What can I do to get good letters of recommendation?

[electrifice]

Hey,

This is my first post here and I'm looking forward to all your replies/advice. Feel free to toss in your 2c.

I am currently a junior in EE, thinking strongly about applying to EE graduate schools and I'm having trouble coming up with good sources of LOR. I am working with a well-known professor in my field of interest who will likely write a strong LOR for me. But I'm at a loss about what to do for the other two letters.

Ideally, I would like to work/research with some other professors but my hands are tied working with my current professor (with high likelihood of getting a publication). So what can I do over the remaining few months to strengthen my ties with some other professors? Basically, I need some strategies for getting to know professors without necessarily having to do research... is this possible? I know a couple of professors who will remember me (I did well in their classes), so I want to try and engage them somehow but just don't know how.

What do you guys suggest?

[ed_psy]

Hey,

This is my first post here and I'm looking forward to all your replies/advice. Feel free to toss in your 2c.

I am currently a junior in EE, thinking strongly about applying to EE graduate schools and I'm having trouble coming up with good sources of LOR. I am working with a well-known professor in my field of interest who will likely write a strong LOR for me. But I'm at a loss about what to do for the other two letters.

Ideally, I would like to work/research with some other professors but my hands are tied working with my current professor (with high likelihood of getting a publication). So what can I do over the remaining few months to strengthen my ties with some other professors? Basically, I need some strategies for getting to know professors without necessarily having to do research... is this possible? I know a couple of professors who will remember me (I did well in their classes), so I want to try and engage them somehow but just don't know how.

What do you guys suggest?

Email them first and tell them who you are, what class(es) you took with them. Then go to their office hours start talking to them. Tell them you'll be applying for graduate school and ask if they're comfortable writing a LOR for you. (Ask the professors that you took upper division classes with not 100 level ones). Professors have written a lot of LORs before, unless they have other projects at hand or taking a leave soon, they probably won't reject you. Give them all the information they want or you have so they can get the "big picture" about you. Resume/CV,, current research project you're working on, what you'd like to do in the future, if you did a paper in their class, give a copy of that to them as well, if you have the Statement of Purpose written already give them that too (or you can briefly write one to give them an idea of what you're pursuing in grad school).

You might even want to discuss with them some of the schools you're looking into or ask them questions about how they got to their position now, some of them would love to tell you about themselves like this.

Good Luck and don't be shy to ask =D

Source: based on experience.

[natsteel]

It is absolutely possible, though only starting to do that now is not ideal. Are you going into your junior year? If so, then you're in much better shape. If I was you, and needed two more letters, I would take a second class with a professor I've already had. The key is to visit office hours, show interest in the material, etc.... The professor will usually ask what your post-grad plans are. Personally, I don't think you can ever get a truly strong enough LoR from a professor with whom you've only taken one class unless you had significant outside-of-class contact. A letter saying you do great work is fine, but a letter, written by a professor you've taken multiple classes with and spent some hours talking to, is very different.

I knew from day one of my freshman year that I wanted to go to grad school and by the end of that year I already knew the three professors I wanted to eventually write me LoRs. (I just happen to have a number of prominent professors in my field at my school). So I took multiple classes with each of them, including independent studies which consisted mostly of long discussions, went to office hours (not TOO much), and, luckily, I hit it off with all three. Each one goes out of their way for me, has invited me out for coffee or to their house, and each has committed themselves to helping me get in the best possible school.

Now you may not be so lucky to find 3 professors like that, and I do consider myself very lucky, but you do need to strive to develop relationships beyond the classroom walls. Visiting a professor once or twice a month for office hours for 30 minutes or so and doing stellar work in their class should be sufficient to get a better-than-cookie-cutter LoR. Best of luck!

Edited June 4, 2010 by natsteel

[Jae B.]

I also hit the wall junior year, thinking, uh oh...who can I ask for letters of rec.? I had one professor down as a for-sure, but I had no clue for the other two letters. Being a junior transfer student, I had to work to build relationships fast. I wound up doing most of my letter-of-rec. legwork the first semester of my senior year and the summer prior to it. That probably cuts it a little too close for comfort for some, but everything worked out perfectly. You have to put in some time and effort yourself, to distinguish yourself from the pack and make it clear you are not just using the professors, but if you've been a great student in their courses so far then you're off to a solid start. My philosophy is to start acting like potential grad student today, so it makes sense on the horizon once you mention it to your professors.

My suggestion would be to involve the professors you know (whom you've taken, or will take, at least two courses with) in your graduate school application process. Have some serious office hours discussions with them about it. E-mail a quick question occasionally if they don't mind that. Tell them your specific interests, what you're hoping to achieve, and what you've been doing to prepare so far.

Tie your discussion of interests, preparation and objectives into the coursework you've done with each professor as much as possible, to remind them you've paid attention, you remember important specifics, you're making equally important connections, and are applying, or will continue to apply, what they've taught you -- that it really means something to you in the greater scheme of things, beyond the courses themselves.

I'm not sure what this will exactly entail for your field, but it definitely is a "field" specific thing. I think part of it is -- that you should try to convey to your professors inside and outside of class -- making a behavioral shift towards being a member and aspiring expert in your field, rather than just being a student trying to get through a specific course.

For example, don't just ask questions related only to your course, but that link the course to important topics that extend beyond the course material, or your specific interests. Always bring in your outside knowledge and expertise. Making those links can be appropriate in class at times, but sometimes you will have to go to office hours if it's not going to be as relevant to everyone else. Use your judgement. But I think maintaining constant curiosity can be the best way to go. Always strive to be the most interested and attentive student, and demonstrate your thinking. It'll make you stand out.

If you've got much experience seeing what successful grad students act like in your field, then I'd suggest trying to model after them as much as possible, at least in matters of thinking and speaking, if not your work. This strategy definitely worked for me.

It may seem quite overt to involve the professors in your grad school process -- like, duh, I want to ask you for a letter -- but I think this is good because 1) they'll expect you to ask them when the time comes (in fact, at that point it'd be weird if you didn't!), and 2) you're basically asking them in advance, how do I earn your strongest recommendation? (But without actually saying that and, instead, being methodological.)

And if they're in your field and would mean enough to you to ask them for a letter, why not ask them for advice about your school selection, who to speak to for more information, who would be good to work with at the graduate level with your particular interests, and -- perhaps most importantly -- what preparation you should be doing now to be a competitive applicant, demonstrating your readiness for graduate study?

This will also give you a sense of what the professors think of you, what you should be doing, what your potential weaknesses are, and hopefully will help you become a better applicant. Honoring them by asking for their advice, and showing them effort on your part towards applying their advice (but without being submissive of course -- this is your gig and you also benefit from being on top of it yourself and having a mind of your own -- I did not take all of my professors' exact advice but I certainly showed them positive efforts and thoughtfulness in the direction of their suggestions) can feature your commitment, focus, and willingness to go the extra mile.

That's all more than just performing well in a course or two, and hopefully would be reflected in your recommendation letters! Good luck to you.

Edited June 4, 2010 by Jae B.