Poll: Asking for letters of rec

[jmk]

What is the maximum amount of letters of rec you feel is appropriate to ask of one professor? 

 

 

[SLPosteriorCricoarytenoid]

Good question. It's not a helpful answer, but I would say it depends on the professor and your relationship with them. I have some professors who are more than willing to go the extra mile for me, whether that be writing one letter for me or 50 letters (okay, maybe a little exaggeration there). Then there are the ones who I'm not as close with where I wouldn't feel comfortable asking too much out of them. That's just me though. 

 

Two of my professors who I am very close with have done around 20 letters of recommendations each for me which includes graduate school and also jobs. They had no problem doing it for me, likely because I had done a lot of work for/with them in terms of research and teaching assistantships. I guess it kind of depends on the temperament of the professor too. I know of some professors who are reluctant to put effort into letters of recommendation...

 

Good luck!

[eeee1923]

I would say no more than 10 - if you're applying to that many programs find another prof. These are busy people who are trying to help you out - no need to burden them more than necessary

[anslpaday]

It also might depend on what application system you are using. One professor asked me specifically how many were CSDCAS and how many were "other". I think (and don't quote me here) that professors only need to submit one letter for all CSDCAS schools, which definitely makes it a lot easier!

[nicoleac]

You should check with your undergraduate school if they have a letter of recommendation center! At my school (University of Michigan) I found that they had a reference letter service at the Career Center. They basically hold on to all your letters for you, so your professor submits them one time to the RLS and the RLS then forwards it to all the schools you apply to. If your school has something like this, it is DEFINITELY worth checking out! That way all you have to do is tell your professor not to address any particular school in their letter. This made the letter of rec process so much easier for me. 

 

Note, though, that CSDCAS does not accept letters through services like this, so if you apply to CSDCAS and non-CSDCAS schools, your professors still need to send a letter to each service.

 

Check it out!

[Yancey]

I agree with slposteriorcricoarytenoid. If you have a good relationship with a professor, and give him/her ample notice, he/she may be very willing to write a few extra. Some professors have caps (but may make an acception if you have a realtionship " outside" the classroom (projects, talks, etc). I do think it's unreasonable to expect them to do more than 3-5 without asking professors early and seeing if they can. You figure they are writing many letters of Rec so it's best to ask EARLY (and then provide them with a folder of all your items transcripts, projects, resume, etc) so you know if they are willing ahead of time.

[Lyra1960]

I think you have to distinguish between asking a prof to write individual letters for each school versus simply sending the same letter. I wouldn't request a lot of individualized letters, but simple sending the same letter to multiple schools these days is very simple especially if it is online. I think in general professors really understand that you need to apply to a lot of places especially for SLP and they went though the process themselves and are happy to send as many as you need as long as it is not an obscene amount (perhaps around over 20). Don't be afraid to ask, it is actually part of their job to provide (within reason) letters of recommendations for students they feel they can recommend. I applied to twelve and had three professors send twelve letters each. Two I knew quite well and one not so well (though an online program).  I asked before hand, I'm am planning on applying to twelve school, would you be alright with sending that many letters? The worse they can say is no. All replied that they thought it was reasonable. As mentioned before, just make sure you ask early. It can also help to be clear about what you want (what strengths to you want them to focus on in the letter, it might feel uncomfortable but it actually makes it easier for them if they have guidance so they aren't searching for what to say if they don;t know you too well/ know the field). Give specific and easy directions on how to submit letters (a spread sheet is always nice), and just encase they are not online make sure to provide prestamped and addressed envelopes. Just my two cents.

[hopefulspeechie16]

How would you define knowing a prof well? I go to a large university, so I only see my SLP profs during class and after class at their office hours. Now that the semester is ending I don't know how to maintain in contact with them for next years application. Any advice?

[neucool]

How would you define knowing a prof well? I go to a large university, so I only see my SLP profs during class and after class at their office hours. Now that the semester is ending I don't know how to maintain in contact with them for next years application. Any advice?

 

I know people who are planning on applying to grad school in 1-2 years who have reached out to professors and basically asked if it is OK for them to get back in contact and ask for letters in the future, and they've all been open to that. So at least they know and it won't come totally out of the blue. I go to a small liberal arts school though, so our faculty-student relationships are probably pretty different

[SLP2B2017*]

How would you define knowing a prof well? I go to a large university, so I only see my SLP profs during class and after class at their office hours. Now that the semester is ending I don't know how to maintain in contact with them for next years application. Any advice?

I go to a very large school and have heard a lot of people in my program asking this question. What was recommended by our advisor to those taking gap years was to approach the professor before summer, and just mention that you will be taking a year off but would appreciate a letter from them at a later time. Usually they are up for it and either write it right away and hold on to it until you need it, or make a note and are willing to write one next year when you ask. Hope that helps! I'd say just be open about it and ask. 

My letter of rec was from a professor that I had for three classes and also only saw during that time and during office hours. As long as you are making an effort to make your face known and speak up, they should be willing to accomodate.

[Holly44]

Most professors realize this kind of thing comes with the job so they're typically very nice about it. Like someone above stated, make sure you give them ample time to complete them though. I asked three profs from my post-bacc for 10 and none of them acted like this was out of the ordinary.