Okay, I'm applying for grad school and they want three academic references. I finished my undergraduate degree in '99 and I went back to look at the deparment website of both my major and minor and there's exactly one professor left between the two that might remember me. There's only four overall left that I actually took a class with and three of those were lower level survey courses where I'm sure I was known more by my student # than for my academic prowess. I knew where one of my old profs moved onto but when I went to search for his new contact info, he seems to have either quit or been dismissed from his most recent employer under odd circumstances. Any ideas on what I should do?
Options: You can always contact the director of graduate studies of the department where you want to apply. If you describe your circumstances, he or she could waive the requirement of the additional two academic references (assuming you can at least get one). Also, the department may accept a reference from someone who can assess your academic/intellectual potential. Likely it would be a boss, co-worker, etc. who could speak to your future academic success. I assume you need the references right now, but you could always take a class as a continuing ed class at a university, get to know the professor, and ask for a reference. It's more of a long shot, but depending on the department and area of study, you could always contact the professor you want to work with and see if you can set up a meeting. It's unlikely he or she will write a reference on one meeting, but that person might be willing to be somewhat of your advocate when it comes to reviewing your application. One thing you want to watch is that many schools have a graduate school and departmental component in getting accepted. You will want to verify that the graduate school doesn't hold up your application process (i.e., admittance) while you resolve the reference issue.
JohnW's advice is excellent. Here's a longshot*: do you have copies of old papers with good grades on them? I have a couple of times received requests from old students that were accompanied by papers of theirs, which I'd given an A. That actually helped quite a bit, since in addition to being a prod to the memory, it gave me something substantive to write about. *The long shot being not that you'd have papers with good grades, but that you'd kept copies of them.
February 10, 2006 To Whom It May Concern: I am delighted to recommend Nicodemus as a prospective student in your graduate program. I first met him in 2001 on BigSoccer.com (a website devoted primarily to soccer) and having been struck by the insight, breadth of knowledge, and basic human decency of his posts, I have continued to go out of my way to read his contributions to forum ever since. Thus, I feel very comfortable commenting on his capacities as a scholar and his potential as a professional. Nicodemus’ regular contributions to BigSoccer provide ample evidence of a young man who--although already in possession of significant expertise--has just begun to tap his considerable abilities. His knowledge of religious literature is encyclopedic. More to the point, it is clearly fueled by the sort profound and abiding intellectual curiosity that is the wellspring of all good scholarship. As an important complement to this, Nicodemus’ wide knowledge of many different styles of music bespeaks an active and thoroughly engaged eclecticism that promises well for his future productivity in his chosen field. Finally, while I do not share his enthusiasm for Alabama soccer, one cannot deny the intelligent and programmatic quality of his efforts to develop broader recognition of and interest in this rather obscure field. I have no doubt that Nicodemus will be an excellent colleague. He has always shown a conscientious commitment to discussing the ideas at the core of those threads in which he chooses to participate, while managing to add his own unique input. Moreover, his response to the outbreaks of partisan antagonism and random animosity that are unfortunately typical of internet forums is exemplary, as he consistently chooses to deflect the problematic and engage the constructive whenever possible. It is neither an accident nor a surprise that he is one of the most popular members of the entire forum. In short, I recommend Nicodemus without reservation and with great confidence of his success, both as a graduate student in your program and as a productive professional upon completing his degree. Sincerely, bungadiri
Good letter, bung. It avoids the major pitfalls of such letters, especially hyperbole. One year my wife's English department was hiring a medievalist. Five people writing dissertations on medieval literature in English at the University of Virginia applied for the job, and one of their profs wrote letters for all of them. By a bizarre coincidence that defies logic and mathematics, all five of them were "the best medievalist the University of Virginia has produced in 25 years." I have nothing to add other than repeating what John said about contacting the school. Some places are flexible enough to understand that a lot can change in any department over seven years. Some will have virtually no turnover, some will have nearly complete turnover, and it's not the fault of the prospective student. Other places aren't smart enough to realize that, which usually tells you something about the culture of the program.
Who knows how it would be received - a joint letter from the PhD types around here? Dr. Wankler, having just finished the last of 64 applications for a job here, your comment is incredibly timely! And now for some real comments. First, did you happen to know the administrative assitant well? If so, he or she can help walk you through the problem by pulling your old file and getting you someone now there who might write a letter. I occasionally write general references for people who were in this program before my arrival. It helps that the admin asst. knew them. Second, do you know any other academic types, to whom you might submit a portfolio of your work and a transcript? Might be a way around the problem, too. JohnW's ideas are more practical.
This sounds like a typical letter of recommendation for graduate admission from China. bungadiri, can I use your letter as the template for all the letters of recommendation that I have to write?
Absolutely. Especially if you show them my credentials. Sure. Just make sure to avoid referring to superlatives and U. Va. Word on the street is that's no good.
Thankfully I just got an email back from the one prof I thought would remember me and he did and said he'd be happy to do it.
So is that one down, two to go? You could call the department where your profs used to work when you studied under them and explain the situation to the secretary at the department. They may have forwarding info for the profs, and even if they can't give the forwarding info out, they might be willing to forward your request to the professor. When I applied for grad school a year and a half ago, a similar thing happened to me. I only needed two academic references though. I got one from a professor who had had me for one semester almost 10 years ago but did remember me (I found him through a google search; luckily not many people in the U.S. have the last name "Zdanys"), and I got the other rec from one of my high school teachers actually. (I was applying to a school of education, and the rec was from a teacher who even back in high school was always telling me I needed to become a teacher.)
Sounds nice on paper, but I went to a med school dominated university where everything else was treated like dirty, moldy underwear. The history department wasn't even respected enough to have a full time secretary, they paid grad students to do the receptions in shifts and a lot of time no one was there, you just had to go meander the halls looking for what you needed . The one thing that would probably help me is I won the "Undergraduate Student of the Year" award my senior year and it's on a plaque in the department I was a section editor for the college paper and the advisor remembers me and has actually asked my wife to sub for her occasionally, so that's 2 down. They said only two were necessary, but that three was preferrable.
I did my master at UVa. I knew a few medievalist graduate students.... they freaked me out. One of the girls I knew actually practiced witchcraft in her dorm room. And it was not for academic reasons. She actually believed in it. Good luck to your wife!!!!!!
Sorry to bring this relativelly old thread up, but I didn't want to start a new thread and it sort of applies here. Hypothetically in the future, when I need recommendations for scholarships, etc/graduate program applications.. (engineering) would it be acceptable to put an engineer whom knows me well but is one of my best friend's parent? He has his doctorate and is still working, do you guys that think approach would work as well as using professors from my current school in addition?
Whoa , I'm also into engineering ,"Civil Engineering that is. I think you can use as recommendation your parents best friend . There are certain restrictions .
So long as this person knows you in a capacity that would make the application worthwhile (beyond "he once beat my son in a drinking contest"), I don't see why not.