Letters of Recommendation
Your personal statement may be the most important part of your application. But they aren't just going to take your word for it. They need corroborators. So, schools generally ask you for three (sometimes two, sometimes four) letters from professionals who know you well and can vouch for your grad school readiness.
- How do you choose a recommender? Well, first you want to make sure that, if at all possible, this person's name is preceded by this: "Dr." Professors want to know that someone with their approximate level of expertise and education thinks you'll be able to handle grad school well, and will have something to contribute.
- Make sure it's someone who has worked closely in a professional capacity with you. Good: you've been in their class. Better: you've been their TA. Best: you've worked on a research project with them. Even bester than that: they supervised you as you created and carried out your own project.
- There's always the risk that someone will say they can't write a recommendation for you for whatever reason. This is pretty rare, though - if you've chosen your recommenders well.
- Never forget that your recommenders are doing you a huge favor. They have a lot of other letters to write, and papers to write, and projects to do, and classes to teach - well, you get the picture. So make this as easy for them as humanly possible.
- What I always did was I made a packet for each of my recommenders which contained stamped envelopes, addressed to the appropriate place so they could just drop them in the mail (i.e. the grad school, the psych department, or you if you're creating "supplemental materials" packets for that school). I included the school name in the bottom left corner, the recommender's initials and the due date in the bottom right corner. If there was a form to be filled out, I printed it and included it in the appropriate envelope. I also provided my recommenders with a list of schools (to make sure they had all the envelopes upon arrival), some instructions, and if I had written my own recommendation, I included a CD with the file or e-mailed the file.
- Another thing I did was I included envelopes for the schools that had online recommendations - but I wrote on the envelope "Online Recommendation. You will receive an e-mail." This served to remind them, if the e-mail had gotten lost in a deluge, that this was the time to either go looking for it, or ask me to send a replacement.
- Always thank your recommenders. This can be as easy as sending them a quick e-mail thanking them for their time and consideration, or thanking them as you update them about your initial interviews. If you want to get fancy, by all means, send a card. It's entirely possible that these people may be writing you more letters next year, or may be your job references at some point. So be courteous to them.
