Letters of Rec Problem

[sunflower state of mind]

So to make a long story short, I am now a senior who plans to graduate May of 2017 but who just transferred into the CSD major in January.  I have had zero time to really develop solid relationships with faculty in my program, and since I am planning on asking whoever I decide on to write letters in September, I don't have much time left.  I'd like opinions on the options that I have.

 

I have one solid CSD faculty member for sure that I made an A in their class and attended office hours.  They know me, albeit not amazingly, but I made it a point to go to office hours and ask questions at least once every week.  They are for sure going to be someone that I ask.

 

From there, I have no idea what to do.  Here are my options for the other two letters I need.

 

1.  A CSD faculty member who I had class with and got an A in.  I really only went to office hours a handful of times over the semester.  I don't think he would even be able to really remember my name, but the point stands that I got an A in his class (which is known to be the hardest class in my school's CSD program).

 

2.  A CSD faculty member who I did not exactly have class with (I took a graduate internship class and she was my "mentor" for my internship for the semester, but I didn't take an exact CSD class with her).  During my internship I volunteered for a "club" that she held for young adults with severe autism.  It wasn't research per se; I was a mentor for one of the young adults, and attended the club weekly for 2 hours a week to help mentor appropriate social behavior for my mentee.  I will be volunteering again during both the summer and fall.  She saw me weekly and knows my name, and is also the sponsor for my school's NSSLHA chapter, of which I will be an officer for next semester, so I will see her even more.  Should I ask her even though I didn't have an exact CSD class with her or do research for her?

 

3.  A psychology faculty member who I am currently doing research for.  The lab deals heavily with language development with children, and there are a few other CSD majors working in the lab, so the faculty member is accustomed to CSD majors.  She knows my name and I'm on good standing with her.

 

4.  A SLP from my hometown who is not faculty.  She works in a nursing home and I shadowed her to gain more information on the field.  She ultimately helped me decide I wanted to become an SLP.  We're on good standing with each other but again, she's not faculty.

 

Opinions?  I feel like none of these are super solid choices because they're either not faculty, I didn't do research for them or have class with them, or they just don't know me that well.  :/

[avflinsch]

#3 is a definite - you are doing research with them, and it is good to have someone from outside of your field to show that you are well rounded
#2 is probably a better choice over #1, even if you did not take a course with them. They served as a mentor, and probably know you better than #1.

If you are not restricted to 3 letters then I would also ask #4, a professional in the field could be a valuable asset

If you are applying to the same university as your undergrad, you could also ask #1 to give you a mention to the admissions team, without an official letter.
 

[thespeechblog.com]

I agree with avflinsch, and I would also add a brainstorming type activity you can do that might help you out...

Looking back at your experience with each prof, make a list (sort of like on a resume) of the things you did together AND things that only that professor can speak well about. Then, sort of "assign" each of them an area / set of strengths that complement each other. For example, when I applied to Fulbright I had one recommender talk about my practical experience, one talked about my general academics in the field, and the final one talked mostly about my research capacity. When you ask them for their LOR´s, you can kindly / subtly suggest these different areas. 

After the recommender as agreed to write a positive LOR, I provide them a packet which includes my resume, personal statement, transcripts, list of schools and their addresses, and a brief cover letter. In that cover letter, say something like, "Based on your supervising my clinical experiences, I’m hoping that you’d feel comfortable including some positive observations from that in the recommendation. It is something I feel only you can comment on, and I think it would help my application.” It is important to keep this open to a suggestion because often time experienced faculty already know what is best to include in an LOR. If you feel comfortable speaking openly with the professor, you can even explain your strategy and get some feedback from them. 

[KLSLP]

Letters of recommendation were the bane of my existence during the application process.  My last full-time semester was Fall 2008, and I took one class in Spring 2009 to finish out my degree--so I haven't been a student in FOREVER.  Though one of my professors remembers me, it's primarily from playing Words With Friends in the intervening years...not really the stuff good letters are made of, so I can relate to your situation.  When I chose graduate programs, I went through my list of prospective schools and perused the websites looking for the types of letters they wanted--in one case, I emailed the program director for more information.  If they absolutely required academic references, I crossed the school off my list.  Thankfully, there were plenty of programs to choose from.

In the end, I came up with the following three recommenders:

(1) A PhD candidate who was my supervisor in an audiology research lab.  We had stayed in touch on facebook, so she remembered me well.

(2) and (3) Teachers who had supervised me during the two years I was a Fulbright TA.  They were not in the CSD field, but they were able to testify to my people skills, organization, professionalism, creativity, etc.--all things which are required as an SLP.

