#recommendation letters

[percabeth4life]

Poseidon: hey heres my letter of reccomandation for my son

He exits the room and Neptune enters

Neptune: hey here's my letter for my son

He leaves the room and shoves Triton in: here's my letter of recommendation for my brother ig.

[eliteprepsat]

1. BE RELIABLE

Many of the best teachers admire students who don’t necessarily follow the rules. But, it’s important to clarify that this only applies to being an intellectual rule-breaker and thinking outside of the box. What teachers don’t appreciate are students who deliberately disobey rules that are established for the sake of helping their classes run smoothly.

This may seem like it goes without saying. But one of the simplest ways to be a great student is just to be reliable. You can do this by always completing your work, arriving to class on time, and showing up every day prepared and ready to participate.

It’s not so much that students stand out for being reliable; it’s that students stand out for being unreliable—in other words, for all the wrong reasons. So, take the first best step toward securing a strong recommendation letter this way.

2. BE A TEAM PLAYER

Most of the best classrooms function like a sports team, where the teacher leads or guides (like a coach) and all of the students also have a role (like players). This stands in contrast to traditional (and largely outdated) classroom models where the teacher takes the only active role and the students are merely passive observers.

Good teachers relish students who are excellent team players—who listen actively, participate by making meaningful contributions to discussions, and generally exude a positive energy.

In my own experience, I’ve found that classes tend to function like the organic and often unpredictable flow of a basketball game. Some of the best moments in my classes have occurred when my game plan suddenly (and wonderfully) shifted because a student raised a compelling idea in discussion that we then pursued. I think of such students as my best teammates, giving me assists as I try to make a play.

But being a great team player in class doesn’t just involve your interactions with your teacher. It also involves how you interact with your other teammates, or classmates. Some of the strongest students I’ve worked with stand out in my memory not just because of how they treated their classmates, but also because of how their classmates responded to them.

Just as the best team players know when to lead and when not to hog the ball so as to let others on the team shine, so too do the best students know when to speak up and step in when their classmates need help, but also when not to dominate the conversation, actively listening instead so as to let their classmates also shine.

3. DEMONSTRATE CURIOSITY

Students often believe—incorrectly—that the best way to be a team player is simply to be the most “intelligent” student in the room. In reality, raw intelligence is typically not the attribute that good teachers appreciate most in their students. Instead, this attribute is curiosity.

What does it mean to “demonstrate curiosity” as a student? Generally speaking, it means having an open mind. If you encounter course material that is initially off-putting because it seems too difficult, for instance, don’t run the other way out of frustration. Instead, ask yourself: Why might this material be of interest? Why have people devoted their entire lives to its study? What could I learn from it?

With that said, another component of demonstrating curiosity is the ability (or at least the attempt) to draw connections between course material and your own interests or life. So, even if you are taking a class in a seemingly “foreign” subject (e.g. if you are in the sciences but taking a world literature course), again ask yourself what you might have to learn from this material. Perhaps you see parallels between the formal structures of storytelling and what you have been learning in one of your engineering classes. Bring this up in discussion! Not only will you find that the course is far more worth your time because it is applicable to something you care about, but your teachers will also appreciate your curiosity.

4. VISIT OFFICE HOURS

The best letters of recommendation are written by teachers who really know the student in question. Although there are exceptions to this rule, it’s typically not ideal, then, to request a letter from a teacher who you only studied with for a brief summer session, or who you never actually spoke to in person (say, from an online course).

In my own experience, the recommendation letters I write are better the more I know a student. So, if there is a teacher with whom you feel comfortable, don’t be afraid to open up to them a bit.

Why is this helpful for recommendation letters, exactly? If you are taking several AP courses while also juggling a heavy load of extracurriculars, a resume or transcript will show this at a glance. But if you are taking night classes while also raising a child or taking care of your ailing parents, for instance, the extent of your hard work will not likely appear anywhere on paper.

If you take the time to open up about the particulars of your life to a teacher, however, they can speak to your perseverance and grit in a meaningful recommendation letter to an admissions committee. That added understanding could very well mean the difference between a college acceptance or none.

You may or may not have opportunities to open up to your teachers during class. And you may or may not feel comfortable doing so. So, take advantage of your teachers’ office hours, when you can speak with them one-on-one and in person.

5. TURN IN AN IMPRESSIVE ASSIGNMENT

When writing recommendation letters, the best teachers will not write generally about the student in question. Rather, they will look for specifics to discuss. After all, specific examples are what help readers visualize and relate to what a writer is describing, ultimately becoming convinced of their claims.

