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Hello all One of my prospective grad schools has given me the contact details of a current student to chat to via email. As I am a prospective applicant from Australia I want to make sure I ask the right things. Can I ask in general about this person's experience thus far? Should I have some specific questions ready? What life is like in that particular city? Thanks

A great idea, but he is quite blunt and open if he doesn't want to do something. At this stage I don't feel comfortable pursuing it. I was planning a visit to the U.S. in January, it's a shame I'm not going earlier as this sort of conversation might be more comfortable in person. He also said he thinks my 'other professors' would provide a better character assessment, but I haven't studied since his two courses and Its just not common in Australia for our uni teachers to get to know their students as individuals (one of the reasons I'm keen to study again in the U.S.!) and provide a considered reference. I really valued his assessment moreso than any Aussie professor.

There's no definitely no other academic option. So disheartening but I'm not going to give up. I just don't get why he couldn't have recycled the last reference and added in a bit about the school/my goals. My plan is to get two or three( HOPEFULLY three) supervisor references as normal, then mail (or attach online? Not sure what the application portal looks like) in my two academic references from 2013, explaining the situation. While the reports may not discuss my current goals or reference the schools I am applying to, they are still the most accurate reference of my time at university which ended in 2013. That's the best option I have now.

An update - heard back from the professor. He said he wouldn't be able to write me a reference because he just started a new job and he doesn't have the time.... Pretty shocked and devastated considering he wrote such a positive letter in 2013 and spoke highly of my abilities. Perhaps it was a nice way of letting me down since I had been advised this is generally a usual part of their job. :\ I no longer have a viable academic reference option.

Ahhh yes, I do see your point. So is it acceptable that LoRs might contain 'negatives', even if only to show a student's improvements across time? My US LoR definitely had this.

TakeruK, thank you for such a detailed response. I'll make sure to waive my rights to see it (will have to not let my curiousity get the better of me! )

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies! I was definitely feeling uncomfortable with reaching out after so long but I'm hoping, especially with the US professor, it won't be an issue to request another LoR. I got in touch with him a few days ago to give an update on what I'd been doing since he last wrote me a LoR (I'm also heading to the US on vacation and asked if he might want to catch up) and he responded really quickly. Once applications open for the programs I'll feel more comfortable asking if he would mind writing another LoR. My other academic reference might be more of an issue but I really like the idea of uploading the previous LoR and a statement of my goals and interests. Thanks for the tips! Also, another quick question - is it usual for references in the US to not want to show you what they have written about you before submitting it? If so, why is this? I encountered this with my previous LoR from the American professor. I only ended up reading it because my workplace HR accidentally sent it to me.

Hello all, I am an Australian who graduated from undergrad in 2013, planning to apply for International Affairs programs (SIPA, SFS, SAIS, Elliott). I have a huge issue I am hoping to get some guidance on. In 2013 (before graduating) I applied for a full time job where I was required to submit two academic references - one from a professor at my Australian university and one from a professor at an American university I studied at for exchange. I have copies of both of these letters in pdf format. I had thought I could re-submit these letters for masters applications but have read on this forum that the process involves a link being sent to your reference for them to manually complete. I am just wondering: is there ANY way I could submit the 2013 references (both of which were very positive) without having to approach these professors again? It's been such a long time - the Australian one definitely will not remember who I am, and I feel burdensome approaching the other, whom I have not spoken to in two years. My other question is, how many LoRs should be from academics? I have been working in Australian public policy for 1.5 years and have at least two professional managers who should be able to submit LoRs. Worst case scenario, could I just approach the US professor to ask him to re-submit his reference in this new online format? Will I look incredibly rude not having spoken to him for two years then asking this? HELP! I was relying on being able to use these 2013 references I had already secured as I haven't studied in a while. This online link system really messes that plan up... Thanks in advance.