<p>I have a few questions about recommendation letters for transferring students; as you can see, I am new to this.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How many of your recommendation letters should be from professors?</p></li>
<li><p>Does it help if the professor is tenured, or if the professor is the department head? Should the professors be in the faculty that you are applying to, i.e., if you are going into business, should the recommendation letters come from business professors?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it acceptable to submit recommendation letters from high school teachers or is your high school performance no longer as relevant (this is assuming you will be transferring for your junior year in college)</p></li>
<li><p>When and how should you approach a professor for a letter of recommendation? After the finals?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it rude to ask your professor if they will give you a good recommendation? I don't mean that you should ask what they will say, just whether the recommendation.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, I know it depends on the school, but typically how many letters are expected.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Read the college websites, colleges vary, each will tell you the number of LORs and who they should come from.</p></li>
<li><p>It doesn’t matter if they are tenured or chair, what matters is what they say about you. It might help to have LORs from someone in your field, but again, it’s the strength of the LOR that is the most important.</p></li>
<li><p>No.</p></li>
<li><p>After finals if possible. Email asking to meet and ask in person, bring a CV or other relevant information.</p></li>
<li><p>In my opinion it’s fine, but others may disagree. As someone who has written LORs for students, I will tell them if I feel I can write a strong, pretty good or luke warm LOR, as I think it’s honest and gives them the choice to decide if they would rather ask someone else. </p></li>
<li><p>For selective privates, usually 2; but it can vary and some schools don’t require any.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks.
Had one more question.
I assume that when the professor writes the LOR, he or she uses the Common Application Instructor Evaluation Form. If you are applying to a number of different schools, say 5-10, should the prof just photocopy the form, sign it, then mail it to each of the different schools, or is he or she expected to fill out a separate evaluation form for each school?</p>