All that to say, I had zero professor references, and I got into all 4 schools I applied to--and I think that was largely due to doing my research beforehand and applying to programs where I could supply letters which fit their specifications.  I'd recommend choosing the people who know you best from any academic or professional context and are able to tie who you are to the job description of an SLP.

[sunflower state of mind]

1 hour ago, zrzka said:

Letters of recommendation were the bane of my existence during the application process.  My last full-time semester was Fall 2008, and I took one class in Spring 2009 to finish out my degree--so I haven't been a student in FOREVER.  Though one of my professors remembers me, it's primarily from playing Words With Friends in the intervening years...not really the stuff good letters are made of, so I can relate to your situation.  When I chose graduate programs, I went through my list of prospective schools and perused the websites looking for the types of letters they wanted--in one case, I emailed the program director for more information.  If they absolutely required academic references, I crossed the school off my list.  Thankfully, there were plenty of programs to choose from.

In the end, I came up with the following three recommenders:

(1) A PhD candidate who was my supervisor in an audiology research lab.  We had stayed in touch on facebook, so she remembered me well.

(2) and (3) Teachers who had supervised me during the two years I was a Fulbright TA.  They were not in the CSD field, but they were able to testify to my people skills, organization, professionalism, creativity, etc.--all things which are required as an SLP.

All that to say, I had zero professor references, and I got into all 4 schools I applied to--and I think that was largely due to doing my research beforehand and applying to programs where I could supply letters which fit their specifications.  I'd recommend choosing the people who know you best from any academic or professional context and are able to tie who you are to the job description of an SLP.

I also have a PhD candidate who is supervising some research that I'm doing.  However, I asked the graduate coordinator for my school's program and she said using him wouldn't be a good idea.  :/  Would you say contacting directors and asking for specifics for what they want for letters of rec is a good idea?

[sunflower state of mind]

15 hours ago, mcamp said:

I agree with avflinsch, and I would also add a brainstorming type activity you can do that might help you out...

Looking back at your experience with each prof, make a list (sort of like on a resume) of the things you did together AND things that only that professor can speak well about. Then, sort of "assign" each of them an area / set of strengths that complement each other. For example, when I applied to Fulbright I had one recommender talk about my practical experience, one talked about my general academics in the field, and the final one talked mostly about my research capacity. When you ask them for their LOR´s, you can kindly / subtly suggest these different areas. 

After the recommender as agreed to write a positive LOR, I provide them a packet which includes my resume, personal statement, transcripts, list of schools and their addresses, and a brief cover letter. In that cover letter, say something like, "Based on your supervising my clinical experiences, I’m hoping that you’d feel comfortable including some positive observations from that in the recommendation. It is something I feel only you can comment on, and I think it would help my application.” It is important to keep this open to a suggestion because often time experienced faculty already know what is best to include in an LOR. If you feel comfortable speaking openly with the professor, you can even explain your strategy and get some feedback from them. 

Thank you for this idea, I'll definitely use it!  When would you say the best time to ask for letters of rec is?  I was planning August just because I know I will have all of my resumes/personal statements done by then.

[sunflower state of mind]

16 hours ago, avflinsch said:

#3 is a definite - you are doing research with them, and it is good to have someone from outside of your field to show that you are well rounded
#2 is probably a better choice over #1, even if you did not take a course with them. They served as a mentor, and probably know you better than #1.

If you are not restricted to 3 letters then I would also ask #4, a professional in the field could be a valuable asset

If you are applying to the same university as your undergrad, you could also ask #1 to give you a mention to the admissions team, without an official letter.
 

So this is what I'm confused on: is it generally a rule of thumb that your letters of rec should mostly be from CSD faculty, or specifically CSD faculty that you did research with/took a course with?  Because if it can just be from general CSD faculty, I would feel a lot less nervous using #2.

[thespeechblog.com]

8 hours ago, sunflower state of mind said:

Thank you for this idea, I'll definitely use it!  When would you say the best time to ask for letters of rec is?  I was planning August just because I know I will have all of my resumes/personal statements done by then.

If you have your personal statements done and the schools you're applying to identified, by all means start asking! Professors will appreciate having extra time. 

[thespeechblog.com]

8 hours ago, sunflower state of mind said:

So this is what I'm confused on: is it generally a rule of thumb that your letters of rec should mostly be from CSD faculty, or specifically CSD faculty that you did research with/took a course with?  Because if it can just be from general CSD faculty, I would feel a lot less nervous using #2.

I think if you studied SHS / SLP / CommDis or something related, then most of your letters should be from CSD faculty that can speak well of your ability to succeed in grad school. As long as that professor learned of your ability in a professional way, it does't matter if they were your professor, research advisor, clinical supervisor, etc, etc.