Choose the best recommender for the application. There are many different scenarios in which you will need a letter of recommendation (grants, fellowships, scholarships, awards, internships, graduate/medical/law schools, study abroad, career employment, etc.). Not all letters are equal. You want the most relevant recommender for the task, and the recommenders that know you best.  

• Identify a recommender based on the function of the letter. Who would write the best letter for a particular application?
  • (e.g. If you are applying for a research grant, ask a professor or adviser that collaborates with you on research projects or that is an expert in the field of research you are pursuing. Their letter carries more weight.)
  • (e.g. If you need a non-academic recommender, ask someone in the community that can speak to your leadership skills and/or work ethic. This might be a supervisor or volunteer coordinator, but not someone that is related to you.)

• Identify a recommender who knows you well. The strongest letters come from people with whom you have regular contact and a positive relationship. Choose recommenders who can speak specifically to your strengths, experiences, and character rather than offering generic praise. Graduate schools, employers, and scholarship organizations receive hundreds or even thousands of letters of recommendation, so a compelling, personalized letter can help you stand out.
  • (e.g. If you are applying for graduate school, ask a professor or adviser that knows you well enough to demonstrate your ability to excel in a graduate setting. This goes beyond having enrolled in a class or two with a professor; they need to know you beyond just another face in the classroom.)

• Keep in contact with possible recommenders. Visit office or advising hours to discuss your research or career goals. Maintain contact even after your class ends. 

Strong letters come from those that know you best. This means you will need to build a social network of professional contacts and relationships at UWSP and beyond. Start building those contacts now.  

• Meet with your professors/advisers regularly. 

• Go to office hours, even if you are no longer in a class with them. 

• Go to advising hours, even if you do not need advice on which class to take. 

• Stay after class to ask questions, e.g. ask about research, research experience, course material, graduate schools, or other courses. 

• Take several classes with a professor that you want to write you a letter. 

• Apply or inquire about assisting with research projects. 

Ask in-person first. This demonstrates how important their letter is to you. It also allows you to address initial questions about the letter and the application. Keep in mind, a recommender is not required to write you anything and does not owe you a letter. They are doing you a favor. Be polite, not demanding, and don’t assume that they will or can write you a letter. They might not have time.  

• If you must ask for a letter via email, be professional and formal. Use a proper greeting, be concise and polite. 

• Ask before submitting someone’s name as a recommender. If your professor/adviser receives a request from an organization before being asked by you, this can result in a weak letter.  

Ask in a way that gives someone a chance to reflect on what type of letter they can write for you. Asking “Will you write me a letter?” might result in a “Yes,” but this doesn’t tell you what type of letter you will receive. Try asking “If you feel you know me well enough to write a strong letter, would you please consider writing me a recommendation?” This gives them a chance to reflect and an easier way out if they are unable to provide you with a strong letter.  

• Explain why you chose that particular professor/adviser to write you a letter. 

• Give them time to consider. 

It takes time to write a strong letter, and professors/advisers are extremely busy, often with tight schedules. Some are asked to write over 20 letters each term. Give your professors/advisers plenty of time to write you a strong and distinctive letter. Do not wait until the last minute to ask!  

• Consider how far in advance to ask. Generally, the earlier the better. For graduate school, from 6 months up to 1 year before the application is due is a good time frame to start asking. For grants, scholarships, or study abroad applications, one to three months is a good timeframe. 
  • Asking with less than 1 month to write your letter can result in a rushed letter, which is often a weak letter. Providing at least 1 month or more allows your recommender to reflect on your abilities and performance and construct a personalized strong letter. 

• Follow-ups, Changes, and Reminders. 
  • If you do not receive an immediate answer for your request to write a letter, give your recommender at least 1 week before following-up. If another week passes without an answer, choose a different person to ask. The delay is a sign that you are more likely to receive a weak letter, if you receive one at all. 
  • If someone agrees to write you a letter, make sure to share relevant materials with them (see the next step). 
  • You should be prepared to remind recommenders to submit letters on time.
    • Monitor if letters are submitted, if applicable (e.g. through a graduate school application portal). 
    • Send out a polite reminder about the letter at least 1 week before the deadline, if the letter has not been submitted. 
  • Thank your recommender for writing you a letter (see the last step). 
  • Inform your recommender if you successfully advance to a later stage of competition (e.g. interviews), or if you receive an offer (e.g. awarded a grant or an offer to attend a program). Your recommenders will be happy to hear from you! 

