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…
Deciding Who Should Write Your Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are a key part of your application. Strong ones provide meaningful support, and a lukewarm one can really hurt you. In this post we’ll answer two questions: Who should write in support of your PhD application? And how can you make sure your letters are as good as they can be? How…
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]
This show was triggered by a question asked on a recent webinar that I gave when a member of the audience, Glenn, asked “Are there any podcasts or resources that focus specifically on rounding out the application – recommendations, extra-curriculars, etc.” There aren’t. I decided to create one, and this is it. We’re going to…
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…
How Not to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation
Your recommenders are doing you a favor, so the least you can do is make their job easier by following proper letter of recommendation (LOR) etiquette. Breaking these important rules may result in your recommenders deciding not to dish out the most favorable review. Stay on their good side, help them stay organized, and most…
10 Tips for Writing Letters of Recommendation
Pass these tips on to your recommenders for LORs that impress the admissions officers and ensure that they want to accept you. 10 Tips for Recommenders: 1. Review a copy of the applicant’s personal statement or application essays so that your letter of recommendation can dovetail with–not conflict with or duplicate–the rest of the application. 2. Ask…
