What's the best way to get letters of recommendation in college?

[KungPoweChicken]

Basically, I've got a semester left of college. Because I was a transfer student, I still haven't spent that much time here. Thus, I really haven't formed that many relationships, or any, for that matter with faculty.

I don't want something as silly as a letter of recommendation to hinder my chances at graduate school. But that actually brings me to my next point. While I will be done with undergrad soon enough, I don't know when or where or what I will go to graduate school for.

In my case, what should a student do? Is it acceptable to ask for letters of recommendation with no clear plan in mind? Do professors usually need to know where you are applying and for what?

I plan to take some time off after I graduate, gather my sense of direction, and then if graduate school is the right choice for me, then I'll apply. But I'd like to have the letters of recommendation waiting for me to use (if that makes any sense).

If anyone has been in a situation like mine, or you are wise to these kind of things, please offer any input you can. I'm really not sure how exactly this sort of thing works. The upcoming classes I have will be small in class size, so hopefully I'll be able to establish some relationships with professors enough to get solid letters. But I'm still worried about my lack of a concrete plan to tell letter writers.

[Boris Badenov]

Establishing the relationships is #1. Go to class. Participate. Go to office hours. give the professor a sense of who you are, so that he/she can write something beyond "KP Chicken got a B+ in my class."

As far as when you ask for the letters, and whether they need to be targeted, I would do this: go talk to several professors by the end of the term. Tell them of your plans (to go to school, but later), and say that you'll probably being asking for a letter at some point in the future. Most will say "OK, just get back in touch then." This way, when you get back in touch you can say "You may or may not remember me, but we talked about grad school in your office, and you said you'd write me a letter."

Then, when you get back in touch, make sure you provide them with tons of extra information, including exactly what you want to go to school for, and the personal details/qualities you'd like the letter to emphasize so that they can write a letter that sounds like they know/knew you very well, even if they've forgotten. You can even include a short outline of the points you'd like the letter to make. Trust me, most faculty will be happy that you've made the job easier.

Good luck.

PS I'm a professor myself and have written tons of letters over the years, in case you're wondering where this advice is coming from!

[paulcowens]

My advice would be a little bit different.  I think that recommendation letters pretty much take care of themselves.  The direction you go in will be determined by future experiences, right?  It could be a class that touches you deeply, or an internship or volunteering experience that opens up a world to you that you feel drawn to.  One way or another, a teacher or mentor will probably be involved, someone that you connect with and who helps you see what is possible.  That person(s), I think, will naturally be your best rec. source.

[Roy H.]

My advice would be a little bit different.  I think that recommendation letters pretty much take care of themselves.  The direction you go in will be determined by future experiences, right?  It could be a class that touches you deeply, or an internship or volunteering experience that opens up a world to you that you feel drawn to.  One way or another, a teacher or mentor will probably be involved, someone that you connect with and who helps you see what is possible.  That person(s), I think, will naturally be your best rec. source.

I think that's very good advice for somebody who is just entering a four (or even two) year experience.

When you're down to your last semester, though, I'd lean toward BB's advice.  I think the OP is going to have to actively invest himself in a couple of classes, contribute a ton, and engage with the professor after class.  With one semester left, I don't think you can wait for the right experience / relationship to come along.

[KungPoweChicken]

Establishing the relationships is #1. Go to class. Participate. Go to office hours. give the professor a sense of who you are, so that he/she can write something beyond "KP Chicken got a B+ in my class."

As far as when you ask for the letters, and whether they need to be targeted, I would do this: go talk to several professors by the end of the term. Tell them of your plans (to go to school, but later), and say that you'll probably being asking for a letter at some point in the future. Most will say "OK, just get back in touch then." This way, when you get back in touch you can say "You may or may not remember me, but we talked about grad school in your office, and you said you'd write me a letter."

Then, when you get back in touch, make sure you provide them with tons of extra information, including exactly what you want to go to school for, and the personal details/qualities you'd like the letter to emphasize so that they can write a letter that sounds like they know/knew you very well, even if they've forgotten. You can even include a short outline of the points you'd like the letter to make. Trust me, most faculty will be happy that you've made the job easier.

Good luck.

PS I'm a professor myself and have written tons of letters over the years, in case you're wondering where this advice is coming from!

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate the replies from Roy H. and paulcowens, too.

So, let me see if I'm getting this right. I do need concrete plans to get a professor to realistically write a letter of recommendation because the letter has to be addressed to another college, right?

So I couldn't ask them to write me a letter, save it for a year, then send it out to a college myself a year later?

[dlpin]

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate the replies from Roy H. and paulcowens, too.

So, let me see if I'm getting this right. I do need concrete plans to get a professor to realistically write a letter of recommendation because the letter has to be addressed to another college, right?

So I couldn't ask them to write me a letter, save it for a year, then send it out to a college myself a year later?

Let me answer this as someone who is in academia  and has written and has asked for several rec. letters.

Your plan is fine as a "punt" on the rec. letters part of your application. Some professors would refuse to write letters so far in advance and open ended because they don't want something like that out there with no control over it, but many won't. So you can get people to write that, most likely. Just make sure that the letter is in a sealed envelope, signed along the edges. Grad schools generally like that to make sure that the letter is from the professor and hasn't been tempered with if it is not coming straight from them (or you can use a service like interfolio and upload it there).

But there is a reason I am calling that a punt. It is very easy to get generic positive letters these days. They don't count for much, ultimately, hence the punt. The best rec. letters are the ones where the professor can be specific about the strengths of the student and how they fit the specific program they are trying to get into. "So and so is a great student, with great work ethic and blahblahblah" isn't nearly as impressive as "I think so and so is a perfect match for your specific program in this discipline, given how interested in it s/he proved to be when we did this specific project in class..."

