Requesting Strong Letters of Recommendation

  1. Approach potential recommenders first as advisers. Get to know them and let them get to know you. Discuss your larger interests and goals. Ask for their advice about potential projects, reading, courses of study, and graduate programs. These conversations will be invaluable in themselves, but they will also allow you to judge who is likely to be your most enthusiastic recommenders; these meetings will also allow those who write for you to write more informed and personally engaged letters.
  2. Ask someone who knows you well and who will be able to discuss in specific detail what distinguishes you.
  3. Ask well in advance of the deadline. Two to four weeks may be adequate. It is often helpful to consult with the recommender to see how much lead-time is needed. This is especially true for letters for major scholarships and letters to be written over the summer.
  4. Schedule an appointment with your recommenders to discuss the scholarship, its selection criteria, your most recent and commendable activities, and suggest what each recommender might emphasize. You may want to let your recommenders know who your other recommenders are, so that they can write letters that complement rather than repeat one another.