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…
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…
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…
Optimize Your Graduate School Application: Grades, Scores, Essays, Resume, Activity History, and More [Episode 247]
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…