Guide to Developing Good Relationships with Professors for Recomendation Letters

<p>The way the original question was written, I assume the person intends to apply to graduate school and needs a letter of recommendation. I totally agree with those above who say the original list sounds more like sucking up. I don’t think it expected or even appropriate to give gifts to your professors. Inventing reasons to ask for their help outside of class where the sole purpose is to ‘look good’ probably has backfired rather than helped most students. Profs are wise to that type of behavior and can see through those who sole purpose is to suck up and somehow think the prof will think more highly of them. Be yourself, do well in class and then those other things will be a result of how well you have performed, not how well you think you will have fooled someone into thinking better of you.</p>

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This is so true. Try to do this very often. Make sure the subject is interesting to discuss.</p>

<p>I would recommend not doing that during their office hours though. That time is more for class recapping and review.
It’s better to find time outside class and office hours to talk about random stuff.
It would also show you that your professor is open and friendly and caring about students if they take the time out of their personal amount to spend with you.</p>

<p>The professor will be more impressed by the student who read the professor’s own work, who read the work of others in the department and who perhaps looked up some of the work cited in the footnotes of the textbook – then one who brings coffee, remembers the name of the professor’s dog, etc. etc. etc. </p>

<p>If you want to impress the professor, drop by his or her office and say the following:
I saw that you recently wrote a book on X. I was unable to find a copy in the library and wondered if you had a copy I could borrow.</p>

<p>Actually read it and then come by with three carefully prepared questions about the material.</p>

<p>Early in the semester, go see the prof and tell him/her that you are interested in applying to grad school, and ask for advice on paper topics which might be most useful, given your future plans. do some preliminary readnig on the paper topic, then come back and see the prof again.</p>

<p>Go see the prof and ask for advice on course selection for next semester, given your future plans as an X . . . </p>

<p>Ask the prof for advice on finding an internship.</p>

<p>Asking questions about the assigned reading suggests that you’re conscientious, but not so independently motivated. Asking questions about additional reading in the subject that you read just for fun suggests that you’re highly motivated and well on the road to becoming an independent scholar.</p>

<p>@ pcristiani, Ga Tech has a Research program, where any undergrad can complete research as part of their degree. 9 hours of research is what is required I believe.</p>

<p>What is this stickied? Good lord, must EVERYTHING be boiled down to a how-to formula that can be manipulated and gamed? This advice reeks of machiavellian nonsense. </p>

<p>I don’t want my students swinging by and making small talk, wasting my time, faking their attentions, and giving me gifts with some master plan to garner some kind of letter from me later. Same sort of students that come to negotiate grades and/or brown nose. Go away! News flash: we know this student and there are a few every year. You don’t want to hear what we say about you OP. These students think they are oh so savvy because most professors are pretty polite and don’t point out what is obvious tot hem (but just because professors play along doesn’t mean they don’t see right through you as a suck up and share info with their colleagues about you-- info that isn’t good). </p>

<p>We want students that work hard and participate in class because they are genuinely interested in learning. We want students who are intellectually curious, with an apparent genuineness and sense of integrity. Few students can practice or manufacture their way into creating the illusion that they have these traits: those attempting to do so come across like used car salesmen. </p>

<p>I write letters for students gifted enough to work with me on my research or be involved such that I know them in a <em>working capacity</em> beyond the classroom. Oh and just because I say I’ll write a letter for you doesn’t mean you would necessarily agree with what I have to say. Think about it. The LAST thing you want in a letter of recommendation about you is to be described as “instrumental”. </p>

<p>I can’t believe the OP actually thinks so lowly of people that they believe a bag of coffee beans would override professional integrity.</p>

<p>Why IS this thread stickied? The OP was written almost three years ago.</p>

<p>starbright said it perfectly.</p>

<p>No relationship should be developed to get recommendations or for any other advantage other than the pursuit of mutual interests. And none of this advice will work because any intelligent professor—any intelligent person—senses when someone is just “kissing up” and ceases to see that person in a good light.</p>

<p>A couple inquiries:</p>

<p>Does a letter from an alum/ past teacher typically carry any extra weight? My four math profs that taught at CalTech, Berkeley, MIT, and UChicago; I’m most likely applying to all of these for transfer next fall (not because of the math department here at UW… because of the atmosphere in general). If so, what should the cost be? How much quality of LOR should I sacrifice to have one from a past faculty member? How much for an alum?</p>

<p>Also, I worked with my physics prof last year at my high school on research (my work is currently being reviewed for publication in the Electronic Journal of Differential Equations). Through my last two years of high school, I’ve taken 7 courses with him (3 were independent studies), so he knows me and my work quite well. Is it advisable to get a letter of rec from him? He’s a high school teacher, but he does have his Ph.D. I’m sure I can create a more positive relationship with my current teachers by the spring for LOR for transfer apps, but U Cambridge has an Oct 15 deadline, and we haven’t even had class for 3 weeks here (I’m a freshman).</p>

<p>Great thread, keep bumped.</p>

<p>OP forgot to add: Sleep with your professor. I can not stress how important this is, especially if you want to get ahead in life (this is very common in European countries). My friend, an attractive asian girl, actually asked out her orgo professor and somehow got an A in her class even though she was failing. This happened at USC.</p>

<p>thanks for the advice! i have recieved several amazing recomendations from many of my professors. one of the number one things in obtaining a good recomendation is attending all classes. aside from this you want to formulate a relationship with your professor and let them know that you are very serious about their class and for academic future. also be sure to obtain recomendations in your field of study if you can. i received several recomendations form my chemistry, bio, and math professors only. although i had excellent relationships with my literature and history professors i felt that the college that i was applying to would want to see me being recomended from teachers in the field that i was intending on studying in. my goal is to become a forensic scientist so recomendations from, math, bio, and chem made sense to me.</p>

<p>Thanks for this thread; I’ve found it very useful and helpful in relieving some stress about applying! I have a quick question though.
Does it help to get a letter from a professor who has tenure vs one who is part of the adjunct faculty?</p>

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Let’s hope that there aren’t many faculty with as jaded an outlook as this.</p>

<p>Starbright, the OP’s post was largely focused on substantive elements of developing a good relationship with profs. But you chose to skip down to an afterthought portion of his post where he mentioned that he had given gifts to a couple of profs with whom he had especially good relationships and to whom he was especially grateful.</p>

<p>Perhaps you are in the wrong field?</p>

<p>Starbright’s comment made me a bit nervous — I went in to ask an instructor for a recommendation today, but ended up staying and chatting with her for almost an hour about non-school stuff. I would have wanted to talk to her even if she hadn’t been willing to give me a recommendation — she has similar taste in music/technology and I think that if I weren’t her student, we could be friends. She is in the field I want to go into, and I feel like I have learned a lot from her. The idea that she could think that I only talked to her because of the recommendation makes me sick and sad, because I really like and respect her.</p>

<p>@ntrading</p>

<p>I still have my HS recs from my counselor and teacher. They seemed pretty good to me at the time but then again I thought everyone’s sounded like mine? Who knows.</p>

Some schools have undergraduate research. But its usually at smaller schools.