Questions tagged [recommendation-letter]
Questions on recommendation or reference letters received from faculty members when applying for graduate schools or faculty positions.
0
votes
2answers
70 views
Getting a recommendation letter when applying for a job before finishing graduate program
I am midway through the third year of a five year graduate program. Grad school has been fine and I am not struggling academically but there is a full-time job offering in my city (in a field related ...
13
votes
2answers
3k views
Asking previous advisor for a better letter of reference
I recently applied for a national scholarship at my university. My application was accepted internally as one of few to be sent to the organization hosting the scholarship. However, the people ...
3
votes
2answers
89 views
Is it acceptable to ask or present a recommendation letter from a professor who left the university?
I finished my undergraduate studies around 2 and a half years ago. I didn't directly apply to any university to continue my master's degree.
Recently, I decided to continue. I live in Lebanon and I ...
1
vote
0answers
46 views
What's better a free degree or a degree that better matches my interest? [on hold]
I have no debt and a bachelors in mathematics (which has been minimally useful in finding me a job. It's basically amounted to an HR filter pass for some jobs. No job yet after 6 months of looking.)
...
1
vote
1answer
92 views
Contact info for a professor's letter of recommendation [closed]
Is it okay if the applicant provides a professor's official email and the professor uploads the letter of recommendation (LOR) from the same official email, but mistakenly mentions their personal ...
0
votes
1answer
113 views
Shall I tell my college professor that the reason why I am asking for a letter is I have to have a letter from college?
I have graduated for almost two years so I have many other stronger referees; my college performance was not stellar. The only reason why I am requesting a letter from my undergrad profs is that the ...
1
vote
1answer
159 views
How to ask for a recommendation letter if no professor knows me in person?
I suffer from the following mental disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, avoidant personality disorder and body dysmorphic disorder and at times I had depression and because of that I was unable ...
0
votes
1answer
109 views
How to request a positive reference letter from my former PI who does not know me very well?
I worked in a research group and now I am applying to a PhD program. A positive reference letter, especially the one from the big-named Principal Investigator (PI, project leader), will be very ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
Format of project completion letter
I did a website project under guidance of one of my faculty, now i want a letter from faculty that will specify that i did that project under that faculty. I dont know the format of that letter.
0
votes
1answer
146 views
What should I do if a professor agrees to write me a letter but cannot guarantee it being the strongest one?
Recently while applying for a dissertation grant, I ask a professor I believed I worked closely with for a recommendation letter. He responds quickly and agrees to submit a letter for me (as he did ...
2
votes
2answers
121 views
Recommendation Letter v.s. Ph.D. opportunity
Last year, I started collaborating with a high-level professor in the field in a good but not the best institute. Before leaving there, I discussed with her a possible opportunity to having her ...
3
votes
2answers
211 views
Undergrad thesis supervisor rejected request for LOR - how will this look on grad apps?
I haven't worked with my supervisor for long (~3 months now, 4 when apps are due), and she is well known in her field. I understand she has a reputation to uphold is honest in her letters from what I ...
4
votes
2answers
157 views
About the information on Professors who write Reference Letter
I applied for some research positions and send the name of my references. I would like to know that: Do the full list of my references will be forwarded to each of professors by institute which I ...
1
vote
1answer
116 views
I am currently in graduate school but need to ask my previous professors for a letter of recommendation. I am worried this will be awkward
I just started grad school this semester. But as part of my stipend contract, I am required to continue to apply to scholarships (although I don't need to win them). I have not been in grad school ...
3
votes
2answers
167 views
Asking for the second/third recommendation letter, should I tell the referee he is writing the third letter?
Many have suggested me to include a sentence like this while asking for recommendations:
"Do you feel that you are able to give me a strong reference?"
I am afraid that my third referee, who was ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Writing a draft of your own recommendation letter: how to compare yourself to other students?
I'm currently applying to Research Masters and PhD programs. One of my letter of recommendation writers asked me to write up the first draft of the letter, so I've been trying to do so (pretty sure ...
