Letters of Recommendation

Faculty members are only too happy to write letters of recommendation for students. Professors take this responsibility very seriously, devoting a great deal of time and effort to composing these letters: a thoughtful letter can take hours to write. By requesting a letter of recommendation, you incur responsibilities and obligations of your own, however. Out of common courtesy you are expected to make it as easy as possible for a professor to do you the favor of writing on your behalf. Please follow these guidelines:

1. Personally ask the professor to write a letter; do not just slip a form under a door. In a discussion with the professor you may discover that other professors would be more appropriate letter-writers for particular sorts of applications. And always ask your professors if they are willing and able to write a good letter for you.
2. Without exception, requests for letters should be made a minimum of four weeks prior to any deadline. It is preferable and more reasonable to give six weeks' notice. In general, you should request application forms as far in advance of the deadline as possible, so that you can do the best job possible filling out the application. Six months before a deadline is not too early to request applications from graduate schools.
3. At the time of your request, supply whatever information might help the professor to write a more effective letter. It would help if you submitted a c.v., any personal statements or essays you wrote to accompany your application, any brochures describing the program, fellowship, job, or school to which you are applying, and recent essays you wrote for your professor. Carefully read the form you wish your professors to fill out to determine what kind of information they might need to know about you in order to write a good letter.
4. Always inform the recommender of the specific dates of application deadlines. Put this in writing, paper-clipped to the letter form. The week before the deadline, it wouldn't hurt to remind them of it.
5. Do your own secretarial work. Do not simply slip a blank form under the door. It is your responsibility to study the letter of recommendation form carefully, and to fill out appropriate sections of the form. Students are typically asked to fill out their name, field of study, address etc. Please type this information neatly into the designated spaces. (If you cannot type it, print it carefully; do not scribble in your name in purple ink!) Usually a student is asked whether she wishes to see the professor's letter of recommendation. As a general rule it is best to waive your right to see the letter. This is not because it allows professors to write unflattering letters protected by their confidentiality, but because admissions committees are more confident of the letter's candor when the student waives her rights.
6. Students are also responsible, finally, for purchasing envelopes, putting stamps on them, and filling out both the mailing and return addresses.