school for each professor and put stamps on them. This is not required, but it saves time for the professor and makes it more likely the letter will be sent on time.

4. Prepare an information page for each professor. Remind each professor which classes you took with them and when you took the classes. Indicate the grade you received in the course and mention a paper or oral report you did in class to remind the professor of your work. Provide your GPA and GRE score. Also tell the professors something about your extracurricular activities and any awards you may have received.

5. Make an appointment with each professor at least one month prior to the deadline for the first letter. Bring a large envelop with all the information in it to the professor's office. Ask the professor if she is willing to write a positive letter of recommendation for you to graduate school. Assuming she responds positively, show her the information in the envelope.

6. Call or email each professor a week before each letter is due. Universities will notify applicants if all the letters do not arrive. If you receive notification of a missing letter, ask each professor if there is a possibility his letter did not arrive. Call or email each professor and tell them which universities accepted you and where you will go for your graduate education.

Tips & Warnings

• Be courteous, remember the professor is doing you a favor.

• Do not request a letter from a professor who gave you a poor grade.

References

• GradSchools.com