How to request letters of recommendation

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm wondering about how to initiate the process of having a professor write me a recommendation. In high school it's easy enough to just drop by their room and ask. But in college it can occasionally be a bit hard to track them down if you're no longer in their class, and they also are sometimes busy in their office and don't wish to be disturbed.</p>

<p>Should I drop by the office (essentially uninvited) and ask in person? What if the door's locked? Would it be considered rude for a student who didn't have an appointment to knock? Or should I send an email and make the initial request in the email? Of course, if I did this I would personally deliver the materials to them (stamped envelopes, etc.), and upon doing so I'd certainly thank them in person.</p>

<p>Also, instead of preparing materials that I think would be helpful for the writer of the letter, should I instead simply ask them what materials they'd like and then provide those?</p>

<p>Writing this makes me feel like I somehow have lost all understanding of social interaction, but frankly the situation does feel a bit awkward for me (even if I knew my professors in class pretty well).</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>I’ve asked 5 professors for letters of recommendation so far. </p>

<p>The first was a philosophy professor who I took a class with during the spring semester of my sophomore year. I knew she would have great things to say about me since she recommended I change my major to philosophy since she enjoyed my paper so much. However, I wasn’t able to find her e-mail address since the messages on my school account had been deleted after we switched from a university operated system to one which was powered by hotmail. Luckily, I found her facebook page and was able to ask her through there. She was a young professor, so it didn’t seem unprofessional to use that medium. I also used the same method with an anthropology professor that I took a class with during the summer. </p>

<p>I used e-mail to contact another two and I’m currently taking a class with the final professor, so I just gave him the forms in person today.</p>

<p>I’m not sure why I told you all of that, but enjoy reading about my life.</p>

<p>Anyway, on to your questions.</p>

<p>I’d recommend shooting an e-mail to your professors. It’s a lot simpler than having to run around in an attempt to find them since their office hours are often sporadic and the location of their office might have changed since you took their class. This also enables them to respond to the message at their convenience since they may be preoccupied if you come to visit their office. However, if you are going to drop by their office, it’s okay if you do it uninvited, but make sure it’s during their designated office hours. If you like, you can just set up an appointment to meet with them in their office via an e-mail.</p>

<p>As far as materials are concerned, you may want to hand them a copy of your resume. However, if we’re talking about a teacher evaluation as opposed to a letter of rec., that most likely won’t be necessary since that form is created with the intent of learning about a student’s performance within the classroom.</p>

<p>There’s no need to feel awkward about this at all. If you built up a good rapport with your professors during the time that you spent in their class, they will most likely be elated that you’d ask them for a letter of rec. and may even congratulate you for aspiring to achieve your fullest potential at a more academically challenging university.</p>

<p>I’d just go with the e-mail if I were you. Just start with “Hi, I’m not sure if you remember me, but my name is (insert name) and I took your class during (semester.) Recently I’ve realized that (insert school) no longer suits the needs of my scholastic career, nor my future career aspirations. Recently, I’ve decided to attempt to matriculate into (universities’ names) for (insert semester.) I was wondering if you’d be inclined to write me a letter of recommendation/teacher evaluation form in order to fulfill one of the requirements for hopeful transfer students.”</p>

<p>Always thank them for their time, and telling them how much you enjoyed their class wouldn’t hurt either.</p>

3

<p>I recommend you read this post, <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/350103-guide-developing-good-relationships-professors-recomendation-letters.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/350103-guide-developing-good-relationships-professors-recomendation-letters.html&lt;/a&gt; .</p>

<p>This will make asking for a recommendation a lot easier if you already established a good relationship with your professor. Morever, when they do write your rec, it will probably be more personal.</p>

<p>In my case, I dropped in during office hours and explained why I wanted to transfer and asked if they had the time to write a recommendation. Be ready for a mini-interview. One of my professors asked me about where I grew up and my future aspirations academically and professionally. But don’t sweat it, it’s nothing like a college admissions interview.</p>

4

<p>Wow, thanks so much for the extensive information! I’ve decided to go the email route (just for initiating the process) since that seems like the most effective and least invasive method.</p>

