What is a Recommendation Letter?
As part of the application procedure every University will require you to send 2 or 3 recommendation letters. These letters are recommendations from teacher's/ professor's who have taught you at school/ college. This letter reflects the student's academic potential and ability to successfully complete the degree at the respective School/ College. If you are an MBA student with work experience and employer's recommendation will be required. It is one of the several facets to your application process, for gaining admission and financial aid. All these factors will add up while the admissions committee is reviewing your papers.
A Recommendation Form is generally mailed to you along with your application package, which the university would require your recommender to fill. Each university has a different format for the recommendation form. Since each university has a set format for the recommendation form, your recommenders may find it tedious to fill out all the recommendation forms, hence they may give you a recommendation letter on the institution or personal letterhead.
The recommendation letter is a confidential document written by the teacher/ professor. The letter is not supposed to be discussed with the student. Your concern should be whether the recommender would write a positive recommendation for you. If yes, then you can approach her for a recommendation.
The recommendation letters must be Confidential. You must ensure that
| The recommendation letter is typed on the institution/ teacher's letterhead |
| Each copy of the letter has the recommender's signature in ORIGINAL |
| The letter is enclosed in an envelope that is sealed (i.e. glued shut) |
| The recommender has signed across the flap of the sealed envelope |
For each of your recommenders', you must have 15 copies of the recommendation letter duly signed and sealed in envelopes.
What Kind of Information Is Included?
The content of a recommendation depends on the type of program to which
you are applying, and the format used.
The type of degree program to which you are applying will make a
difference in what your reference is asked to say about you. Your
references may be asked to comment generally on your academic ability or
specifically on your performance in coursework in a particular field. They
may be asked to comment on your participation in class as well as your
performance on exams or papers.
A highly research-oriented program will want to know primarily about your
skills as a researcher. If you are applying for graduate study in an
helping profession like counseling, your references may be asked to
comment on your interpersonal skills. If you are applying for graduate
training in a profession, e.g. Business, Education or Nursing, your
references may be asked to comment on your work in the field.
Some programs have a form which they ask your references to fill out,
answering short answer type questions, or asking your references to rank
you among the students they have taught. Other programs ask for the same
information in an actual letter format. Some programs combine the two
they ask your reference to fill out a form, and invite them to make
general comments in letter form.
Who Should I Ask to Write for Me?
This will depend somewhat on what information your references need to
provide. If you are applying to an traditional academic program, it is
good to have people who have been your instructors write for you. A
professional program may ask you to have a supervisor or co-worker
comment on your work.
In any case, it is best to choose as references people who know you well
enough to make specific comments about your ability. It is also important
to choose people who will write positive recommendations. It does you
little good if your letters contain negative comments about you.
Specific comments on your performance in school or at work are also
helpful. If your reference can write that you consistently "came to class
prepared and asked intelligent questions that contributed to class
discussion," or "demonstrated foresight and initiative in implementing
policy," that will help your cause far more than "Student X was in my
class, and did well," or "Ms Y has been employed here for three years."
Another consideration is the reputation of your references. If you can
get a favorable reputation from a professor who is well respected in
your field, that will certainly strengthen your application. But if you
can get a stronger recommendation from some one with less prestige who
knows you better, should you use that instead? This can be a tradeoff
situation,and it can be hard to know which is more beneficial. Specific
comments about your work from someone who knows it very well can easily be
more helpful to you than a vague positive comment from a more famous
person.
How Should I Approach Someone About Writing A Recommendation?
Many professors are happy to write recommendations for their students.
However, there are three important things to remember:
- Having someone write a recommendation is a privilege, not a right, so ask politely.
- Professors are often very busy people, so it is best to ask early, and to get any materials (e.g. a recommendation form) to your reference as soon as possible.
- You need positive recommendations, so don't be afraid to ask
if a reference feels s/he can write you a favorable recommendation.
Should I Waive My Rights to Review Recommendation Letters?
The Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
gives enrolled students the right to view the contents of their
files. If recommendations are part of your file, you are entitled to see
them along with the rest of the information in your file, if you are
admitted and enroll as a student at that school.
It is common practice for a recommendation form or instructions to ask the
applicant to sign a voluntary waiver of review rights, which means
that you are giving up your rights to see the recommendations written on
your behalf. The key word here is voluntary. If you feel strongly
about it, you may refuse to give such a waiver.
In my opinion, there are three good reasons to waive your rights to
see recommendations:
- It is commonly assumed that your references will be more candid in their statements about you if they know the recommendation will be kept confidential.
- If you are not admitted to a given institution, you have no legal right to see the recommendations anyway, unless you are a currently or previously-enrolled student at that university
- If you have chosen your references carefully so that you know they are going to give you a good recommendation, there is little need to see the recommendation once you are admitted.
What If I Haven't Been in School for Years?
If your instructors still remember you and the quality of your work well
enough to comment favorably on it, then you will have little trouble as
long as they are willing to write letters for you. If they don't
particularly remember you and your work, it can be very helpful if you can
supply samples of the work you did in the class to help the professor
remember your work a little more clearly than simply by checking the
gradebook. I would certainly offer to do at least that for any prospective
reference-letter writer.
The possibility that you may choose not to go immediately on to graduate
school is one more good reason to cultivate and maintain a
professional relationship with the faculty at your undergraduate
institution(s). Keep up with the field and their research interests. Take
opportunities to ask them questions about their work. If you are
genuinely interested in their work, it should be easier to get references
from them.
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