LOR for unfamiliar student/the PPI

[Normal]

Hi all,

I'm getting ready to apply for entrance into a few Master's programs (Media Studies) and I'm freaking out a bit about the LORs. I've attended ASU for undergrad and, as those who are familiar with the school may already be aware, it is a big-ass school. My freshman year wasn't so hot (I wish I'd taken a year off before college to gain focus before plunging in, but there you have it), and on top of that, I took introductory classes with 300+ students. They were simply not the sort of classes where one would be able to cultivate a relationship with the professor, especially not an 18 year old with no motivation and who was certainly not approaching the professors about independent research.

I am now an online student (and have been for most of my last two years of college), and through either lack of foresight or circumstances out of my control (or both), I now find myself without any strong references, something my top pick graduate school has told me they value above all else. I've done a total 180 with my grades and will be finishing with a pretty strong upper division GPA (3.4-something), and in addition to my online courses, I've spent the past several months working on my career and doing pretty well, which I think should speak to my motivation and work ethic. However, the schools I am applying to have told me that they're more interested in academic references than professional (even though they are professional references in the field I am planning to pursue a degree in).

In any event, I'm very worried about where this leaves me, as I have not been able to develop relationships with my professors due to either a problem with oversized classes or distance. I do, of course, plan to ask the professors I had even minimal contact with for recommendations, but I was hoping for some advice on how to approach this and what to expect. I realize professors receive requests all the time from students they have only a passing familiarity with, and I'm very interested to know what a normal reaction for this was. Additionally, I've been hearing more and more schools are interested in receiving PPI (Personal Potential Index) reports on candidates as well as LORs, and I'm concerned about taxing my references too hard with requests for both, particularly when they may not have that much to say about me in the first place.

I know I'm a great candidate for my program, but I also know that what comes out in the LORs will not demonstrate this. If anyone has any advice or experience, it'd be greatly appreciated!

[cyclechicster]

I recommend printing out a couple of papers from the class you had with the professors you plan on talking to. Ask for a bit of their time and see them in person if possible. Explain why you want to go to grad school, what kinds of things you'd like him/her to focus on and have a résumé with you just in case he/she wants it. I did all of this with every prof I asked just because they like when you're prepared. All of them have been very receptive and friendly about it

[Normal]

Thanks for letting me know it can be done, and congrats on grad school!

Hi fellow ASU student!! I graduated from ASU in the fall, and have been accepted with funding to a top school. That with no research experience and without any professors who knew me well. I emphasized my working my way through school etc. Also, I talked with professors a bit before choosing them to recommend me. I asked outright if they could give me good recommendation (based on interaction in class) and then chatted for a while. I chose specific instructors for specific schools. If the professor had contacts at the school, I included him. One professor knew me well, and even suggested graduate studies to me, so I chose her. Others I just felt out, based on what I felt they thought of me, and what their research focus is.

Granted, my GPA & GRE carried a good punch, but I whipped up my SOP in a few hours. So I'm sure I good references even though I didn't know them well. It is possible. I didn't review my recommendation letters either. They wrote what they wanted, and I am happy with whatever they said!

[squaresquared]

I had 2 professional references and 1 academic reference from a Prof I didn't really talk with much. I had two classes with this prof -- one in my first year of undergrad and one in my final year of undergrad. When I initially approached him to write the letter, he wrote me back saying that he might not be able to write the strongest letter for me, simply because we hadn't talked a lot (maybe 2 hours total over the span of the final course I had with him). I was in a situation where I had finished all of my pre-reqs within my first couple yrs and my final yrs were all electives. I wanted profs that were in the field I was applying for, which required me to be even further out of the loop with all of the profs since in some cases, 5 yrs had gone past (I've been out of school for 2 yrs now)! I did also take a few online courses and those profs said they were not able to write letters because they had never met me in person. You may want to look into that to make sure that those online profs can write your letters!

Needeless to say, even if my one Prof that I didn't talk too much to only wrote me a mediocre letter, my professional letters made up the difference and I still got in to grad school (as an out of major AND as an international student). If you plan to meet up with certain profs to talk with them as the other posters suggested, maybe you should also ask them not only if they would write you a letter, but what the quality of the letter would be. The quality may improve significantly, just from you meeting with them and talking about your interests etc.. You never know until you try, but I think it is completely doable to get into grad school without being buddy-buddy with your past profs!

Edited April 21, 2011 by squaresquared