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Letters of Recommendation- asking and sending!!
I have a question about asking for letters of recommendation...
I am interested in applying to graduate school, and wanted to know a couple of things about the whole letter of recommendation process:
a) if I am not in the same city as my previous university, what would be a good way of asking a professor to write me a letter? Email, phone, etc.. and also, what would I need to mention to them?
b) I want to apply to multiple programs- is it generally acceptable to have the professor submit a letter to an office in the university, that will send out photocopies of the letter out to each school? Or is it necessary to have the professor him/herself send out a copy to each and every school I apply to?
Thank you!!
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Want to answer more questions in the Work & School category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Colleges & Universities?
Do call the professors you want to write recommendations for you. Once you have spoken to them you can explain that you will send the materials they need via email or snail mail, that way they will be watching for them.
If you want to apply to multiple programs make sure the professors writing your recommendations know this. Give them the info needed for each program all at once. Often they can write one letter that addresses everyones questions and just change one line. For example: "Dear American University Engineering program, it is with my greatest pleasure to recommend John Doe to your program. Blah, blah, blah...." They would simply change the "American University Engineering program" to make sure each program is properly addressed.
Also be sure to send thank you cards to each person writing you a recommendation. Sure professors do these all the time and it is an expected part of their job, but a thank you goes a long way.
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a) Since your professor would be doing you a favor, it would be more polite for you to contact him/her by phone. If it's impossible to get a hold of them, then and email would be acceptable.
b) This depends on where you are applying. Many graduate schools will want to receive the letters of recommendation directly from the source to ensure their accuracy. Call the schools you are applying to and find out what way they would prefer. If your professor ends up having to send out the letter to all the schools, make sure to make it as easy as possible for him/her by giving him all the information right away.
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