3
votes
1answer
241 views
Not enough recommendation letters
I would like to apply for a postdoc position or an academic position like an assistant professor. Before I had three persons who could write letters of recommendation for me in case I needed to apply ...
5
votes
1answer
175 views
Reference letter on mathjobs - more than one
X is writing a reference letter for me, to be uploaded to mathjobs.org. He wants two generic reference letters - say one for tenure-track positions and one for postdocs. X did upload two letters, but ...
1
vote
1answer
205 views
What does it mean to write a “glowing” letter of recommendation?
I'm soon going to apply for admission into a masters program and I will be getting LORs from my place of employment.
I often hear the phrase glowing letter of recommendation. What does it mean for a ...
3
votes
2answers
103 views
Display well-roundedness in letters for Grad school applications
Many students have asked for a letter of recommendation to support their grad school applications at US universities. Most of them aim for business schools, but many also go for science.
Now, ...
54
votes
3answers
8k views
Writing a letter of recommendation for a faculty colleague I cannot highly recommend
A colleague of mine has asked that I write him a letter of recommendation (LOR). I will call him Steve. He recently was denied tenure and is looking for a new position at several other universities. ...
-2
votes
1answer
60 views
reminding email to hr for scholarship claim [on hold]
i sent an email to hr asking about scholarship they provided to under graduates employees.
she informed to her assistant to generate and provide gsp enrollment no. to me but she did not provide, i ...
3
votes
1answer
103 views
Asking a commitee to replace a letter of recommendation?
I have asked one of my thesis committee members for a letter of recommendation for a position I was applying to. He is a well-known and well-connected figure in my field, we have a good relationship ...
0
votes
1answer
179 views
Can I not ask my advisor for recommendation letter if I'm applying for an industry job?
I'm currently in my fifth year of my PhD in a molecular biology lab, and I have since last year decided to transition to computational biology field.
My advisor is very much into molecular biology ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Is it a good idea to include my professor who left academia as a reference in my PhD application?
I contacted my professor to ask for a recommendation letter and I knew from him that he left my institution and asked me to use another e-mail address for him in the recommendation which is a Gmail. ...
1
vote
1answer
150 views
Letter of Recommendation Reminder (deadline tomorrow)
I asked my professor to write a letter of recommendation in late July, with the deadline of October 1st (which is tomorrow). He responded in the affirmative, and was quite happy to write my LOR. I ...
1
vote
1answer
177 views
Requesting a favor from student for giving recommendation letters
Can I ask/ insist a bright undergraduate student (who is having similar areas of interest) to work under me for his final year project period and try to come up with a scientific publication in favor ...
20
votes
3answers
4k views
Should a professor recommending me talk about my (bad) grades in his or her letter?
I recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics. I'm now applying to research internships and some of these need recommendation letters from faculty.
I did very badly during the first 2 ...
3
votes
2answers
109 views
Letter of Recommendation Coordination?
I am currently applying for a research/study grant, and need three letters of reference. Would it be out of line to ask the recommenders to coordinate with one another so that they don't say anything ...
4
votes
1answer
140 views
Is it okay to ask your research paper co-author (first place) to write a letter of recommendation for your PhD admission?
I finished my school almost 10 years ago. Now, I have planned to go back to academics to pursue my Ph.D. Graduate schools usually ask Ph.D. candidates to get the recommendation letter from either your ...
2
votes
1answer
154 views
Few Months Left to Prepare for Pure Math PhD Application
I'm hoping that I can get some general advice on strengthening a graduate application in the last few months through introducing myself to some faculty in my current program.
I have recently landed ...
0
votes
0answers
99 views
Three Reference Letters
This seems like something that should already have been asked before but I was unable to find a duplicate question.
Background: I took an undergraduate at a university in the UK and graduated two ...
3
votes
0answers
65 views
Asking for a letter medical school letter of recommendation from a class you failed, retook, and got an A in?
I failed one of my classes (E and M) and during the subsequent retake got an A. I was considering asking the professor for a letter of recommendation because I think the episode shows my willingness ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
Professor not responding to LOR email after initially agreeing
My situation is a bit tricky, and I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it.
