Do you need a letter of recommendation? Not sure who to ask, or how to ask?
If you answered yes, check out these tips
At some point during or after your college career chances are you are going to need a letter of recommendation (LOR). LORs are necessary for graduate and professional school, and many internships, scholarships, fellowships, and jobs also ask for LORs. Many of these places ask for 2-3 LORs, sometimes more, sometimes fewer.
Quick tips:
Helpful Articles and Websites:
Cassuto, L. (2016). How to ask for a recommendation
Ruben, A. (2018). Recommendations for requesting recommendations
Kelsey, K. (2016). Asking faculty for a favor
How to Ask a Professor for a Letter of Recommendation (helpful timeline)
Weldon, A. (2017). Claiming Your Right to Say No
How Important are Letters of Recommendation for Graduate School Applications?
Kelly, R. (2018). Why I’m Totally Unimpressed by Your Letter of Recommendation
Kowarski, I. (2017). Med School Recommendations That Helped Applicants
Confidentiality: Should I keep or waive my right to view recommendation letters?
Kuo, M. (2016). Recommendation letters reflect gender bias.
Kuo, M. (2017). Consciously combating unconscious bias
Loftus, S. (2018). How to Fix Recommendation Bias and Evaluation Inflation
Avoiding gender bias in reference writing handout
Avoiding racial bias in letters of recommendation handout
Jaschik, S. (2018). Do recommendation letters insert bias into college admissions decisions?
A few good examples:
Dr. Harris,
I know you are busy preparing for the semester so I’ll get right to the point. I am applying for a Medical Assistant position at a local plastic surgery clinic. I am incredibly excited because this is the direction I plan on taking after PA school!
Because I enjoyed your classes, teaching style, and leadership, I decided to start by asking you. Would you be able to write me a strong reference letter to submit with my job applications and any future endeavors? I would be more than happy to meet with you at your convenience. Of course, I would also provide any other materials that you would like.
If you don’t feel comfortable writing me a strong reference letter, please don’t feel obligated to say yes. I completely understand.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you and good luck this semester!
Student X
Dear Dr. Harris, First and foremost, I want to apologize for interrupting your spring break with yet another email. I am currently applying for the XX Scholarship, and if you are willing and not too busy, I would greatly appreciate it if you would do me the honor of writing me a letter of recommendation. If you decide you are willing, there is no rush; the letter does not have to arrive until May 1. If you cannot I completely understand, and I still thank you for your time. Your Former Student, Student D
Hi Dr. Harris, I am in process of applying to complete my preceptorship for the molecular pathology masters program at XXX. I have really enjoyed my first semester in molecular pathology, and feel that working at this preceptorship site would be an enriching experience. I am reaching out to you today to respectfully request for your assistance with my application. Would you be willing or able to write a letter of recommendation for my application? The Program Director has asked for application materials to be mailed and received by Friday, August 17th. I completely understand if this is too short notice. I just thought I would ask you, because my undergraduate research experience has helped me in many ways and was influential in my decision to enter this program. Please let me know if I can provide a template or CV if that would help you with this process. I would provide the mailing address as well, or could mail the letter for you, whatever would be easiest for you. Thank you for taking the time to consider writing me a letter of recommendation. Here is the link for the Internship: [link provided] Best, Student J
Not so great examples: Hi, I was an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for Anatomy and Physiology 2 with you XXX semester of XXX. I was just wondering what I needed to do to get my recommendation letter from you. Do I need to wait and actually have you send it to the places I’m applying to or can I just get a copy from you to use when necessary? Student Y
Hello Dr. Harris,
I hope you are doing well and classes are going smoothly for you so far! If you happen to not remember me I was one of your teaching assistants in XXXX. Since then I have transferred to XXX U and I am pursuing my degree in Biology so I can move forward and attend medical school. This semester I am applying to numerous internships and (hopefully) getting involved with leadership positions at the University. So I am reaching out to you to ask if you would be willing to write a Letter of Recommendation for me and keep it on retainer for when I am submitting these applications to internships and eventually to medical schools? Also, for Student Government I have but you down as one of my professional references, I hope that is okay, they may or may not call you within business hours about a recent application I submitted for a seat with the University Senate for my college. Anyways, I hope to hear back from you soon!
Thank you so much for your time,
Student A
Hi, Dr. Harris I hope your summer is going well! I was enrolled in your Physiology course this past spring. I enjoyed working with you. I truly learned so much from your course…so thank you! I am a pre-nursing student and have recently applied to nursing school. Would you be interested in writing a letter of recommendation? Your recommendation would increase my chance of being a more competitive applicant, and it would mean so much to me. If you would send the letter to my email, as I will be handing them out during my interview! Thank you for your time and recommendation. Sincerely, Student K
Good morning Dr. Harris, I hope you’re enjoying your summer so far. I was wondering if you could possibly write me a Letter of Recommendation for Nursing school? I should’ve asked sooner, therefore, you can get it to me whenever is convenient for you. If you feel comfortable writing me one I would really appreciate it. Warm Regards, Student N
Helpful Advice from Other Professors: “I would love for students to think about recommendation letters earlier in their university careers. Try your hardest to enroll in smaller courses with tenure-track professors (versus graduate student instructors or adjunct professors or lecturers) – for better or worse, for graduate schools in particular, tenure-track professors’ letters carry more weight. Opting for a writing-intensive course is a great way to get to know your instructors better and provide them with examples of your writing. Please go to office hours, even if you do not have a specific issue with course content. This is one of the few ways that faculty and students can get to know each other better. Also, try to get involved in a research lab; a research mentor will likely be able to speak to your critical thinking skills, attention to detail, punctuality, lab techniques, creativity, and writing ability.” - Katy Pearce, Ph.D.
“As you begin your college career, which might eventually involve asking professors to recommend you for graduate programs, jobs, or internships, please be aware that professors are not obligated to write references for any student who asks us. I don’t write a reference for a student unless I can write a very positive and specific one. Therefore, your job as a college student is to become the kind of student professors can rave about in recommendations — hardworking, collegial, and intellectually inquisitive and honest. Consider maintaining relationships over time with professors, so that they know you well enough to write for you. Many juniors and seniors tell me they wish they had thought about this during their first year.” - Amy Weldon, Ph.D., Vitae