Timeline for Having trouble getting recommendation letter for masters
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| May 27, 2015 at 5:08 | comment | added | aparente001 | @payalc, there is a way of asking someone from the past to provide a letter (if you feel that would bolster your application): when you write to the professor, include some information that would jog his/her memory of you, give a brief update about your life in the last three years, attach an unofficial transcript, describe your motivation in pursuing a Master's, and ask whether s/he would be comfortable writing you a recommendation. (That's a way of sounding the person out to see whether the written recommendation will be helpful for your application.) | |
| May 25, 2015 at 20:08 | comment | added | Pete L. Clark | Okay, after further clarification the answer seems quite on-point for the OP. | |
| May 25, 2015 at 19:49 | comment | added | Nate Eldredge | What is needed is people who can comment on your ability to do research. This of course assumes that the OP is heading into a research-based masters program. | |
| May 25, 2015 at 19:21 | comment | added | Pete L. Clark | I think it would probably be similar in fields for which the strongest undergraduates show their strength through coursework rather than research, which would be the case in much of the humanities, for instance. If we don't know, we could try asking about it on the site. Anyway, pure mathematics is one of the most common things asked about on this site -- and sure, some people spend time in industry and want to come back to academia. A lot of these people want to start with a master's degree. (I didn't see the word "just" in the question.) | |
| May 25, 2015 at 19:16 | comment | added | aeismail | @PeteL.Clark I'm not sure if that holds for many fields other than (pure) mathematics—just because of the nature of the field. I also can't imagine many people on such a trajectory (five years in industry, then back to school for just a master's in pure math). | |
| May 25, 2015 at 19:13 | comment | added | Pete L. Clark | I think this is excellent advice for some academic fields and less so for others. For instance, in my field (pure mathematics), an applicant who had all letters coming from industry would be at a huge disadvantage, whereas having all three letters coming from professors who knew the candidate (sufficiently) well in the classroom is totally fine. That was the case for my recommendation letters, for instance, and I got into all five of the programs to which I applied. | |
| May 25, 2015 at 19:07 | history | answered | aeismail | CC BY-SA 3.0 |