Need a letter of recommendation?
Strong letters of recommendation are an essential part of an
application for graduate school (CS, MBA, Law, Medicine, ...).
They are also very useful for applications for jobs and internships.
I write recommendation letters for many of my current or former
students. If you are a current or former student, it may be
reasonable to ask me for a letter of recommendation. This page
will help give you an idea if I can write a strong, supportive
letter for you and it specifies what materials I would need in
order to write the letter.
Should I ask for a letter?
A necessary condition for a strong recommendation from me is to have
worked with me for at least one year. This year of work might
be in the form of two semesters of classes or it might be in the form
of one class together with some sort of departmental job such as a
webmaster or research or teaching assistant. If I've worked with you
for a year
and you've done well (i.e., you've fulfilled your
commitments, you've applied yourself and you've demonstrated that
you've learned something) then you should feel free to call on me
for a letter any time, even years later. In some cases I can write
a stronger letter for someone earning a lesser grade; it all hinges
on whether the student has applied themselves and has worked to
the best of their ability.
I can write a recommendation letter based on only one semester
of experience with a student but such letters are usually less
well-developed and are therefore less helpful. Except under unusual
circumstances, if you have not taken at least one class with me, it's
probably not appropriate to ask me for a letter of recommendation;
consider someone else.
Unsolicited Advice
- Yes, you'll need to ask the person from whom you're requesting
a letter – don't assume that they're willing to write just because
you took a class with them.
Give a little thought to the best way
to ask this particular person, it will vary from person to person
and depend on their generational norms. I prefer to
field such requests in in-person conversations. Send an email requesting
an appointment to discuss it. If you're not in town, a phone call is
next best.
- It's almost always unwise to fail to check the box forfeiting
your right to read your recommendation letter. That is,
non-confidential recommendation letters have little to no value.
What I need to write my letter:
Having read the above, if you've decided to ask me for a letter, here
is what I need:
- Sufficient time – usually at least one month,
- A recent resume,
- If you are using
The Common App or a
similar aggregator which requires you to enter an email address
for me, you must register me with the email address
robert.muller@bc.edu.
- if you are a current student, a degree audit with annotation
showing which course(s) you took from me,
- if you are not a current student, complete information about
the course(s) you took from me, (year, semester and grade earned),
- a paragraph or two explaining why you are applying for the
program/job in question and
- the date of the closest deadline.