A letter of recommendation for graduate school is one of the documents that applicants must submit to an admissions department in order to be considered for admission to a program. Grades or test scores are impersonal, and while they attest to a student’s aptitude, they don’t discuss the graduate student’s personal characteristics. While letters may briefly describe a student’s academic abilities, they are really meant to be more personal accounts of the student and to provide a more complete, colorful picture of how that student will fit into any graduate program.
Before getting into the content of the letter, students should carefully consider which professors they ask to write a letter of recommendation for graduate school. One factor to consider is whether the professors questioned have any ties to the school(s) to which the student is applying. A letter from someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone Consider how well the professor knows the student, which is equally important, if not more so. Professors who know and like the student are more likely to write a warm personal letter about accomplishments or graduate school readiness.
Students can assist professors in adding important details to a letter of recommendation for graduate school by sending reminders of work completed when requesting a recommendation. Transcripts, term papers, lists of all classes taken with the professor, and a summary of other activities the professor and student pursued together should be included in letter requests, which should be made at least a month before they’re needed. The goal is to provide as many personal details as possible to the letter writer, which will help jog his or her memory or provide content for the recommendation. A scribbled comment on a term paper could blossom into a complimentary statement about the student.
The professor’s job is to write a highly personalized letter of recommendation for graduate school that includes examples of the student’s abilities. It’s fairly simple to write a one or two page letter that speaks to the student’s strengths using information like term paper grades and personal knowledge. Maturity, autonomy, cooperation, originality, and research ability are some of the qualities that graduate schools look for. Concrete examples of the student’s accomplishments in these areas are extremely useful.
A lot of statements about the student’s need to improve should not be included in a letter of recommendation for graduate school. If a teacher is unsure about a student’s readiness for graduate school, he may simply tell him that he is unable to make a recommendation. When professors recommend students, they are putting their own reputation on the line; writing a dishonest evaluation is not advised.
For students, this emphasizes the importance of developing strong relationships with professors while also working to improve performance. Undergraduate students should view teachers as resources, get to know them during office hours, and work to leave a positive impression. Teachers who are familiar with the student are more likely to make strong recommendations.