Letters of recommendation (LORs) are a key part of your application for master’s programs. Strong letters provide meaningful support, while a lukewarm one can really hurt your chances for admission. In this post, we’ll answer two questions: Who should write in support of your master’s application? How can you make sure your LORs are as…
Deciding Who Should Write Your Letters of Recommendation – PhD
Letters of recommendation (LORs) are a key part of your application. A strong one can provide meaningful support, while a lukewarm one can really hurt your chances of admission. In this post, we’ll answer two questions: (1) Who should write in support of your PhD application? And (2) how can you make sure your LORs…
Three Don’ts When Asking for Letters of Recommendation
The individuals who agree to write your letters of recommendation (LORs) are doing you a favor, so the least you can do is make their job easier by following proper LOR etiquette. Breaking the rules we outline in this post could result in your recommenders deciding not to write a favorable recommendation letter for you or…
Ten Tips for Writers of Letters of Recommendation
It’s time to ask your professor, boss, or colleague to draft a convincing and enthusiastic letter of recommendation for your grad school application. And honestly, you are not looking forward to it. The recommenders you want to write on your behalf are very busy people; can they really give this the attention it requires so…
4 Tips for Securing Effective Recommendation Letters for PhD Admissions at Top Programs
Letters of recommendation are one the most important components of your doctoral program application. In fact, they can often make or break your candidature; for example, an outstanding letter of recommendation can make up for a low GRE score, while a lukewarm letter that reads as a template can raise flags despite good grades and…
Lining Up Letters of Recommendation and Searching for Fellowships
These are some steps that you can start working on well ahead of next winter’s application deadlines. When to Ask for Letters of Recommendation If you’re still in college, asking professors now to be your recommenders will be straightforward; the benefit of doing this early is that the professors who work in your field will…
Optimize Your Graduate School Application: Grades, Scores, Essays, Resume, Activity History, and More [Episode 247]
How to Get Really Great Recommendations [Episode 235]
Joe Pavlisko is the founder of Referrio, a start-up that makes getting and writing recommendations easy. Joe graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a concurrent master’s degree in finance. In addition to English, Joe speaks Spanish and German and taught English in rural Spain. After graduating from college…