Grad school letters or recommendation

[start-fresh]

I know there's some people in academia here, so I was hoping to get some advice. I'm looking to go back to grad school (engineering) for Fall 2011. I graduated from undergrad in Spring 2009. Last summer I contacted a couple of professors looking for advice on grad schools, but other than that I've lost touch with them. Also, I was never especially close, other than getting help outside of class. I never really did any undergrad research or anything.

 

My question is, is it uncommon for students from a year or two ago to get in touch with an old professor for a recommendation? I know the recommendations won't be terribly strong, but I think my statement of purpose, undergrad grades, and to a certain extent, GRE scores, will help. I really have very few options.

 

Also, what about asking coworkers? I didn't really want to let the cat out of the bag that I was looking to leave the company, but I could think of one coworker that might give me a recommendation and keep it quiet that I was leaving. I could be vague on the fact that I'm planning on full time school to minimize the impact, but it won't be hard to figure out.

Edited July 25, 2010 by Amistad

[nikayla]

Amistad:

 

It is not uncommon for graduates to reconnect with professors for graduate school. What you need is an action plan. Primarily, visit the websites of schools you are interested in applying. Learn what candidates they are looking for, what recommendations are ideal, and what current graduate students are doing. This information is key no only to tailoring your resume and graduate application, but in providing professors with specific information that will aid you in success.

 

Make a list of professors who you plan to contact. Prior to communicating with them, uncover an interesting conversation you shared with them, a provoking class discussion, or provide interested in their current research. By providing background information and demonstrating genuine concern, you show that you respect their time. Only after the 2nd or 3rd email should you ask the professors for a letter of recommendation. When you do, provide them with a sample recommendation for their convenience along with an updated resume. For example, I sent this letter to my previous sociology professor a year later:

 

This reference letter is provided at the written request of Nikayla, who has asked me to serve as a reference on her behalf. It is my understanding that Nikayla is being considered by your organization for a recipient of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program.

I have known Nikayla for the past year as she has taken my sociology 101 class during sophomore summer. As her professor, I have had an opportunity to observe the student's participation and interaction in class and to evaluate the student's knowledge of the subject matter. Consequently, as the sole freshman in a midst of sophomores and juniors, she excelled in creating an array of video presentations and mash-ups on key sociological concepts. Her group, Team Oprah, innovated the platform through breathtaking animation, lively music, and multiple-person voice-overs--techniques that quickly the prime exemplar. Nikayla initiated a significant amount of class blog discussions through informative, engaging posts regarding sociology in both national and international arenas.The video, "Good Celebrities Gone Bad" (pertaining to the sociological theme of social deviance and control), appeared as a YouTube featured video after she deployed collaborative technologies of Twitter and Facebook to rapidly increase site traffic. As a candidate for the coveted Apple Campus Representative position, the student assisted in the ongoing development of a Dartmouth iTunes website by anticipating Dartmouth College's need for web 2.0 and online social networking. In addition, she completed each task with efficiency by utilizing her individual strengths of adaptability and management while working in collaboration with her peers, professors, and Jones Media Center.

Nikayla is reliable and maintained a good reputation with me and her partners throughout your course; during the last class presentation, she even showed up and presented her work despite the absence of her teammates. She participated in prior research projects, including: The Women in Science Project in Digital Humanities; First-Year Summer Research; and the Leslie Center for Humanities Summer Fellowship. Furthermore, Nikayla possesses a strong interest in natural resources and the environment, a new and emerging field. She has obtained excellent teaching and communication skills, as illustrated in class, an established record of leadership, and an ability to participate in collaborative endeavors.Nikayla is a motivated young woman of numerous talents and considerable self discipline. She is , likable, enthusiastic, trusting and an ideal candidate for Mellon Mays.

 

-----------

 

Honestly, I had less than one conversation with this professor. I scripted my sample resume in such a way that enabled him to effortlessly write about my accomplishments. Offer tangible, quantifiable facts about yourself, don't be afraid to improvise, and remember--each graduate program requires different things for their graduate candidates.

