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Good advice. I particularly liked "[W]hat you should ask is, 'Would you be comfortable writing me a strong letter of recommendation?'" I picked up another tric
by alttag 15y ago
Good advice. I particularly liked "[W]hat you should ask is, 'Would you be comfortable writing me a strong letter of recommendation?'"
I picked up another trick when I applied for doctoral programs: as the requestor, prepare sample letter for the writer. You can highlight things she/he may have forgotten or only known cursorily. The writer is under no obligation to use the sample, but (as a writer of such letters for students) it makes the writing process go much faster. (Although, yes, undergraduate students are inclined to be a bit hyperbolic in their self-descriptions.)
- imurray 15y agoas the requestor, prepare sample letter for the writer A slightly less presumptuous version of this strategy is to provide a bullet list of things they may like to include in a letter. When I'm writing letters I usually ask students for such a list. I wouldn't really want them to draft the whole letter.
- scott_s 15y agoSome do, though. Not in my case, but some other professors in my old department asked one of my fellow students to provide a letter. They presumably edited it, but they definitely wanted it as a starting point. I agree it can be an odd thing if the professor does not request it, so it's probably best to only do it on request.