In order to do this, teachers need to be supplied with specifics to write about you. So, if you’ve written an especially impressive paper, completed a particularly dynamic presentation, or organized a uniquely inspiring event, bring this to your teacher’s attention. It will give them something to focus portions of their recommendation letter around, and they can point to these specific examples as evidence of your mastery of a subject, your hard work, your passion, or any of your other exceptional traits.

Ultimately, your teacher’s reflections on these detailed examples will give admissions committees something to remember about you as a candidate, which is crucial considering how many applications colleges receive each year.

6. STAY IN TOUCH

Typically, students don’t require recommendation letters immediately upon completing a course. So, it can be difficult having to reach out to former teachers semesters—or even years—down the road. In this case, it can feel awkward asking them for the favor of writing a letter since you haven’t spoken in some time. You may wonder if they even remember you!

To avoid this, I suggest emailing your teachers not long after a course has ended just to say a friendly hello, to share that you enjoyed their class, and to ask if they might be open to writing you a recommendation letter in the future. Although you might not require the letter immediately, asking in advance in this way is a good idea for a few reasons. It demonstrates that you are taking initiative by being so forward thinking about your future success. It also helps to plant a seed in your teacher’s mind; they will be more likely to remember you when you reach out to officially request a letter one day.

Beyond this initial email, it is a good idea to simply stay in touch with your former teachers, especially if you believe you will request a recommendation letter from them eventually. Most teachers love to hear from their former students and get caught up on all of their wonderful achievements. So, don’t be shy about sharing yours. Again, if you do so, your teachers will be more eager to help when you contact them for recommendation letters.

SOME FINAL ADVICE FOR REQUESTING LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

When requesting a letter of recommendation, it’s always best to ask your teachers well in advance of the deadline so that they have plenty of time to complete the work. This means that you should usually aim for giving them at least 4 weeks and never less than 2 weeks. Remember that while they typically understand that writing such letters comes with the job and are happy to help out their students in this way, teachers are very busy people. So, do what you can to make the task as simple as possible for them.

Beyond giving them ample time to complete their letters, you can also simplify the task for your teachers by giving them a copy of your resume and a few of your strongest assignments as references. Finally, be sure to always ask at least one more individual than is required as a backup in case your original letter writer doesn’t come through or fails to get their letter in on time.

[adulttalk]

How do you go about building a relationship with a prof so you can ask them to write you a letter of recommendation?

Participate in class

Sit at the front of the classroom

Introduce yourself after class on the first day

Be interested when the prof talks about their personal life

Go to office hours occasionally

Be personal with them — share stories with them and listen to theirs and try to remember things about them

When the semester is over, shoot them an email or tell them in person how much you enjoyed their class and how much you appreciate their teaching.

Remain in contact occasionally even after the semester is over.

[blacklinguist]

college how to : securing rec letters

uh basically what i did to get recommendation letters secured for grad school + study abroad? this is like for ....anxious people lol? i researched for HOURS on how to actually go about getting recommendation letters....but there weren’t too many tips for the actual process, just ‘oh! get recs from professors who love you’ haha...

Before you even think of asking...

Do your research: Thinking about graduate school? scholarships? studying abroad? Fulbright? anything that you have to apply to, you’re going to be asked for recommendation letters. this most definitely did NOT occur to me, so I probably added more stress to my plate than I needed to. But yeah....you can’t just get in on your own merit for most things. You need people to vouch for you in the form of rec letters, and most times your applications won’t even be considered without them. PLUS when you DO ask for a recommendation letter, you want to show that you have done some research into whatever you are applying for, and share some of that information with your potential recommender.

Prepare statements of purpose and academic CVs: In order for your recommender to write a letter, they need some background on, well, you! Even if you talk to them often, it’s still nice to have your specific ideas and goals about the program ready and laid out. Plus, they may not know of all your academically-related accomplishments, so detail them in that CV! It’s basically a resume in a different format, but if you get it done early, your recommender may even go over it and send you back suggestions.

Who to ask....

Quality of your recommender: Honestly, you can’t just get any old recommendation letter and hope that’ll fly. Oftentimes when recommendation letters are provided as a side thing (at least for college), they can be pretty basic and impersonal. It’s best to get a letter from someone who has had 1-1 conversations with you where you shared about who you are, not necessarily just what you do. That can add a lot to your letter.

So many options....: It’s actually really okay to ask if your potential recommender feels they can write a strong, POSITIVE letter for you. You don’t want a petty supervisor (or someone with which you butted heads or got a less than stellar grade in their class) writing your letter. If they can’t immediately say yes, then they won’t be golden. Once you weed out the so-so choices, you can focus on the strong candidates.

HOW to ask...