 

You have limited research experience, but what about now. Did you volunteer or play sports? Are you a leader in the workplace? Some admissions counselors may overlook your faults if you outshine in other arenas.

 

Lastly, do not forget to send handwritten, snail-mail thank you letters. Generosity should never go unrewarded.

 

-Nikayla

[OnlyJake]

Did you ever work with any TAs you could get in touch with?

[WintersNightTraveler]

I know there's some people in academia here, so I was hoping to get some advice. I'm looking to go back to grad school (engineering) for Fall 2011. I graduated from undergrad in Spring 2009. Last summer I contacted a couple of professors looking for advice on grad schools, but other than that I've lost touch with them. Also, I was never especially close, other than getting help outside of class. I never really did any undergrad research or anything.

 

My question is, is it uncommon for students from a year or two ago to get in touch with an old professor for a recommendation? I know the recommendations won't be terribly strong, but I think my statement of purpose, undergrad grades, and to a certain extent, GRE scores, will help. I really have very few options.

 

Also, what about asking coworkers? I didn't really want to let the cat out of the bag that I was looking to leave the company, but I could think of one coworker that might give me a recommendation and keep it quiet that I was leaving. I could be vague on the fact that I'm planning on full time school to minimize the impact, but it won't be hard to figure out.

 

I was in a similar position, except I graduated Spring 02 and applied for fall 2010!

 

I asked one prof who I worked very very close with. I'm lucky, since I TA'ed for him and took about 5 classes with him and he was my advisor it was not strange at all. But I would have had a lot of difficulty if I hadn't worked with him.

 

So I guess my point is that it's better you are asking now than waiting, and it could be worse if you wait. I think it will be fine to contact a prof you did well with and were a little friendly with if you know any.

 

I also had a previous boss write a recommendation for me. Is this coworker in a supervisory role with you? Are you personally friendly enough with him/her to trust he/she won't tell anyone?

 

I would go full force with the part time story if word gets out.

 

Good luck!

[start-fresh]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll send them my resume, maybe examples of my class work and my statement of purpose or something to help give them a feel for what I'm about.

 

Did you ever work with any TAs you could get in touch with?

 

Not especially I guess. We didn't have TA's for most of our classes. Mainly just the labs, actually.

[amerikajin]

I know there's some people in academia here, so I was hoping to get some advice. I'm looking to go back to grad school (engineering) for Fall 2011. I graduated from undergrad in Spring 2009. Last summer I contacted a couple of professors looking for advice on grad schools, but other than that I've lost touch with them. Also, I was never especially close, other than getting help outside of class. I never really did any undergrad research or anything.

 

My question is, is it uncommon for students from a year or two ago to get in touch with an old professor for a recommendation? I know the recommendations won't be terribly strong, but I think my statement of purpose, undergrad grades, and to a certain extent, GRE scores, will help. I really have very few options.

 

Also, what about asking coworkers? I didn't really want to let the cat out of the bag that I was looking to leave the company, but I could think of one coworker that might give me a recommendation and keep it quiet that I was leaving. I could be vague on the fact that I'm planning on full time school to minimize the impact, but it won't be hard to figure out.

 

I got a recommendation letter for someone after being out of touch with them for about 13 years. I wouldn't worry about it. The only issue is, do they remember who they are?

 

As someone who now writes recommendation letters for people, I really don't give a **** whether they've kept in touch with me. We all need help once in a while, and yeah, it's 'using' someone, but I don't mind being used as long as the person in question is worth recommending.

 

Actually, in the weird, wild, self-congratulatory world of academia, recommendation letters are pretty important. Find someone who can write a decent one and someone who will put some effort into it. In one sense, it's actually impressive if you can find someone who hasn't seen you in a while to write a rec letter. The fact that they remembered you after all this time will be persuasive.

