7 ms·

Great article, and very relevant to what I'm going through right now! I'm a sophomore undergraduate currently looking to transfer, and I need two letter of rec

Great article, and very relevant to what I'm going through right now! I'm a sophomore undergraduate currently looking to transfer, and I need two letter of recommendations. However, I feel uncomfortable approaching my professors since I don't have strong relationships with any of them. I find it hard since I only have a year under my belt, not allowing me much chance to get to know a professor. And since I have strong grades I haven't had the need to see professors during after-hours, limiting my interaction with them further. Do you have any suggestions? Will professors understand my situation, and be willing to write a strong letter of recommendation based on my grades, class participation, and strong resume? Again, thanks for writing this post! Wonderful blog :)

mattmight 15y ago
If you've had good class participation and you can provide your resume in condensed, bullet-point form, you should be able to get decent or good (but not great) recommendations.
- bronxbomber92 15y ago
  Thanks for the quick response! I've got one more if you don't mind. This is a question that should definitely be asked on a school by school basis, but I'd be curious to know if it is a common occurrence as well (from your experience as a professor). I have a fair more amount of experience as a software engineer in industry than as a student; is it common for prospective students to ask schools the permission to substitute a letter of recommendation from a professor for a letter from a manager or boss?
  - mattmight 15y ago
    It depends on what you're applying for. For undergrad transfers or a terminal masters applicant, industry recs are generally OK. For a Ph.D. student, not much more than one industry rec would be commonly permissible, unless they're from an industrial research lab. For a Ph.D. student, a good industry rec will focus on character, strong work ethic and specific examples of problem-solving ability. Industrial assessment of research potential tends to be mentally damped by the reviewer unless the recommender has a Ph.D.
sardonicbryan 15y ago
What I did was basically ask a professor who I knew had a research lab, and ask if there was anything I could help him with. In my experience, most professors have too much stuff to do, and are very open to free labor.

mattmight 15y ago

If you've had good class participation and you can provide your resume in condensed, bullet-point form, you should be able to get decent or good (but not great) recommendations.

bronxbomber92 15y ago
Thanks for the quick response! I've got one more if you don't mind. This is a question that should definitely be asked on a school by school basis, but I'd be curious to know if it is a common occurrence as well (from your experience as a professor). I have a fair more amount of experience as a software engineer in industry than as a student; is it common for prospective students to ask schools the permission to substitute a letter of recommendation from a professor for a letter from a manager or boss?
- mattmight 15y ago
  It depends on what you're applying for. For undergrad transfers or a terminal masters applicant, industry recs are generally OK. For a Ph.D. student, not much more than one industry rec would be commonly permissible, unless they're from an industrial research lab. For a Ph.D. student, a good industry rec will focus on character, strong work ethic and specific examples of problem-solving ability. Industrial assessment of research potential tends to be mentally damped by the reviewer unless the recommender has a Ph.D.

sardonicbryan 15y ago

What I did was basically ask a professor who I knew had a research lab, and ask if there was anything I could help him with. In my experience, most professors have too much stuff to do, and are very open to free labor.