What is the best way to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation for graduate school?

Question

When you ask them should you provide them with a stamped envelope with your address on it so they can write it at their convince?

Answer 1

Your letters of recommendation should be mailed BY THE PROFESSOR to the grad school to which you are applying. They should not be given back to you. Definitely supply the envelope, stamped and addressed TO THE GRAD SCHOOL.

Having said that, just follow the directions on this website, and I promise you'll do fine.

http://www.yale.edu/iefp/fellowships/other/asking_rec_letters.html

Answer 2

I've asked for numerous letters. Tips:

1) Always, always, ALWAYS give the professor at least 2-3 months time. So, ask early! This will ensure that the professor has ample time to think about what he or she will write.

2) Only ask professors that know you. The better they know you both in and outside of the academic setting the better.

3) A general rule: A stands for ask. C stands for choose another professor. F stands for forget grad school. This means, if you got an A in the class that professor is probably a good one to ask. A C generally means ask someone else...and F, well that's self-explanatory!

4) Always supply a SASE!

5) Always write a thank you letter!

Answer 3

As a former college professor, I can answer from my own experience -

First of all, only ask a professor for a recommendation if you are relatively confident that the instructor knows YOU.

I was asked (all the time!) to write letters for students who I knew only as Joe Smith, who got an "A" in Psych 201. If someone took the trouble to ask, I'd always write the letter, but to be honest, there wasn't much I could say. Trust me - those aren't the kinds of letters that are going to get you into graduate school.

To whom this may concern,

I am pleased to provide this recommendation for Mary Jones. Ms. Jones was a student in my Psych 201 class in the Fall semester of 2004, and she earned a grade of A. Based on her exemplary performance, I have no hesitation to recommend Mary as a student who will contribute significantly to the graduate program at William Butler University. If I can be of any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Looks nice - but worthless. Graduate programs want to read letters of recommendation from professors who can comment specifically on your interests, your contributions to classroom discussion, your aptitude to develop research and problem solving skills, etc. If you haven't had the opportunity to develop this kind of relationship with one of your undergraduate professors, then that's where you missed your big chance to earn the kind of recommendation that will score big points with a graduate admissions committee.

If you have developed that kind of relationship with one or more professors, then you can approach those faculty members confidently - there's nothing a "scholar" enjoys more than recommending a student that they believe can further develop a talent to contribute to that field.

But take heart - even if you haven't had the opportunity to make an individual impression, almost all professors will write at least the boilerplate "I am pleased to recommend" letter that I reproduced above. Make sure that the graduate schools that you are applying to do not prescribe a specific form for recommendations, many do so.

Definitely provide a self-addressed stamped envelope, as some professors feel uncomfortable handing the recommendation back to the student - not only will providing an envelope be the courteous thing to do, but it will also improve the chances that your recommendation letter will hit the mail in a timely fashion.

Good luck to you - and don't worry about asking for a recommendation - if you make the mistake of asking someone who is totally unwilling to recommend you, then you've seriously misjudged the impression that you made on that professor.

Answer 4

I had professors who preferred that you provided them a stamped and addressed envelope and they would do it usually within the next few days. Just ask them. Usually at the end of a semester they provide details on how they prefer to handle letters of recommendation. Good luck!

Answer 5

I'm a professor and I agree strongly with the last guy.

We got so many requests for these (like 10-20 a semester, with each student needing several) it gets annoying if you have to do too much work on each.

These days there is a lot o finternet submission. So the SASE is irrelevant.

A resume' and knowing you from office hours helps. YOu might also include a short self description that highlights what you want said in the letter. How many times have I sat down to write these and couldn't think of anything too distinctive to say other than:

"Uhh.. she got an A- in my class and seemed eager."

Answer 6

Well, it all depends. Are you currently in school? Does the graduate school require that the letters be sent with the application or separately?
I asked two out of three professors in person, and the third via email. I provided all three with envelopes as they would be sent with my application, but one decided to use a university envelope instead.
You should ask them in person and email them with the details: tell them what the program is, and what the application deadline is. Also give them a soft deadline and a hard deadline. The earlier you ask the better.

Answer 7

you had better give them a SASE! You are asking a favor, don't make them pay for it, too. bear in mind, faculty get asked for this kind of thing 20 times a semester. Also, ask someone you have a relationship with, not just the random professor with the big name...graduate programs aren't interested in a generic letter, they want it from somene who knows you and your abilities. Ask humbly and make sure they know all they need to about where you are applying and make sure they have a copy of your statement of purpose. in short, make it easy on the faculty member you ask to write you a good recommendation.

Answer 8

be direct! It would not hurt to provide them with a SESE-self enclosed stamped envelop.

Answer 9

you better give dat letter man or we gonna have some problems up in here.