<p>Thanks for the link, Javous. Although I of course don’t have any time left to develop my present relationships with professors from whom I’m going to be asking for recommendations, I’ll keep that thread in mind for the future (graduate school).</p>

5

<p>I just asked the teachers who I knew cared about their students. Those who arent just there to “flaunt” how smart they think they are and how we should be grateful to be in their presence. Instead I just emailed or asked my teachers, and told them to take their time. </p>

<p>My teacher was nice enough to mail me a hard copy (she paid the stamps). Such a sweeetheart</p>

6

<p>That makes me a lot less nervous!! Its weird when you’re a college freshman in a lecture room of 200 people.</p>

7

<p>This is going to be a really silly question, but since I’m going to be providing my letter writers with stamped and addressed envelopes, do I need to put anything for the return address? Should I put my address or leave it blank for the professor to fill out or should it simply not be filled out at all by anyone?</p>

<p>Oh, how the internet has spoiled me.</p>

8

<p>Also, I suppose this is relevant for this thread. Is it ever okay (or beneficial) to submit more letters of recommendation than required? (For example, three instead of two.)</p>

9

<p>I’m not an expert, but I have heard elsewhere on CC that extra recs can be helpful if they provide a different perspective–the usual example is getting a rec from a prof/TA who supervises an EC you are involved with. </p>

<p>But if the third rec is just more of the same, I would assume it is best to leave it out. Just send the best two.</p>

10

<p>so i understand how to ask a professor, but i still can’t help but feel that it has a lingering sense of betrayal. my professor loves the school i go to (Cal). it’s a phenomenal school but i just don’t feel like i fit in. i’m afraid that when it comes to asking her for a recommendation, a reasonable mini-interview might turn into a session where i must consistently defend myself. it’s not that i don’t think i have good enough reasons for transferring or that my professor doesn’t have the right to know why i’m transferring, it’s just that i’m afraid i won’t be able to explain myself well enough. how can you explain to your professor that you just don’t feel like you belong in a school and aren’t fitting in?</p>

11

<p>When I spoke with my professors about the letters, they both seemed to understand why I was wanting to transfer before I even had to explain anything, and they were both really supportive. One of them really emphasized to me how much he hoped everything worked out for me.</p>

<p>In my situation, though, I’m applying to transfer from an ordinary public school to some top 20 private schools with excellent math departments (math is my interest), so I think just from my performance in their classes and the schools I had chosen they were able to see what I was wanting to do.</p>

<p>So in my case everything worked out very well (as far as asking for letters went). I felt just like you did at the beginning. It seemed like they might be displeased, and I was afraid that since I took classes with them they might feel they were responsible for making me want to transfer. But I was lucky in that they were both very understanding and supporting.</p>

<p>I hope everything works out for you!</p>

12

<p>rachel,
I really don’t think your profs will react like that. They are professionals who know that there are many individual reasons for transferring, and though they may be interested in knowing what your reason is, they are not likely to stand in judgment of it.</p>

<p>If they ask, just tell your profs that while the academics are wonderful, you haven’t fit in well socially and hope to move to a school where you’ll be happier. Perhaps you’re looking for a smaller city, or a smaller school, or one where there’s a tighter community feel, etc. Those are all things that, even though it’s a great school, Cal can’t give you. I think profs want their students to be happy in all facets of their life and while they love their institution, they know that there are many schools that you could thrive at.</p>

13

<p>that’s good to know. thanks everyone!</p>

14

<p>Rachel,</p>

<p>I usually recommend emailing a professor that you will meet them at their next office hours to discuss a letter of recommendation. Meet with them at their office hours and bring a list of your accomplishments in, and out of, that class. Ask them if they are willing to write the letter and explain the time frame. Most importantly, you need to explain what it is for, that it is a competitive process, and you need to ask them if they are willing to help you in this endeavor. If they won’t be able to write you that glowing recommendation you are looking for, it might be best to go with someone else - and you should ask them to be upfront with you about this process.</p>