You may be telling the truth, but having a good back-up is always advantageous especially in your plans to enter graduate school. Even if you have submitted the most impressive graduate admission essay and transcript, somebody else has to vouch for your capability and also for your personality.
Why are recommendation letters a must?
The admissions committee does not really know what methods you were using when you got those grades. These numbers do not reflect your attitude and your interpersonal skills (how you deal with your classmates, study group members, and teachers). For example, maybe you were ruthlessly aiming for excellent grades so that you were never interested in anything else such as helping out a classmate. A good reference will be able to show the admissions committee that not only were you a good student, but you were also a good classmate or a good worker – a great person inside and out. If you’ve already written about it in your graduate admission essay, then the recommendation letter validates what you’ve stated.
People to approach
Not everyone can write your recommendation letter. When you are choosing among the professors and instructors in college, put distinguished people who know your work well on top of your list. College instructors or organization advisers will make great references. Make sure that you have a good grade with the particular college instructor you have chosen, and that you have displayed a great attitude with the adviser of your choice.
Narrowing down your list
You cannot choose every college instructor or adviser who has given you a high grade. Again, you have to choose someone who has seen you at your very best – as a realiable leader or member of a research group, as a consistent worker, and as a generally well-rounded student. Make sure that the reference knows you well enough to answer questions graduate schools may pose. The reference must also be known for being articulate – you do not want any mixed messages coming through. He or she must know your goals and must understand your motivations.
The element of trust
It is important that you know your reference, and he or she also knows you well, preferably on a first-name basis. The reference must know you enough to write about you positively but honestly. You must in turn know your reference well for you to anticipate what sort of recommendation he or she will write, without you having to unfairly influence him or her. You must then be able to trust your references enough to submit their sealed letters as part of your application, partnered of course by an excellent graduate admission essay.
Photo Credit : Orin Optiglot