I asked for a letter of recommendation from two professors at my university. They both replied yes to the initial email....
3
votes
1answer
92 views
One more year left before I apply to math graduate school. Any advice to obtain good recommendation letters?
I am in the last year of my undergraduate studies before I apply to graduate school. I have some questions and I am also in need of some advice.
I know one professor very well and I plan on asking ...
5
votes
1answer
169 views
How can I get recommendation letters for PhD application, while just starting a PhD program?
I am starting graduate school (PhD program) soon, but there's a very high chance that I can't stay in this program for non-academic reasons. Now I want to apply for somewhere else, but I don't know ...
0
votes
2answers
150 views
Recommendation letter from a professor who knows me for a short amount of time
I'm going to be applying for a Master's program at the end of this year. The problem is that I need a recommendation letter from my professor who would know me only for 4-6 months. Does that make the ...
4
votes
2answers
236 views
I am studying at a university where only one faculty member speaks the same language as me. How can I get 3 recommendation letters?
For my Masters degree I am studying at an Armenian university. There is only one professor at the department who speaks English, who I do my Masters by research under. None of the other professors ...
37
votes
7answers
7k views
Reference letter without permission
I'm a PhD student and one of my research assistants (undergraduate student) applied for a non-research volunteer position on campus. He asked (via email) for me to be one of his references on the day ...
6
votes
0answers
59 views
Where should I get my letters of recommendation, coming from outside academia? [duplicate]
I'm considering applying for grad school (psychology). However, I've been in industry for two years. Also, I never connected with my professors... Here are some of my options for letters of ...
2
votes
2answers
181 views
If I don't ask for a recommendation letter from a postdoc I did research with, will it look bad?
I am applying for math graduate school. I have two people that I did research with: A professor and a postdoc. I have a strong connection with the professor, but the postdoc I do not. He was very ...
3
votes
2answers
209 views
Does adjunct teaching help a PhD application?
I burned out while pursing a PhD in mathematics but have a masters, and am currently pursuing a masters in philosophy with the hope that it may show continued interest in academia before I re-apply to ...
2
votes
2answers
63 views
Letter of Recommendation from Instructor
I am a graduate student pursuing my masters in physics, with the intention of eventually getting my PhD (just not from my current institution). This past summer, I taught a physics course, and several ...
4
votes
2answers
209 views
What is the maximum time-span of a referee?
I applied for a PhD program in 2017 and got rejected. I'm preparing to apply again in 2018.
Could a professor who gave me a recommendation letter last year refuse to do so again? If so, why, and how ...
3
votes
2answers
170 views
Is getting a good grade enough to ask for a letter of recommendation for a grad school application?
I'm about to start a 5th year Master's program in CS at my university (one extra year after B.S. for a M.S.). I've also been looking at applying to grad schools for a PhD program, and the main thing ...
3
votes
1answer
137 views
Is there a way to participate in research, when I am no longer a student?
I've finished my undergraduate studies 4 years ago. I was considering applying for masters, but due to passage of time it would be difficult to get any letters of recommendation. Since I'm a ...
1
vote
0answers
138 views
Is there any PhD program in physics that doesn't require recommendation letters? [closed]
I'm loking for a PhD program in physics, but unfortunately I can't get any recommondation letters.
96
votes
9answers
23k views
Why do Americans care so much about recommendation letters?
In Europe, we judge students based on their work and abilities. How are their grades? Do they have relevant work experience (TA/RA, maybe part-time industry work, etc)? What projects have they done? ...
2
votes
1answer
125 views
Recommendation Letter for grad school without academic connections
I have recently developed an interest in a hot topic of computer science and I would like to pursue a master's degree in that topic.
Looking at the available grad school programs and their admissions ...
0
votes
1answer
88 views
How give a recommendation letter to my professor when I need it back?
Basically, i have asked a professor if he would write a recommendation letter for me and he graciously agreed.
But for some reason, this recommendation letter needs to come back to me because it has ...
