Any tips on how to ask someone to write you a letter of reference for grad school?

Answer 1

Think carefully about who you ask....you want to stack the deck in your favor and be sure that person will write an excellent one for you. If you ask a teacher, consider how well they know you.

Your approach is simple. Ask if they would write a letter of recommendation for you. Explain your situation and needs, and provide sufficient information so they can do a good job for you. (The info you provide is detailed below.)

Consider the true intent of the letter of recommendation...to fill the gaps and gain insight about you that don't show up in a GPA number or test scores.

It doesn't matter so much WHO writes the letter as much as the quality of the content relative to the needs of the committee evaluating your application. (Some schools want a letter from a teacher and one from a non-teacher.)

From my experience on application review and scholarship review committees...most schools are trying to find "outstanding" students. So a key factor in the letter has to clearly set you apart from other applicants. You need to figure out what criteria or characteristics the school values in students they see as outstanding.

Generally, consider what makes a good worker...because in one sense, your job as a student is to study...and the college/university and professors are like your bosses...only they usually pay you with a grade. In some cases in grad school you actually are working for the college (teaching assistant) or a professor (as a research assistant).

Consider you goals...what you want to do, and why you want to do it...and AFTER you graduate, what will you do to with your education and degree. It's a given one of your goals is to graduate...and what you want to do is associated with your major....but what they don't know is why you are interested in the major...and once you are educated, what will you do with your degree....and how that might reflect on the college.

And now, the challenge is to find someone who knows you well enough to answer those questions for the school by writing a letter of recommendation for you. And get real, how many of teachers really get to know their students that well...unless of course, you engage them in conversations through the term. Many schools are concerned how well you will study and function in their institution (e.g. the entire college and more specifically in the dept of your major).

If you need an idea of what characteristics make a good worker (and believe me, there are many of them that apply to being an "outstanding student") visit http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/public/c... and learn about SCANS...a study done by the US Dept of Labor.

Use the SCANS checklist to document your studies and performance. In other words, do a personal inventory using the SCANS checklists. Look at job descriptions for your intended major / profession. Do a SCANS checklist of the job description....compare/contrast it to your personal inventory to see how well prepared you are for that job....any differences point out what you may need to study to acquire the necessary knowledge/skills for that job. Use the SCANS checklists to assess your college course...and know what knowledge and skills you got from them as they relate to the job you want.

Put it all together....be sure the letters of recommendation include specific facts to support the statements...and that key words from the SCANS checklists show up in the letter. Best way to have that happen is to give a draft letter to the person you ask for the recommendation....along with a copy of your resume, transcripts, and a biographical essay or an essay about why you chose your major. In other words, do your homework and provide the writer with all the tools and facts necessary to do a good job. They can toss your draft....or, they can use it...modify it...embellish it....but if they have to start from scratch...and have little to go on...how can you reasonable expect them to do a good job for you?

I have read many letters of recommendation from various sources....its the quality and factual content of the letter that is more important than the title of the writer.

When a teacher writes "one of the best students I ever had" I really have to wonder...so how many students is that? and best is relative...if all of the other students had bad grades and one student was on the high end of the bad grades...that makes the high scorer the "best" of the low grades...

Whomever you approach, do them the courtesy of providing them with the background materials to do a good job...along with sufficient time to do it...clearly stating the deadline, where the letter is to be sent, along with an pre-stamped and addressed envelope.

Sure hopes this helps. Good luck and best wishes.

Answer 2

Im pondering going to grad college besides and how i see it is youre extra advantageous off than the guy who didnt pass to grad college. Plus in todays financial equipment, its extra advantageous to easily stay in school till this typhoon passes. Chin up pal

Answer 3

If you know the person very well, just ask him or her.

Answer 4

I'm not sure ...but make sure its someone you know really well! Good luck!