Providing specific materials to your professor/adviser is essential to write a strong and personalized letter. We recommend that you provide as much of the following material/information as possible:  

• Name of the grant/scholarship/graduate school or whatever program you are applying for. 

• A description of the program, and a weblink that provides information on the program. This allows your recommender to refer to specifics of the program, or draw connections between your abilities and skills, and what the program is looking for. 

• The name and title of the person that will receive the letter, if you know. For graduate schools, you should also provide the name and title of the person that you plan to work with. 
  • A letter that starts with “To Whom it May Concern” is weaker than a letter that is address to a specific individual or individuals. 
  • A letter that inaccurately addresses an individual (e.g. inaccurate use of Mrs., Ms., Mr., or Dr.) can be offensive to a reviewer. 
    
• Students who request letters of recommendation from faculty at UWSP that discuss student grades (or any nondirectory information FERPA protected category) are required to complete the release form found at the Registrar’s website for students. 
  • See the Registrar’s website for faculty for additional details.

• The deadline for when you want the recommendation submitted. Do not make this the deadline of your application. Give plenty of time for your recommenders to write and submit a letter before it is actually due. 

• How the letter is to be submitted (mailed, emailed, or submitted online). 
  • Most letters will be submitted online via a portal. A professor/adviser will receive an email from the program with instructions on how to submit their letter online. Be aware of spam filters. Make sure that your recommender receives the email from the program. 
  • If the recommendation is submitted via email, provide the recommender with the email address. 
  • If the recommendation is mailed, provide the recommender with a stamped and addressed envelope to mail the letter. 
  • If the recommendation is supposed to be returned to you, make sure the recommender places the letter in a sealed envelope, and signs the flap of the envelope first. 

• Your connection with the recommender: Remind a recommender of the courses you have taken with them, the grades you earned in those courses, the class projects and papers you completed (including copies of your work if relevant), the research projects you have worked on, or the advising points you talked about. This context is important so the recommender can draw on their experiences with you. 

• A copy of your curriculum vitae or resume. 

• A copy of your most recent transcript. This should be an unofficial copy, which you can send or print from accesSPoint. 

• A copy of your Personal Statement/Letter of Intent (or equivalent, if applicable). This will demonstrate why you are interested in the particular program. 

• Highlights:
  • Provide your recommender with some highlights that you would like them to touch on in a letter. This might include awards, research experience, life experience, publications, skills, aspirations, talents, interests, or other aspects that make you unique. 
  • Provide some detail about those highlights, e.g. explain why or how you have a skill or earned an award.
  • Do not assume your recommender knows what to highlight. Tell them. 

• Multiple letters from the same recommender? If you’re asking for multiple letters (e.g. applying to several graduate schools at the same time), it is best to provide your recommender with:
  • A list of all the schools you are applying to.
  • A list of all the mentors/individuals from each school that you plan to work with and why you plan to work with them.
  • Send the recommendation requests at the same time, if possible. 

• Writing a letter for yourself? Some professors/advisers will ask you to write a recommendation draft for them, which they edit and sign. This is okay, and you should write a strong and professional letter for yourself. 

• Reminders: 
  • As noted above, send your recommenders a polite reminder about your letter at least 1 week before your deadline. Keep in mind, your professors/advisers are busy, and they may have forgotten about your letter. You can help them prioritize and complete that task by keeping in contact with them. 
  • Be careful not to nag, multiple reminders are not necessary (unless you are asked to do so). 

Many applications will ask if you agree to waive the option to read the recommendation letters that are submitted, or if want to view them. We strongly recommend that you agree to waive.  

• If you are concerned that a recommender will write a negative letter, you should not be asking them to write you a letter. That is a sign that you should be asking someone else. 

• Waiving the option to view the letter is the only way to ensure that a letter is genuine and trustworthy. 

• Letters submitted when a student does not waive the option are seen as weaker, less trustworthy, and may even be ignored by reviewers. 

• It has been studied that confidential recommendation letters carry more weight than non-confidential letters because they are more honest. 

• Some recommenders will not submit a letter unless a student agrees to waive. 

• Most letters will be submitted online or via email. However, if a letter is returned to you for submission, make sure it is placed in a sealed envelope and the recommender signs the envelope flap first.