I’m in the process of getting a recommendation from a professor (who I personally consider a guider in academics) but he said something which confused me.
“Let me know of any specific considerations that you want me to highlight for each university”
Does this mean he will individualize the LoR to each university? That’s a lot of work on his part, no? And more importantly, should I just go for it, and let him know of any important things he should include in the letter? Maybe not to all universities, but just the couple?
I just don’t want to seem rude, by requesting that much from a professor.
Help!!!
p.s keep in mind, I have a close relationship with him. Took 3-4 classes of his, because I liked him as a professor, went to his office hours a lot, and kept in-touch with him after classes were over. And he himself, has always been very helpful. Maybe that’s why he offered?
In this day and age , he must have many templates saved on his computer so it is not lot of work on his part.
He is doing this for years so he knows how to do it efficiently and quickly. You should not feel guilty.
He sounds like the sort of person who feels good for helping out people who are interested to succeed. He would not have offered if he did not mean it.
Give him one liners for each uni and that should be enough for him to work with and thank him profusely.
I think he didnt mean he would give you several different letters of recommendation .. It may be that he asked you to let him know if there are certain traits / qualities that you would like him to mention in the letter ..
even if he meant he would give you several different letters, dont accept that .. its always better to have one strongly written letter then many roaming around .. its not good for your records if two different letters end up in the same place ...
I think you need to jot down the top 5 qualities/traits that will get you the job .. and then request your professor to mention those traits/qualities in that letter .. that letter will then help you in any university you apply for ...
Mirch Bhai- That is true, all he may have to do is add one or two extra lines to personalize the letter to me.
Psyah Bhai- I very much keep thinking that, because in the past he has gone out of his way for those students who have decided on an unconventional career path or those who he thinks can make a difference in the world with their work. So because he offered, I feel I should take advantage and of course thank him later.
CB- I agree with you too. I would and should not expect him to write 5+ LoR's for me. So I will concentrate on just certain schools which are my priority and whos programs have attracted me the most. He knows of my background and past work so I may ask him to connect that to the programs which are highest on my getting-in-list.
As someone who writes a few dozens of these letters for students on a yearly basis, I can tell you that this is a standard statement in my response to students who ask for letter. All he's saying is that he needs a little input from you to help draft the letters.
I'd still give him the option of writing one strong letter of recommendation rather than multiple letters. I'm assuming you're applying to grad programs in similar subject areas where he can draw upon the same skills and aptitude to recommend you for each program. He'll still need to make changes here and there, but he shouldn't have to change the letters significantly.
In my own case, if I know the student well, I typically give them an opportunity to come into my office and chat about their plans so that I get a feeling for their rationale and motivation for applying. I take notes and use these in drafting the letters. If your professor hasn't followed a similar route, then there's no harm in providing a couple of sentences that highlight your plans and the reasons for application to those programs. This will greatly help him.
While we do have templates that we develop over time, we only probably ever re-use those templates about 30% of the time. The rest of the time, the students circumstances define what we have to write.
Most important of all, give him enough time to write you the letters. It's very annoying when students ask for letters at the last minute :-) sigh... end rant
different universities have different approaches to admissions, and what they focus on, the programs could be slightly different and looking for slightly different type of students, and it only becomes more important the higher up you go. for my biz school apps in some cases schools had their own specific forms that had to be filled and other recommendation letters were not accepted.
Take his offer, look carefully at the literature and websites of each program, understand what they are looking for and make sure he addresses that in his recommendation letter.
I would not worry about multiple recommendation letter versions ending up on one desk, just like I didnt worry about different versions of my resume ending up on a desk...its purpose written and highlighting different aspects of work, or projects, and as long as what is written is true, there is no harm. Additionally the student records are not shared between universities
That sounds like the standard response given by professors. When I was asking for letter of recs I only asked professors I was pretty close with and that was the type of response I got back from them. What made it easier for me was that I was mainly aiming at one particular school.........so I basically handed in my resume, general personal statement (for all schools) and my 'top school' personal statement to the professer. Reading through these usually geared them to what kind of information about me I wanted included in the letter of rec....