[Boris Badenov]

Establishing the relationships is #1. Go to class. Participate. Go to office hours. give the professor a sense of who you are, so that he/she can write something beyond "KP Chicken got a B+ in my class."

As far as when you ask for the letters, and whether they need to be targeted, I would do this: go talk to several professors by the end of the term. Tell them of your plans (to go to school, but later), and say that you'll probably being asking for a letter at some point in the future. Most will say "OK, just get back in touch then." This way, when you get back in touch you can say "You may or may not remember me, but we talked about grad school in your office, and you said you'd write me a letter."

Then, when you get back in touch, make sure you provide them with tons of extra information, including exactly what you want to go to school for, and the personal details/qualities you'd like the letter to emphasize so that they can write a letter that sounds like they know/knew you very well, even if they've forgotten. You can even include a short outline of the points you'd like the letter to make. Trust me, most faculty will be happy that you've made the job easier.

Good luck.

PS I'm a professor myself and have written tons of letters over the years, in case you're wondering where this advice is coming from!

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate the replies from Roy H. and paulcowens, too.

So, let me see if I'm getting this right. I do need concrete plans to get a professor to realistically write a letter of recommendation because the letter has to be addressed to another college, right?

So I couldn't ask them to write me a letter, save it for a year, then send it out to a college myself a year later?

That poses a number of problems. First, letters are confidential, so the prof can't just give you the letter and have you send it later, unless he/she prints, fills and signs a dozen blank envelopes. that's a pain in the neck and many places do it online anyway now.

Second, doing it now means you give up the chance to have the letter speak to the specific qualities that will help you in that school. If you apply to a biology program you want a different letter than if you apply to law school. Waiting lets you tell the prof what to emphasize.

And third, and more selfishly, from the prof's perspective it is not a good gamble to invest a lot of time writing a letter when someone doesn't know what he wants to do - because there's a 50/50 shot that person will never even go to grad school! I'm not saying this as a personal thing about you, but just as a general reaction you'll probably get, particularly if you are honest about how uncertain your future plans are.

[greenpride32]

Letters of recommendation only have value when the author has a long and/or established relationship with you.  Otherwise the letter is just a formality; it probably won't hurt you but it certaintly won't help either.  If a letter comes out and says I've interacted with this person for 2-3 years versus 2-3 months, then it will actually have some meaning. 

You can always go back to your old school for recommendations if you have more established relationships there.  Also, not sure how much time off you are taking, but if it's years and you plan on entering the workforce then letters from your manager or supervisor would probably hold more weight than those from school.

[KungPoweChicken]

Letters of recommendation only have value when the author has a long and/or established relationship with you.  Otherwise the letter is just a formality; it probably won't hurt you but it certaintly won't help either.  If a letter comes out and says I've interacted with this person for 2-3 years versus 2-3 months, then it will actually have some meaning. 

You can always go back to your old school for recommendations if you have more established relationships there.  Also, not sure how much time off you are taking, but if it's years and you plan on entering the workforce then letters from your manager or supervisor would probably hold more weight than those from school.

I'm resigned to the fact that any letters I get aren't going to significantly help my cause. Unfortunately, they are required. I don't really care. I'm not looking for a letter of recommendation to put me over the top at a school I'm applying to. Hopefully my GPA and standardized test scores will do that.

[CeltsAcumen]

Whomever stated that the letter of rec are just formalities is correct.

Dont worry about it, you grads and test scores is what matters.  Nobody ever cared about my letters and I got into many schools after undergraduate. 

[hwangjini_1]

Establishing the relationships is #1. Go to class. Participate. Go to office hours. give the professor a sense of who you are, so that he/she can write something beyond "KP Chicken got a B+ in my class."

As far as when you ask for the letters, and whether they need to be targeted, I would do this: go talk to several professors by the end of the term. Tell them of your plans (to go to school, but later), and say that you'll probably being asking for a letter at some point in the future. Most will say "OK, just get back in touch then." This way, when you get back in touch you can say "You may or may not remember me, but we talked about grad school in your office, and you said you'd write me a letter."

Then, when you get back in touch, make sure you provide them with tons of extra information, including exactly what you want to go to school for, and the personal details/qualities you'd like the letter to emphasize so that they can write a letter that sounds like they know/knew you very well, even if they've forgotten. You can even include a short outline of the points you'd like the letter to make. Trust me, most faculty will be happy that you've made the job easier.

Good luck.

PS I'm a professor myself and have written tons of letters over the years, in case you're wondering where this advice is coming from!

Boris above is correct and gives very good advice. i am in university admin most of the time now, but was faculty in a university for a long time.

when you approach a prof think this way... if you present yourself as someone who has no real plan, lacks vision, and is simply wandering around considering grad school because you don't know what else to do... the letter from any prof will reflect that. and that is not good for your chances of acceptance.

let your profs know you care, you are serious, you are focused, and you know why you are going to grad school. also, be sure to provide specifics on what the prof needs to write. for example, i usually ask students to provide me with the following:

- a writing sample (and for gosh sakes, make it a good one. even if you have to revise a past paper.)
- statement of purpose/vision for future
- GPA in the major and over all GPA

entry into grad school is competitive, which it should be. grad school is not for everyone and it is not supposed to be. in grad school virtually everyone is bright. what separates the students in most programs is their competitiveness, desire to learn, and endurance.

good luck to you.