Getting a letter of recommendation (LOR) from one’s recommenders can be extremely tricky. In my experience I have come across many applicants who have faced big dilemmas and undergone a lot of anxiety in selecting a referee and securing a recommendation from them when applying to a university to study. I have shared below some quick pointers that will be extremely helpful in getting the right recommendation well in time.
- For students applying to bachelors or undergraduate programmes, usually two LORs are required, one from the school counselor/ coordinator and the other from a subject teacher. In case there is no coordinator or counselor appointed or present in the school then one can present the second LOR from the teacher for another subject.
- In case of students applying to masters or graduate programmes, two to three LORs are usually required, one has to be from a supervisor at work or internship while the others can be from an academic recommender.
- One needs to have a strong rapport and a sound relationship with one’s recommender to be able to ask them for this favour, and also to be certain that they will oblige.
- An LOR is usually five hundreds words long, unless and until otherwise specified.
- The applicant must be careful in ensuring that different aspects of his/her personality are highlighted and vouched for in the different LORs by the different recommenders.
- One should keep the recommender informed of the application submission status, and when they can expect to receive a link in their email for them to upload their recommendation.
- The applicant should be extremely careful in matching the correct email address and phone number in the application and the one checked by the referee.
- It is extremely important for the student to keep the connection with the recommender alive with curtsey calls and messages.
Keeping in mind these simple steps makes the task of seeking valuable and impactful recommendations easy and successful. After all, it is the personal statement and the LORs that determine the selection of a candidate the most.