<p>Just curious as to what the usual time period before they need to be sent in you give the professors your resume, forms etc.?</p>
<p>Here are some answers from the Transfer Admissions 101 sticky thread.
[quote]
#18</p>
<p>when should we start filling out apps and grabbing letters of rec?
Assuming you are on the most common schedule - ie, fall transfer with apps due in March: working on your apps over winter break should work fine. That would give you time to think about your essays, research more about each school so that your "why xxx school" essay is very specific.</p>
<pre><code> #19
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<p>How can I ask my prof to write so many recommendations if I am applying to several schools? Isn't that a burden? What should I provide to profs when asking for recommendations?
Typically, faculty will write one recommendation for you (in a Word file or similar) and print it out for however many applications you plan to submit. So it is no trouble, as a rule, for them to provide you recs for several schools.</p>
<p>To facilitate it for them, provide stamped, addressed envelopes for each school with either a master list of deadlines or lightly penciled deadline on each envelope.</p>
<p>Many schools provide a form for the prof rec. You will notice, if you read carefully that many of them don't care if the form is actually used; or that the form just calls for a bit of identifying information about you (which <em>you</em> fill in before giving to the prof) and allows the recommender to simply attach his letter of rec.</p>
<p>In addition, profs might appreciate a <em>brief</em> resume, idea of your planned major and a copy of your transcript to know how you are doing in all of your coursework, not just their courses.
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</p>
<p>Re your specific "what is the usual time?" question</p>
<p>I think that speaking with them just before winter break is a good option for most application schedules. You are fresh in the prof's mind. You know that you did well in the course. They have plenty of time to do the rec over break, if they so choose, or plenty of time to do it after classes resume if that is their preference.</p>
<p>If you are not on that type of schedule, I would suggest asking the prof as soon as you know s/he is one you want. Then ask him or her what schedule would be best for providing the form(s)/envelope(s) and what other materials they might like to have from you.</p>
<p>thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Oh, and I went back and added this to the TA101 thread (we are trying to keep that complete as new issues come up, so it will be a good master reference):</p>
<p>If you are "up against the clock" trying to give yourself time to get to know profs well enough to ask, try to give them 2-3 weeks. But.... don't worry about it too much. For most schools, the critical element for the deadline is for <em>your</em> portion of the app to be on time. If the prof rec trickles in a bit later, that is usually okay. Don't take this as gospel. Check with the individual school if you are running into a time crunch with the prof rec arriving on time.</p>
<p>haha, I didn't even know all of that was on the transfer thread and I feel dumb now for being "that guy" and asking when I should have looked first. I've been here for about a year, I should know better :D</p>