Building rapport: it comes to a point where you really do have to put yourself out there if you want your professor to remember your face. I've gone to events and seen professors (future, former, or current) present, and had little small talk convos just to say ‘hey! I'm your student!’. just walking around campus I might run into one, so that’s always a good time to ask questions about things in general (I would save assignment related questions for office hours!). I always email my bilingual professor every week because he doesn’t post the assignment slots ahead of time, and let him know ‘hey! I've finished my assignment and want to submit’! Not only is that helping him keep things running, but he’s realizing ‘wow...she’s always finishing her assignments early’. bonus points! I usually spend half an hour in office hour sessions, talking about school, asking questions about their research, going off on tangents ...it’s okay to treat your professor as a mentor, they want to see you succeed, so show that you are putting that effort in! It’s also a good chance to practice your language skills with your language professors...

Schedule a talk ahead of time: When you actually ask for rec letters... do NOT just drop in! Show a level of professionalism by emailing your professors ahead of time and asking if you can speak with them regarding grad school/study abroad program, and ask them a question. :-] That’s what I did anyway lol! I didn’t ask for my rec letter officially over email, but face to face.

Set them up: Discuss the program(s) you are interested in, and give them enough detail so that they have a general idea of what you want to get them involved in. Don’t just sit down and ask ‘Can you write me a rec letter?’ but show that you are prepared! If you need to, provide them with pamphlets now.

Just ask!: Okay, now you can literally ‘just ask!’ When I had to ask for rec letters from one of my professors, my CURRENT professor was in his office just chatting with him! That was a bit nerve-wracking, but I just spit out my request before my anxiety took over (I totally wanted to run out of the office). It didn’t really matter that we had an ‘audience’, as he accepted with no problem!

What to do after...

APPLY!: Now that you've asked, you have to follow through! Start working on your application if you haven’t done so already, keep researching the process, and keep your recommenders up to date with deadlines, reminders, and additional information you discover. For me, I have to keep my professors up to date with my writing samples, statements of purpose, application process, and deadlines for my study abroad program. Whatever I need to know, they need to know!

um, I hope this is helpful! I can’t really cover the ‘okay I’ve applied and they’ve sent their letters in’ parts because...that hasn’t happened yet! I only asked two weeks ago, but I’ll definitely add onto this post once I can talk about the end results. :-]

[mertinawriting]

What faculty should write your recommendation letters?

Note that this is tailored for MA/ PhD applicants! 

Ranked from best to worst: 

Advisor who you have a good relationship with 

Tenured faculty (in your field) who you have a good relationship with

Tenure track faculty (in your field) who you have a good relationship with 

Advisor who you have a neutral relationship with 

Tenured faculty (in your field) who you have a neutral relationship with

Tenure track faculty (in your field) who you have a neutral relationship with

Tenured faculty (outside of your field) who you have a good relationship with

Tenure track faculty (outside of your field) who you have a good relationship with 

A good relationship is defined as this person knowing quite a bit about your professional & academic life either because you’ve taken several courses with them, you’ve spent significant time in office hours, or because they’ve served as the head of research that you’ve done. 

Important: Never ask ANYBODY who you have a bad relationship with even if they’re your advisor or a tenured faculty member in your field. 

Need help with your grad school application? Start out with a totally free 15 minute phone consultation. 

Website: www.mertinawriting.com

Email: [email protected]

Text: [phone] 

[collegeessayguy]

Written by Alexis Allison, College Essay Guy Team

Cue the Hallelujah chorus. The letter of recommendation is the one part of the application that students don’t have to write.

But wait! Before you crank up Pharrell Williams, know this: You still have to know how to ask for a letter of recommendation.

There’s actually a strategy to getting a creme-de-la-creme letter of recommendation for college — kind of like there’s a strategy to getting your parents to un-ground you, or your teacher to throw out that homework assignment over spring break.

Don’t worry. “Strategy” is this guide’s middle name.

In the spirit of this topic, we’ve gathered advice from a number of experts, including:

Chris Reeves, school counselor and member of the NACAC board of directors

Trevor Rusert, director of college counseling at Chadwick International in South Korea

Michelle Rasich, director of college counseling at Rowland Hall

Kati Sweaney, senior assistant dean of admission at Reed College

Sara Urquidez, executive director of Academic Success Program, a nonprofit that promotes a college-going culture in Dallas/Fort Worth high schools

Martin Walsh, school counselor and former assistant dean of admission at Stanford

Michelle McAnaney, educational consultant and founder of The College Spy

And I’m Alexis, a high school English teacher-turned college counselor-turned journalist. Ethan (the College Essay Guy) and I serve as your synthesizers and storytellers in this guide, which we’ve chunked into a few steps.

👉 CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE. 👈

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[gerrycanavan]

tis the season

[studycxlture]

anyone have tips on how to get bomb af recommendation letters for college apps? i’m about to enter junior year & how do i impress my teachers??