Getting Into Grad School

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

2.Try to secure your recommendations at least 3 months in advance, to get a leg up on the other people who ask for recs 2 weeks before they're due, which ends up being close to finals.

This is important. I started securing recs 6 months before the application deadline and had them WAY before I needed them. If something is just SPRUNG on them in the midst of grading and finals, you most likely aren't going to get one.

Along those lines, think hard about who you'd like to ask for recs. Ask the people who are most familiar with your work, not just some random prof whose class you got an A in.

I think it's important to MEET with a potential recommender, not just calling or emailing them asking for a rec. I had profs who would not recommend anyone who couldn't take the time to have a meeting with them.

This is just a personal thing of mine, but follow-up with recs is important. Thank them for taking time to do them for you by sending a card or stopping by the office. Let them know the outcome also. That's just being polite.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This is important. I started securing recs 6 months before the application deadline and had them WAY before I needed them. If something is just SPRUNG on them in the midst of grading and finals, you most likely aren't going to get one.

Along those lines, think hard about who you'd like to ask for recs. Ask the people who are most familiar with your work, not just some random prof whose class you got an A in.

I think it's important to MEET with a potential recommender, not just calling or emailing them asking for a rec. I had profs who would not recommend anyone who couldn't take the time to have a meeting with them.

This is just a personal thing of mine, but follow-up with recs is important. Thank them for taking time to do them for you by sending a card or stopping by the office. Let them know the outcome also. That's just being polite.

About the meeting, what if the professor is in a different state?

[Munchkin03]

A meeting wasn't possible for me with my advisor, because he was on sabbatical in Portugal. We were close enough though, with my having taken at least one of his classes each semester, that a meeting wasn't necessary, and we had a few quick e-mails throughout the whole ordeal.