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Who should write my letters of recommendation?
Figuring out who should write letters of recommendation in your application can be difficult. Should they be professional references, academic references, or some sort of a combination? These are really common questions, and it does vary depending on what school you are applying to, and what their expectations are. It is important to talk to each school to get a sense of their expectations for your letters of recommendation before you get started. Here at SI, we are looking for letters of recommendation that are professional or academic, and can tell us something specific about your capabilities and skills. It is ok to have a blend of both academic or professional, or to have all your letters be just academic or just professional. The key to remember is that you don't want to have personal references, but rather people who have taught you, or supervised you, or seen your work and skills up close.
The best rule of thumb in picking out writers is to think about who knows you best. Finding people who can share really specific details about your skills is important. If you are planning ahead, a good idea is to make connections with people who would be good letter writers for you, and to talk to them about your future graduate school plans. For example, if you are a student, plan on going to office hours whenever possible to make strong connections with some of your faculty. Then, when you ask them to write letters for you, they will know who you are and can comment about your skills in a specific way. If you are currently in a work environment, try to identify some people who can be mentors for you, and who can connect you to different opportunities. People in these types of roles, usually have the ability to write great letters. We highlight some additional information about who should write letters for you, and how to submit them on our Web site.
Finally, I want to be clear that we would be happy to talk about this with you personally. If you are struggling trying to figure out what the best combination of letters might be for you, send us an email, or call us at 734-763-2285, and we can start talking with you about your personal situation. In general, we require 3 letters of recommendation, but we could take an extra one if you feel that it would balance your packet in some way. Please let us know your questions, and we are happy to talk with you more.
Posted by lauramb at November 9, 2006 09:04 AM