Edited August 2, 2010 by amerikajin

[spiderowl]

No, it's not uncommon for students to get in touch with professors for references. Be polite, friendly, and send them concise info. about the job/grad programme you are applying for to enable them to do the job well. Some may not provide references because they get so many requests, so you may have to just rely on a transcript of your diploma/degree. Colleges will usually provide a detailed transcript of your degree (a breakdown of the subjects covered and credits gained) for a small admin. fee.

 

If you are applying for a postgrad. programme, it would be best if you provide a reference from a former tutor/supervisor who knows your work well - in fact, it would be expected. If there is some problem, then work references are fine instead, just explain why you can't provide the academic reference.

 

At postgrad. level, you are expected to be organised, resourceful and to have looked for opportunities and be aware of the requirements. Scan the market and see who is offering what and what organisations are funding the programmes. Look at the funding organisations' current priorities. The funding organisations, e.g. funding councils in the UK, have their own websites which will give information on the institutions they are supporting through grants. That way you can find what institutions to look at.

 

There are websites now where you can seek postgrad opportunities. I don't know what they have abroad, but in the UK, e.g. there is FindaPhD.com and jobs.ac.uk amongst others. Most institutions will advertise their vacancies on their own websites too, so look at those. Check out the funding eligibility for programmes - would the student be funded or do they have to self-fund? Are you eligible for the funding that goes with the programme? Different opportunities have different funding. If you are not eligible for one, look at others. Academic institutions often have specific types of funding with eligibility criteria. They have little choice about this and have to stick to the rules or lose future funding. One-off projects may have more flexible funding than blocks of vacancies, so it's worth looking out for them.

 

If you are not eligible for the funding for the programme you want, could you afford to pay for yourself? You'd need to count tuition fees, living expenses, possible lab. fees and, if an international student, you could be looking at visa costs too. Colleges and unis will expect evidence and guarantees that you can fund yourself if you think you can do this, they won't just accept your word for it! Many institutions require deposits and UK visa regulations mean the student has to demonstrate to the UK Borders Agency that they have enough funding to support themselves for a year.

 

Other alternatives to funding yourself are to seek out scholarships (search on the web, lots of sites to help with this), or get some organisation interested in funding or part-funding you (if it is a project of interest to their industry perhaps). If you can get a promise of part-funding, approach institutions and tell them, see if they happen to have any way of making up the difference. Often, they don't, but you might strike lucky if someone has found matching funding for a project and is looking for the difference from another source or possibly the student.

 

If possible, talk to lecturers/tutors in the place/area you want to go into. They are usually incredibly busy - so be brief but enthusiastic - but they will give you pointers. Contact the main offices who administer the recruitment for the vacancies - they, too, will tell you what you need to do. Be friendly and willing to learn and people will give you guidance and also possibly a 'heads up' on things they plan to advertise. There's no reason why they wouldn't unless you are rude or unpleasant.

 

Lecturers and tutors often have their own CVs on their websites. It's worth looking at these to see the kind of things they value in a CV and their own project interests. Know what area you really want to go into and then be focussed about seeking out vacancies and applying for them. Recruiters are looking for qualifications, motivation, experience, enthusiasm, creativity, ability to fit in with the department, flexibility, and determination to carry the project through. If you can reassure them on those things, you will be more likely to get offered something.

 

Good luck!

Edited August 11, 2010 by spiderowl

[yah]

No, it would not be odd at all. Not the ideal situation, I'm sure, and you may not get the strongest letter but you'd most likely get a letter.

 

However, I'm not so sure I'd wait until the 2nd-3rd email to ask. Also, I would never provide a sample letter for them until asked; sure, lots of profs ask you to write it up for them but for those that don't, that'll seems VERY insulting. I had a professor I'm close to tell me both of those things.

 

As for providing interest in your old prof's current research, think about how you'll go about it. While it may help to let the prof know you've taken your time to write to them, they may use what info you've provided to write your letter. If s/he mentions in the letter how passionate you are about XYZ but the your program of interest does not do anything related to XYZ that would seem confusing. But then again, hopefully, the references you've picked out are the ones whose classes you did well in AND their research is related to what you are interested in.