Great Letters of Recommendation

How to get Letters of Recommendation that will get you accepted to graduate school:

Hint: Generic letters of recommendation won’t help you get accepted to graduate school!

Thousands of applicants apply to MBA school, medical school, dental school, law school and other graduate schools, each year. That means that there are a few selfless souls that take the time to wade through the pile of applications and pluck out a group of candidates fit for acceptance.

It’s not an easy job — admissions officials reading applications are hypnotized into a bored trance because the average application they see are bland in every way. On the average application, nothing stands out that makes the admissions official think “Wow! our program needs this awesome person!.”

And it’s not the grades and test scores that bore the brains out of admissions officials — as long as your scores are in line with the average statistics for the school you’re in the running — it’s the other pieces, like personal statements and letters of recommendation, that applicants are SUPPOSED to use to distinguish themselves, but don’t.

Don’t be average — Grad schools are afraid your “averageness” will rub off on them

Based on my experiences as a graduate school admissions coach, I estimate that 7/10 letters of recommendation are so generic — devoid of any meaningful insights or unique personal relationships — that admissions officials skim them quickly, put them aside, and down a massive gulp of coffee just to keep themselves awake.

Even worse than the average “more boring than store-brand pasta sauce” letters of recommendation are the BAD letters, which make up about 2/10 letters of recommendation that the admissions committee sees. These are the letters of recommendation where the student asked the WRONG person — Professors they didn’t know, in a 300 person class that they got a B in — to write a letter, and it clearly shows in a negative letter of recommendation.

Only 10% of letters of recommendation “WOW” admissions committees

Every now and then the letters of recommendation that come across an admissions officials desk reminds them why they volunteered for this tough gig in the first place: The letters genuinely express respect and admiration for the applicant, and share interesting anecdotes and stories that tell an engaging story about who the applicant is and what they stand for.

No generic pleasantries, no vague descriptions of an obviously non-existent relationship — just honest communication.

These Great Letters of recommendation make the applicant stand above their scores and their resume.  Scores and a resume can’t communicate how you, as a unique person, impacted someone elses life for the better — a great letter of recommendation can.

To get the kind of letters of recommendation that snap bored admissions readers out of their trances, you need to create positive relationships with your professors and employers.

Great letters come from great relationships

There are four different groups of people involved in the letter of recommendation process: College professors, graduate school admissions deans, graduate school students, and employers.

Having been a college professor and a pre-graduate school student, a graduate school admissions coach and an employer, I can see the relationship between all four of these in “four dimensions;” I know how it feels to be each one of these people, so I know what each wants, and what each needs.

I’ve seen that the expectations of one group don’t match the expectations of another, and the letters of recommendation that results from this mismatched relationship doesn’t have a positive effect on a graduate school application because it was rushed and impersonal.

Getting a letter of recommendation: Your expectations vs. their reality

When it comes to letters of recommendation, all four parties involved have a lot to say, and having worked with all of them, this is my 4-d look at letters of recommendations:

Pre-Grad Students: Want great letters of recommendation, but don’t always know how to go about it

Pre-Grad Students: Letters of recommendation are an afterthought typically put on the back burner until the 2 months before graduate school applications are due. When the “most important” other pieces of the application are done, a letter-requesting frenzy begins as pre-grad students beg their professors to give them a letter, any kind of letter — “oh, and by the way professor, can you have that back to me by the end of the week?”

And when pre-grad students show up to meet with the professor — even the polite, proactive ones — they don’t know what to say. They feel like they couldn’t possibly have anything in common with this big-shot-brainy important genius person, so they don’t know how to lead the conversation or communicate what they ultimately want — a powerful letter of recommendation.

College Professors: Want to give you a good letter, but only if you put in the work

College Professors feel ignored for most of the semester. The only time they ever notice you is if you raise your hand in class, fall asleep in class, or never show up. You don’t show up to office hours, and when you do, it’s to argue about a grade or ask for the answer to a homework question.

