How to ask for this letter of recommendation?

October 28, 2009 7:12 PM

Help me ask a former professor for a letter of recommendation. Complicating details after the jump.

Asking for a friend:

I am a senior in college, currently beginning the process of applying to grad school. Last year, I took a couple of interdisciplinary classes related to my field from the same professor, and got to know her pretty well: I would often go to office hours and discuss the class as well as life in general. I did well in the classes, and I'm pretty sure she has a positive opinion of me, and I think she would be a strong recommendation for my grad school applications.

Last week, I emailed her asking if she had office hours this term, and, as I put it, whether I could "stop by and ask a few questions about grad school." In her reply, she informed me that she is doing research abroad this term, but that I could ask my questions over email.

The thing is, I don't really have any questions for her: all I wanted was the letter of recommendation. I only mentioned having questions about grad school because asking point-blank for a letter of recommendation seemed too blunt, or rude, to me. The obvious thing to do, of course, would be to ask questions to which I already know the answer, but complicating the matter is the fact that she went to grad school in field X, and I am applying for the unrelated field Y (it was only later that she got into interdisciplinary studies bringing her closer to my field). So I'm not sure what I could ask her that wouldn't sound stupid.

So I guess my question is this:

What's the best way to actually get this letter? Do I just say, "actually, I don't have any questions for you, except would you write me a letter of recommendation?" Do I try to come up with 'fake' questions for her? If so, what should I ask? Any other suggestions? I know she's a very busy woman and I don't want to bother her too much, but I really want this recommendation.

Thanks in advance!

posted by notswedish to education (10 comments total)

Just got with the first one. Many professors are glad to write letters of recommendations, especially if they like you. Remember, it's part of their jobs so it's not too crazy a request.
posted by just.good.enough at 7:20 PM on October 28

Here's what you say: "Thank you for being willing to talk to me. I hope your research is going well, I'd love to hear some more about it. As you might know, I'm in the process of applying for graduate school and am hoping that you'd be able to write a positive letter of recommendaton. " Then provide details including due date, number of schools, etc. End your e-mail by thanking her again for her time and wishing her well with her research. It is quite likely she's been asked for recommendations before and knows exactly what "questions about Grad School" means in late October.
posted by Pineapplicious at 7:24 PM on October 28 [6 favorites]

Pineapplicious nailed it right on the head.
posted by cachondeo45 at 7:26 PM on October 28

Pineapplicious is right about recommendations being part of the job and professors expecting such requests. It's also good advice to ask whether the professor could write a positive recommendation.

Since the professor is on research leave, though, and out of the country, she probably does not have the secretarial support that she would normally have at home. Hence she might not have the time or inclination to send out several letters. If your friend's college has a career center with a credential service, your friend should find out whether the service handles grad school recommendations and whether the professor could write one recommendation that the credential service could send out to every school on your friend's application list. That could save the professor a lot of hassle and your friend a lot of worry. One online service for such credential files is Interfolio.com, but there may be others, and again, it's worth checking with the college career office or center.
posted by brianogilvie at 7:48 PM on October 28

Another voice chiming in to say that you likely don't need to worry overmuch about being rude; professors get asked for recommendation letters all the time - heck, I'm only a TA and even I get the occasional request. Personally, I'm kind of flattered when a former student asks me for a letter; maybe your professor will feel the same way?
posted by DingoMutt at 7:53 PM on October 28

Yeah, don't make up BS questions. "Can I stop by to ask you a few questions" is a totally legit way to preface a request for a letter. You could ask her for advice in your application process, and that doesn't seem fabricated to me in the slightest. When you do ask for the letter though, make sure to ask if she would feel comfortable writing you a strong recommendation. I know it sounds silly, but this is almost like a codeword of some sort. Most any prof will dash off a letter if you ask them to, but a strong letter is something that they are less likely to agree to if they don't really mean it.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 8:13 PM on October 28

Professor here... if I was on the other end of this exchange, I would definitely be absolutely fine with a reply that said something like the following:

"Thanks so much for your quick reply! I'm considering going to grad school in [field X], as I find that it is [insert reason for wanting to go into that field]. I had emails because I was wondering if you would mind writing a letter of recommendation for me, and was also just interested in your insights about grad school in general, since I found our discussions in office hours so useful when I took your classes. Since you're overseas and it's harder to maintain such discussions over email, I don't want to impose on that count -- but do hope that you'll be able to write a letter. [Insert logistic details of where the letters need to be sent, when they are due, how to mail the forms and SASEs, etc]."

This isn't too different from Pineapplicious' suggestion, but it does provide a way to get around the issue of what "other questions" you had. I'm sure her insights about grad school would be useful, even if it's a different field -- there are vast similarities from field to field -- but writing it in this way also gives her an easy out if she doesn't have time to have a discussion about that over email. (The reason I suggest explaining why you're interested in field X is that it will help her write a good letter, since she'll be able to relate things you did to that, if there is any relation to be found).

I second everybody in saying that she should be absolutely fine with writing such a letter. I generally enjoy writing such letters, especially if they are for students I knew well; and in any case it is an expected part of the job.
posted by forza at 8:19 PM on October 28

Many grad schools either allow or permit letters of recommendation to be posted through a secure web site, so if she can use that method it shouldn't be too time consuming even from overseas. You could find out at the websites of your target schools or departments whether that will be possible and pass that information along with your request
posted by Rain Man at 8:20 PM on October 28

Whenever students who aren't currently enrolled in my course ask to meet me "to ask me some questions" I always assume that it's about reference letters. I'd be shocked, actually, if it weren't about reference letters- what else would a former student have to ask me?

Just ask.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 8:28 PM on October 28

Also, tell her the deadline for the entire application. But also ask if she would prefer to see your application ahead of time, and if so, when she'd like to have it. Some professors want to have as much information as possible in front of them to write a strong, targeted letter. Others will work mostly from memory, and others, somewhere in between. By asking her in advance about her preferences, you'll make sure to avoid last-minute surprises or frustrating an otherwise valuable letter-writer.

And she definitely knows how to interpret "some questions about grad school." Don't discount the idea that she might still have some words of advice about particular schools, even if she didn't go to grad school in your discipline, or teaches in some other subfield.
posted by barnone at 9:14 PM on October 28