I'm in the midst of applying to colleges. My situation is that I'm graduating from highschool with my Associate of Arts Degree, thanks to homeschooling and dual enrollment. So I plan on applying as a transfer (which explains why I'm so late in doing this). My questions are, firstly, do I need to provide letters of recommendation? I'm assuming that I do, but I'm very new at this, so I'm not sure. And secondly, I talked to one of my professors about writing one for me and he told me to let him know what he should put in it and he would be glad to write it. I haven't the slightest idea what to tell him. I know its something of an individual thing, but basically what I'm asking is what are colleges looking for in letters of recommendation? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by Friday (Member # 8998) on :
Most college applications will explain what they want as far as recomendations. I would start by requesting applications from the schools you are interested in, and seeing what they require. Most likely this will be pretty easy to do from the school's admissions website. In fact, many schools let you download and print an application straight from their website.
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
So far I've filled out online applications for 3 colleges and I haven't seen anything specifically pertaining to letters of recommendations. Right now I'm working on University of Virginia's and am keeping my eyes peeled, but nothing so far. Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
When I applied to transfer as an undergrad, there weren't any recommendation letters requested, and I was accepted. (I decided not to go through with it, though.) If the application doesn't state that letters are required, then they probably aren't expecting them. From what I've seen, college admissions offices are very clear on what they need from applicants.
It's possible that the specific department you're applying to might have a separate application in addition to the general one for the school, so you might want to double-check that, but I may be conflating my undergrad and grad school application memories here. If the department wants letters, they'd most likely also explicitly state that in their application.
It's also possible that letters might be needed if you're applying for a specific scholarship - but again, that would most likely be stated somewhere in the application for the scholarship.
Anyway, to summarize: If you don't see anything stating that recommendation letters are required whilst applying, I wouldn't worry about them. But if you're really worried, you could always just call the admissions office and ask.
And good luck with all of them! Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
This is the sort of question that is far better answered by calling the admissions department rather than asks a random group of people.
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
Most colleges, especially large public schools, don't require any rec letters.
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
quote:Originally posted by HollowEarth: This is the sort of question that is far better answered by calling the admissions department rather than asks a random group of people.
You raise an excellent point. I did email them, but obviously its a weekend, so no response. I confess ... I'm somewhat phonophobic. But I have been looking more closely on the websites and have found that in most cases letters of recommendation are optional. I guess I just missed it the first few times I looked.
But I do still plan on getting one from my history professor. Any suggestions on what I should ask from him?
Posted by RackhamsRazor (Member # 5254) on :
Usually people put things like, "This student is resposible as demonstrated through his leadership role as president of SADD" in letters of recommendation. These letters usually contain content about in what the student participates and what qualities he or she has.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
When I was in high school, one of the teachers said that we should type up our own letters of recommendation, and she would sign them. Sometimes she signed them "as is" and sometimes she retyped them to clean them up.
Perhaps your professor would appreciate it if you drafted a letter and, if it met with his approval, he could sign it.
Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
quote:I'm somewhat phonophobic.
I was, too, until I took a reporting job and realized the #1 difference between young, intrinsically Internet-centric people and older Internet adopters is that the latter don't find phone calls out of the ordinary.
Call them.
Posted by aiua (Member # 7825) on :
quote: young, intrinsically Internet-centric people
I was a phonophobe far before I had internet access.
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You raise an excellent point. I did email them, but obviously its a weekend, so no response. I confess ... I'm somewhat phonophobic. But I have been looking more closely on the websites and have found that in most cases letters of recommendation are optional. I guess I just missed it the first few times I looked.