This webpage contains advice for people asking for a letter
of recommendation from me or someone like me.
It was largely plagiarized from a
similar
page by Ravi Vakil.
(Last modified Tuesday, 08-May-2012 20:20:24 EDT.)
You likely
have a lot of things on your mind right now, and this is the last
thing you want to worry about, but this deals with a central
part of your application.
Letter-writing is one of my most important duties. Precisely
because it is so important, I am asked to do it many times each year
at numerous levels (undergraduates applying for graduate school
or summer employment, graduate students applying for postdocs, postdocs
applying for tenure-track jobs, tenure cases).
This makes the following request all the more important:
Please remember that it is in your interest to make your busy letter
writer's job as easy as possible.
Please give me as much notice as possible so I can write
as detailed a letter as I would like.
A month is reasonable. Two weeks may be pushing it if there isn't
much flexibility in my schedule at that time.
If you give me
very little notice, your letter will necessarily be rushed, which
is in no one's interest.
You
want to help your recommender write as detailed a letter as
possible. Here are things that would help me.
Only some may apply to you. I will likely only start writing
your letter once I have all the information I would like (as there
is always someone else's letter I can write first).
Let me know that you read this page! Otherwise I'll direct you back here
before proceeding.
If you are applying using an online system (e.g., Mathjobs),
please give my
email address as kedlaya@math.mit.edu. Otherwise, I may not
be able to log in and upload your letter!
CV/résumé
transcript (if you are an undergrad; unofficial ones are okay)
everything you will submit with your application
(e.g. personal essay, research summary, research proposal);
very good drafts will do in a pinch. Corollary:
finish your part of the application early.
if you are an undergrad applying to a special program
of some sort (like an REU):
information about the program you are applying to
(e.g. the official program announcement),
and what they are looking for.
if you are a mathematician:
copies of papers (electronic links suffice). For graduate
students, I also want work in progress
(i.e., some chapters of your thesis).
Who else is writing you a letter (so I can say things that might
not otherwise be covered)?
Where are you applying (e.g. list of schools)?
Are there any that deserve special mention for some reason?
When do you need the letter by (e.g. when should
it be in the mail)? How do I get it to where it needs to go?
(On a related note: it is the responsibility of the applicant
to keep reminding the writer about the deadline. I've been
very good in the past, but with many letters, there's always the
chance something bad might happen.)
Is there anything in particular you would like me to address?
(Are there particular theorems/papers you hope I'll write about?
Are there theorems/papers that others will say more about?)
Are there particular qualities you would prefer that I discuss?
Any other information that might have a chance of helping me.
Thank you for helping make this process run smoothly!