How to ask for prof. transfer recommendations?

Transfer Students
1

Hi!
So the reason I want to transfer is I don’t really like my school. The programs here aren’t very good. Sometimes I like it here and there are some people who like academics – but overwhelmingly they’re not serious about their work. Which isn’t ideal. It’s also huge and impersonal. And it’s mostly kids from the area so it doesn’t feel diverse or exciting or anything.
I specifically need help with asking recommendations to profs and the essay – I have the other stuff figured out.
Should I go to their office hours to ask? Send them an e-mail? But more importantly: what do I say? I don’t want to sound pretentious and say basically that the school isn’t good enough for me which isn’t what I think. I’m just not happy here so I might as well look for a school I like better (even when I might not be entirely happy there either.) Plus a more prestigious school will be better for my career.
So first I’m transferring to a school I like better in terms of location, size, atmosphere, etc. And then for prestige, which is apparently a sin according to some, but you can’t deny prestige does give you a huge advantage.

So what I’m really asking is help with asking recs. What should I say? In HS it was easy because it is expected that you will ask for them. But in college it’s a little different, do they usually ask why you want to transfer and where? I can’t be honest and sound arrogant. I need to sugarcoat it somehow.
Do you have any suggestions on how I should approach this?

Thank you!

2

I think it is preferable to ask for a recommendation in person, as opposed to an email. Especially if your classes are large, your professor might have no clue who you are. Just say you hope to transfer to a school that fits you better in terms of “size, location, atmosphere” and were hoping that he/she would be willing to write a letter of recommendation. I would leave out the part about prestige.

3

Haha thanks :slight_smile: definitely won’t mention prestige!

4

Agree with above poster. Simply talk about size and location (say a relative lives nearby if you would feel better). If it’s a great dept or they have research you could mention that. Just remember, the prof’s workplace is your current school and you don’t want to make him feel like a loser by denigrating the place in any way. :expressionless: