Graduate School Recommendations
Most graduate school applications require at least three letters of recommendation, while many will ask for no more than three. Your references should come from people who know you and can attest to your work as a student. Referees should be able to positively recommend you as a candidate to the graduate program in which you are applying. The most important thing to consider is that a referee must provide a positive evaluation of you and should be able to identify the skills that make you a positive candidate. Letters from professors are the most respected by admissions committees, but if you’re still unsure of who might be the best candidate to write your letter of recommendation, here’s a step-by-step guide to picking the right persons.
Instructions
1. Plan ahead. You should be thinking about your graduate school application long before you start applying. What professors or faculty members will provide the best and most comprehensive list of your attributes and abilities?
2. Create a long list including anyone who might be a viable candidate. All the people that you’ve had positive contact with in your academic and professional career should be included in this initial list, from professors and employers to internship advisors and volunteer work supervisors. Take a few days to narrow down the list, carefully crossing off those who won’t fulfill the responsibility to the best result.
3. The professors who know you well will be able to provide insight into your academic career, your skills and your personality.
4. Approach faculty members your respect and get along with. Higher level classes that you took later in your undergraduate career where you received positive grades are the best places to look for references.
5. Referees must positivity outline your potential for graduate school and understand your motives for higher education.
6. If you have been out of school for some time, you might include a letter from a professional colleague or advisor. Letters from employers provide your current work ethic and abilities and can be very useful in the graduate application.
7. Professional references must be able to provide evidence of your abilities in carrying out everyday and complex tasks, problem solving, ability to lead and follow and complete work in a timely and efficient manner.
8. When choosing a reference, consider if they are aware of your future plans and goals, understand your academic and professional interests and are able to evaluate your performance from undergraduate school. Will they attest to your ability to work with others and evaluate your professional work ethic.
9. One reference may not be able to attest to all of the skills and interests that you need in your reference portfolio, which is the beauty of having more than one. Your list should be narrowed down so that the three references combined, will cover all the things you wish to have addressed.
10. It is always an added plus if your references have some recognition in their fields, which increases the weight of their good opinions. Academics is often about politics.
11. Give yourself plenty of time to narrow down your perfect list. You need to keep in mind that once you’ve decided on your “perfect 3” you still need to ask if they are available, give yourself time to reconfigure if they are not available and allow them plenty of time to actually write the reference. The individual should have at least two months to write a reference.
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