Getting effective letters of recommendation can be one of the toughest parts of completing grad school applications – it is the one component over which students do not have total control. Given the important role that recommendations play in helping admissions committees evaluate applicants, students are best-served by proactively managing the process. Here are some best practices to ensuring that students receive recommendations that strengthen their applications as much as possible:
- Choose recommenders well.
Schools have a relatively limited amount of information with which to evaluate candidates, and recommendations give admissions committees a valuable outside perspective on an applicant. The ideal recommender knows the student well and can speak to how he has grown and demonstrated aptitude in his field. It’s not always easy to find a professor or superior at work who can speak knowledgeably about a candidate, so students should be mindful that going out of their way to develop and nurture a few great relationships will yield big returns in the long run.
- Give them guidance.
While recommenders are usually given specific questions to answer, they don’t know how their experience with a student fits into the larger picture that the student is presenting in her applications. A students is best-served by meeting with her recommender to brief him on why she’s applying for particular programs, what she hopes to do after completing her degree, and what experiences she is highlighting in order to stand out. Students can even advise on what stories recommenders can use in their submissions, to help fill in any gaps in the overall application.
- Give them plenty of time.
The most common mistakes that students make are to not give their recommenders sufficient time to write and submit something, and to assume that the recommendations will arrive on time without any follow-up or reminders. A good rule of thumb is that students should give whoever is helping them at least six weeks notice, and then check in every two weeks to see if there are any questions they can address. Applicants can ask recommenders how they (the applicants) can best help the recommenders – it could by sending a calendar reminder for two weeks before the application is due, promising to send any updates that could be included in the submission, etc.
Done well, recommendations give admissions committees a unique viewpoint on how an applicant will contribute to their particular program. If students take a proactive approach to the process of obtaining recommendations, they’ll be one step closer to being accepted at their top-choice schools.