About two months before the semester ends, college professors start noticing faces they hardly recognize showing up to their offices complimenting their class, their massive chemistry book collection, their framed PhD, asking, “Oh btw, can you write me a custom-tailored letter of rec that tells graduate schools how incredible I am? Oh, you don’t remember me? I got a B in your class 2 semesters ago. I sat in the middle-ish area behind that one girl who raised her hand all the time.”

And they know the students are dancing around the issue — the student clearly wants to ask for a letter of recommendation, but they’re too afraid to bring it up. The professors know what the student wants and becomes frustrated that the student doesn’t save everyone the time by making their intentions clear from the start.

Some new professors don’t have much experience writing letters, or they aren’t sure how to satisfy your graduate schools requirements, so they ask you to write the letter yourself. Most students are terrified at this idea and just let the professor use a generic “fill-in-students-name-here” letter that isn’t very personal or memorable.

Employers: Are glad to give you a letter, if they actually know you

Employers are absolutely thrilled to give a letter of recommendation to an outstanding employee, but they feel used and manipulated when someone they hardly know asks for a glowing, personal, and lengthy letter expounding all of the employees virtues during the employees 2 month stint on the job.

Their schedules are so crammed with meetings, office politics, and meetings about office politics that eat up all of their time so sometimes employers ask you to write the letter yourself to save time. 

Graduate school admissions coach: I want you to start asking early, and be genuine and respectful

That’s me I strongly recommend that my coaching clients begin nurturing relationships with their professors at the beginning of each semester. Getting to know each of your professors — by scheduling several 15 minute informal meetings — is the best way to get to know a professional in the field, pick their brain about their career, and share your own feelings about your candidacy for graduate school.

After the professor or employer knows who you are, how you work, and your goals for the future, they can write a unique letter of recommendation that stands far above the typical letter they write for students they hardly know.

Get great letters of recommendation

So how do you get great letters of recommendation that will get you admitted to graduate school?

You need to know how to navigate the tricky employer/employee and professor/student relationships.

To get a great letter of recommendation, you have to forge relationships with your professors and employers early, and let them know early on that you intend to request a letter. You also have to understand and acknowledge the wants and needs of the person you are asking.

You need to know what to say to start a conversation about your graduate school ambitions, and if you’re asked to write the letter yourself, you have to know what a great letter of recommendation looks like.

The hard work is up to you — you have to take the initiative to meet with your professors and employers, you have to figure out the correct timing, and you have to lead the way.

But when it comes to the knowledge you need, like knowing what to say, writing the letter itself, and knowing the best ways to cultivate a positive relationship, I have a great resource you can use to give you what you need to get a great letter of recommendation right away.

It’s called “Great Letters of Recommendation.”

“Great Letters of Recommendation” has:

•  A complete conversation script: How to start the conversation, how to react to common questions and concern, how to bring up letters of recommendation how to ask for one, and how to write one for just about every situation out there.
• How to write a letter of recommendation, if you are asked to (You want this to happen!)
  
• A ton of sample letters of recommendation to give you, your professors, and your employers a crystal clear picture of what a powerful letter of recommendation looks like.

I’ve been selling the print copy of great letters of recommendation for $27 for the last 5 years, but I’ve recently made a bunch of changes to the book that add a ton of value.

I’ve added to Great Letters of Recommendation:

• More sample letters
• more conversation scripts and techniques
• more instructions on how to write a letter of recommendation, if you need to write it yourself.

So for 2012 Great Letters of Recommendation is updated, improved, and polished for the next application cycle.

And now that it’s an all online product, you don’t have to pay for shipping, packaging, or any of those “snail mail” hassles that drive up the price.

I’ve dropped the price to $9.

And a bonus for the premeds: It’s called Premed Success Stories, and it shows how 9 Premeds transformed their ordinary applications to get themselves admitted to medical school. Get it for free with your purchase of Great Letters of Recommendation.

Great Letters of Recommendation– Just $27 $9.
Bonus: Premed Success Stories for Free!