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Letters of Recommendation

Virtually all graduate schools request one or more (typically three) letters of recommendation from faculty who know you well. These letters are extremely important and should not be treated lightly. If you have been properly preparing yourself for graduate study in psychology, there should be several faculty members who you feel confident would be able to write a positive letter of recommendation for you. Do not be hesitant in approaching faculty about writing these letters, and do not feel guilty about the work it entails for the faculty member. Most faculty believe that, even though writing letters of recommendation is difficult work, it is one of the more important aspects of their job. They take this responsibility seriously and are eager to tell others about their good students.

You should approach the faculty members you have selected to write recommendations for you as early as possible in order to determine their willingness to write for you. Most faculty who feel they cannot write a good letter will either say so directly or will suggest that you contact another faculty member who "knows you better". Once you have obtained the agreement of a faculty member to write in your support, there is much you can do to make the job easier. In order to enable the faculty member to write the best possible letter, you should provide the kind of information outlined below. It will help personalize and individualize your recommendation and make the writing of your letter easier for the faculty member, especially at those times when the faculty member may be writing letters for a number of different students.

Feel free to speak well of yourself and stress your strong points in the material you provide to your recommenders--if you do not think you are good and deserving of the program or position you are applying for, how can anyone else?

The following specific items of information (or as many as is practical) should be supplied to each faculty member who will write letters of recommendations for you. (You might consider printing this document and using it as a checklist.)

1. A copy of your resume or vita, autobiography, or a similar statement summarizing, in general terms, your background. If you want constructive criticism of this statement, ask the faculty to provide you with some.

2. If any of the schools to which you are applying request a statement of purpose or goals from you, provide a copy to the faculty member. (If you want constructive criticism of this statement, ask the faculty to provide you with some.) Whether you give the faculty member a copy of this statement or not, you should give him/her a clear idea of the interests you will be expressing on your application form along with the specific program that you are applying to.

3. Stamped, addressed envelopes for each letter of recommendation to be sent (the faculty member will take care of the return address). Attach any forms which must be completed to the appropriate envelopes. Make sure to fill out and sign any relevant portions of these forms. Typically you must sign in agreement or disagreement with a waiver that makes the letter confidential.

4. A copy of your transcripts.

5. A list in outline form containing the following information:
   1. Current date, name, current address, phone number(s) and, if appropriate, your email address.
   2. A list of names and addresses to which any general letters (those without forms) are to be sent.
   3. A list of all letters to be sent along with the deadline for their receipt. This list should also indicate the type and level of each program to which you are applying (i.e., clinical, counseling, industrial, organizational, experimental, school, social, etc., as well as Master’s, Ph.D., or Psy.D., etc.). Try to give the faculty member at least a week to write the letter. Also, it is advisable to check to make sure the letters were received by the school.
   4. The date you first met the faculty member (which is typically the semester of your first course with the faculty member).
   5. The type of contact you have had with the particular faculty member (i.e., list of classes taken and grades received, advisee, teaching or research assistant, informal contact, etc.).
   6. Information regarding your academic achievement including your GPA, major(s) and minor(s), academic strengths and weaknesses, the relationship between your academic preparation and the program or job for which you are applying.
   7. Anything extra or unique about your academic background such as honors received, research experiences, departmental assistantships, work study positions, independent reading or research, specialized computer skills, etc.
   8. If you have obtained Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores or the results of other such standardized tests, report these.
   9. Highlight your non-academic background including jobs, hobbies, sports, community work, political or social involvements, semester abroad, travel, etc.
   10. If the letter of recommendation is for a job, include some kind of a job description.
   11. Provide any other information that will enable the faculty member to write you a strong letter.

Since the faculty member is expending considerable time in writing a letter of recommendation for you, it would be common courtesy to keep the faculty member informed of the result of your application process.