Eager Undergraduate

Congratulations for asking this question way in advance! You are off to a good start. In an effort to avoid devoting my winter vacation to this sort of undertaking, I have an official policy, which I attempt to articulate to anyone who will listen. I ask that students request references by Thanksgiving. Of course, when last minute things come up, I try to be helpful. But, like many faculty, I do not have any secretarial support for this sort of undertaking, so I appreciate advance notice. It is important to me to be an effective advocate for my students. I encourage them to take advantage of any opportunity for pre-professional development. To support them in their efforts, I try to write thoughtful letters of recommendation. Often, I end-up devoting several hours to constructing a careful, hopefully helpful, reference. In asking faculty for references, I would encourage you to allow your faculty about six weeks notice, whenever possible.

HOW SHOULD YOU APPROACH FACULTY FOR THIS IMPORTANT ROLE? Remember, in asking for a reference, particularly where you don't know the faculty person well, this is an opportunity to remake your first impression. You want to show, by how you handle this situation, that you are a highly responsible, mature, professional person. Every year, in my summer course, Research internship in Clinical Psychology, I am asked for advice regarding this issue. Also, because I am frequently sought out to provide references, it is my customary practice in agreeing to write references for a student, particularly those with whom I have had little contact, to ask for a packet of materials. I would encourage you to consider, when requesting a reference, providing most of these things to any faculty person who you approach. They are:

1. Your statement of purpose or letter of application. This helps you. You are forced to stop procrastinating and to move the application process along. It tells the faculty person that you are really serious about this application. The statement provides you with an opportunity to show the faculty person, how well you write and how well you plan. It allows the faculty person to learn about the case that you are making on your own behalf and to corroborate it.
2. Your unofficial transcript. This allows the faculty person to comment on other relevant course work, of which they might not otherwise be aware.
3. The official description of the graduate program. This helps the faculty person to target their letter.
4. A copy of your work in the faculty person's class or a writing sample if they have no knowledge of your writing skills. This allows the faculty person to comment on the quality of your work. Don't ask faculty to rely on their memories. Provide a copy of your best work.
5. An updated copy of your resume or vita.
6. Sometimes, I ask the student to write a draft of the letter of reference for me. Some students shirk this request or merely supply a list of superlatives. This is not helpful to me. I am seeking your description of those traits (and, examples of them) which the you view as relevant.

   PLEASE NOTE: Many faculty would think it audacious to receive this type of letter unsolicited. A less presumptuous approach is to write a letter to the faculty person saying, I am applying to graduate school. They are seeking an individual with skills in, for example, written expression, organization and data management. I believe that I have skills in exactly these areas. As is evidenced in the attached transcript, I have taken considerable course work in writing and statistics and I have done well. Also, your class provided me with several opportunities to further refine these skills. I have enclosed a copy of my final paper from your class......in other words, make their case for them....they will be grateful to you....they want to be helpful....

7. I ask that students fill out all aspects of the reference forms that they complete, this includes their name and address and my name, title and address.
8. I ask that students address all envelopes to the schools (not to themselves, even if the university asks them to do the thing where the faculty person signs the envelope); and that they place two stamps (my letters are typically long and weigh two stamps worth) on each envelope.

I MUST SAY THAT I GET A VERY BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH WHEN STUDENTS LEAVE THESE TASKS TO ME!...Often I don't discover it until they are already gone for break....going the extra mile will leave the faculty person with a good feeling.

On a somewhat related note, student sometimes attempt to give me gifts when asking for a reference. It is my practice to refuse ALL and any gifts from students. I feel that accepting any gifts could be very compromising. Although others may disagree with me on this, I would recommend that you do not give gifts to faculty (I confess, though I know that the intention is to convey gratitude, I feel a bit bribed.) However, what I do appreciate, particularly if the student has worked for me (say, as a Teaching Assistant) is a job well done or a student who goes above and beyond the call of duty on a task.

Now for the issue of who to ask. There are three important considerations here. First, you should pick someone who knows you well. Second, choose someone with stature in the field. Third, select someone who will write a very nice letter for you. Note that you should ask faculty, not employers from an unrelated job (such as waitressing) or family friends.

CHOOSE FACULTY WHO KNOW YOU WELL This means that you should begin to get to know faculty during your freshman year. Start early, because this can be challenging in a large university. This is an important topic and another column will be devoted to it in the future.

NATIONAL STATURE In an ideal world, you would like references from faculty who are well known in the field which you would like to enter. However, there are trade-offs. These faculty may be so busy with graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, that they do not have time for you. In contrast, a new faculty person may be very willing to get to know you and to enfranchise you as a full-fledged member of their research team. If you have to make this choice, I feel that it is better for you to work with a junior person closely than with a senior person at a great distance.

PEOPLE WHO WILL WRITE GOOD LETTERS This entails two considerations. First, is the faculty person sophisticated about reference writing? Second, will they give YOU personally a good reference? Regarding the first, not all faculty know how to write a good reference, particularly if they are required to do so outside of the confines of their field. For example, not every biology professor knows how to write a good reference for a medical school. So, if you have a number of potential faculty who you could ask, then you may want to assess this dimension. The best way to do this is to talk it over confidentially with faculty who know you and who are committed to your future success. For example, in this case, you might seek out guidance from the pre-med advisor or from your faculty advisor. Alternatively, you might, in your letter requesting the reference, describe the kinds of things for which medical schools are looking.

Now, for the more delicate issue of will they write YOU a good letter. Faculty vary in their practices. My view is, "if I don't have anything nice to say, I won't say anything at all". That is, if I feel that I do not know a student well or if I would prefer not to write for them, I tell them so. However, some faculty do not have this policy. Although you run the risk of offending some faculty, I advise you to ask faculty, "do you feel you can write me a good letter of reference".

Good luck. I'd appreciate it if you would let me know how things work out.

Dr. Friedman