Getting a letter of recommendation for graduate school from a faculty member

Most faculty members will be happy to write you a letter of recommendation. However, it is incumbent upon you to make the letter writing process as easy as possible for the recommender. The more concise and pertinent the information you provide, the better able the recommender is to write you a good letter. To this end here is a list of items to include with your request.

Be sure to provide this information to the recommender at least one month prior to the submission deadline.

• A list with the following information:
  • Names of schools
  • Type of program and area for each schools (e.g., Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at University X, M.A. in Counseling Psychology at University Y)
  • Due date of letter of recommendation.
  • Method of letter submission (electronic, mailed from letter writer, mailed by applicant).
• A copy of your C.V. (resume) including relevant accomplishments during undergraduate education such as:
  • relevant work and volunteer experience,
• Independent Study or Externship experiences,
• conference presentations,
• papers published,
• awards or honors received,
• grants/fellowships/scholarships received.
• A copy of your statement of purpose.
• Unofficial transcript that lists your GPA.
  
• GRE scores, if applicable.
  
• A list of the courses you took with the recommender, their dates, and grades received.