{"id":716,"date":"2020-04-29T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T17:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/?p=716"},"modified":"2019-08-27T12:05:30","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T17:05:30","slug":"how-to-get-a-recommendation-letter-for-graduate-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/2020\/04\/29\/how-to-get-a-recommendation-letter-for-graduate-school\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get a Recommendation Letter for Graduate School"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The letter of recommendation is the part of the graduate school application that students stress most over. As with all elements of the application process, your first step is to be sure that you understand what you\u2019re asking for. Learn about letters of recommendation early, well before it is time to apply to graduate school.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What Is a Recommendation Letter?<\/span><\/h3>\n
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A letter of recommendation is a letter written on your behalf, typically from an undergrad faculty member, that recommends you as a good candidate for graduate study. All graduate admissions committees require that letters of recommendation accompany students\u2019 applications. Most require three. How do you do about getting a letter of recommendation, specifically a\u00a0good letter of recommendation<\/a>?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prep Work: Develop Relationships with Faculty<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Begin thinking about letters of recommendation as soon as you think you’d like to apply to graduate school because developing the relationships that are the foundation of good letters takes time. In all honesty, the best students seek to get to know professors and get involved regardless of whether they are interested in graduate study simply because it’s a good learning experience. Also, graduates will always need recommendations for jobs, even if they don’t go to graduate school. Seek experiences that will help you develop relationships with faculty that will get you excellent letters and help you learn about your field.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Choose Faculty to Write on Your Behalf<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Carefully choose your letter writers, keeping in mind that admissions committees seek letters from specific\u00a0types<\/a>\u00a0of professionals.\u00a0Learn about what qualities to look for in referees and don’t fret if you’re a nontraditional student or one who seeks entry to graduate school\u00a0several years after<\/a> graduating from college.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How to Ask<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Ask for letters\u00a0appropriately<\/a>. Be respectful and remember what\u00a0not<\/a>\u00a0to do. Your professor does not have to write you a letter, so do not demand one. Demonstrate respect for your letter writer’s time by providing him or her with plenty of advance notice. At least a month is preferable (more is better). Less than two weeks is unacceptable (and may be met with a “No”). Provide referees with the\u00a0info<\/a> they need to write a stellar letter, including info about the programs, your interests, and goals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Waive Your Rights to See the Letter<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Most recommendation forms include a box to check and sign to indicate whether you waive or retain your rights to see the letter. Always waive your rights. Many referees will not write a non-confidential letter. Also, admissions committees will give letters more weight when they are confidential under the assumption that faculty will be more candid when the student cannot read the letter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It’s OK to Follow-Up<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Professors are busy. There are many classes, many students, many meetings, and many letters. Check in a week or two before its due to see if the recommendation has been sent or if they need anything else from you. Follow-up but don\u2019t make a pest out of yourself. Check with the grad program and\u00a0contact<\/a> the prof again if it hasn’t been received. Give referees lots of time but also check in. Be friendly and don’t nag.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Afterwards<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Thank<\/a>\u00a0your referees. Writing a letter of recommendation takes careful thought and hard work. Show that you appreciate it with a thank you note. Also, report back to your referees. Tell them about the status of your application and definitely tell them when you are accepted to graduate school. They’ll want to know, trust me!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The letter of recommendation is the part of the graduate school application that students stress most over. As with all elements of the application process, your first step is to be sure that you understand what you\u2019re asking for. Learn about letters of recommendation early, well before it is time to apply to graduate school. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14,6,10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-advice","8":"category-general-post","9":"category-information","10":"category-tips"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/11994221_H18798358-600x400.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":718,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716\/revisions\/718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}