Recommendation letters hassle

GlobalSun

Hi everyone !

I am final year student and as a part of my graduate school applications, I am required to provide recommendation letters from two academic referees.
The problem is that most of my courses were lectures and in tutorials, tutors barely know who you are. Besides, I've had different tutors every semester throughout my 4 years. Most of the tutors aren't even working in UCD anymore (I don't remember their names anyway).

I sent a mail to the school department I'm enrolled in but their only response was to " check the School's lecturers list ". Really ? They don't even know who I am.

Hence, I have no clue how to get these recommendation letters. This situation could definitely hinder the quality of my applications.

Does anyone have any idea on how to sort this out ?

Thank you,

P_1

GlobalSun wrote: »

Hi everyone !

I am final year student and as a part of my graduate school applications, I am required to provide recommendation letters from two academic referees.
The problem is that most of my courses were lectures and in tutorials, tutors barely know who you are. Besides, I had different tutors every semester throughout my 4 years. Most of the tutors aren't even working in UCD anymore (I don't remember their names anyway).

I sent a mail to the school department I'm enrolled in but their only response was to " check the School's lecturers list ". Really ? They don't even know who I am.

Hence, I have no clue how to get these recommendation letters. This situation could definitely hinder the quality of my applications.

Does anyone have any idea on how to sort this out ?

Thank you,

Do you remember your course titles? A simple google search using the course title, the institution and the dates you did the course should bring up the lecturers name, then you just need to find out where they are now and how to contact them

GlobalSun

The problem is that recommendation letters have to be written by someone who knows you on an academic level, so to assess you abilities. Starting off by clearly knowing your name and who you are. Lecturers don't know me. Same goes for tutors.

You're confusing lecturers and tutors. I know the lecturers' names. I don't know the tutors' names.

P_1

GlobalSun wrote: »

The problem is that recommendation letters have to be written by someone who knows you on an academic level, so to assess you abilities. Starting off by clearly knowing your name and who you are. Lecturers don't know me. Same goes for tutors.

Did they grade any of your assignments, exams etc?

If they did, then they know you on an academic level

GlobalSun

P_1 wrote: »

Did they grade any of your assignments, exams etc?

If they did, then they know you on an academic level

I have no clue who grades our exams/papers. I only had two major assignments in first year and both lecturers aren't working in UCD anymore. I haven't had assignments since second year. Most of my grades are exams grades.

P_1

Fair enough, usually when you are looking for a letter of recommendation you'd write

Dear Lecturer,

I took your course in [course title] in [year] achieving an overall grade of [grade]. I am writing to ask for a letter of recommendation to assist in my application to [post grad]. My student number was [student number].

Obviously you'd dress it up a bit but that's the gist of what you want to say.

POSSY

GlobalSun wrote: »

I have no clue who grades our exams/papers. I only had two major assignments in first year and both lecturers aren't working in UCD anymore. I haven't had assignments since second year. Most of my grades are exams grades.

GlobalSun you are definitely over thinking this.

Step 1: Walk up to lecturer.
Step 2: Ask lecturer for letter of
case a) Lecturer doesn't know you but agrees and Lecturer goes to office and writes generic letter.
case b) Lecturer doesn't know you and declines.
case c) Lecture knows you and declines.
case d) Lecture knows you and accepts and writes reference.

If case b) or c): Repeat the steps with a different lecturer.

A tutor's reference will not hold much weight, as a tutor doesn't even need a degree to tutor.

RayCarley

POSSY wrote: »

GlobalSun you are definitely over thinking this.

Step 1: Walk up to lecturer.
Step 2: Ask lecturer for letter of
case a) Lecturer doesn't know you but agrees and Lecturer goes to office and writes generic letter.
case b) Lecturer doesn't know you and declines.
case c) Lecture knows you and declines.
case d) Lecture knows you and accepts and writes reference.

If case b) or c): Repeat the steps with a different lecturer.

A tutor's reference will not hold much weight, as a tutor doesn't even need a degree to tutor.

Yeah that's pretty much all you need to do. Go find their office or something if you don't have them for class any more. I'd recommend finding the lecturer for the class you got the best grades, who you also find to have been a good lecturer, best of all get one who would be as well known as you can find in your field (the specific field of your masters). Chances are if it's they are a good/well renowned lecturer then the college you're applying to will have heard of them and that will greatly help your case.

Even if a lecturer does know you well, it is still impossible for them to know that much about you. So after you ask them, tell them you will send on your CV and in the same email highlight a few of your best attributes that you want them to highlight, especially that you achieved good grades in that lecturers class. That should give them enough material to write a good reference and as it's been said, most lecturers would be very happy to help and have written loads of these references before.

I would stay away from asking tutors, their reference won't hold much weight. If a tutor knows you well then when you're emailing the lecturer for that class CC in the tutor and say how the tutor would be able to vouch for your ability. Or something to that effect.

Huckster

I was pleasantly surprised by how nice lecturers were about writing references. I asked a lecturer from the School of English and another from the School of History and they literally had the letter sent in the following day. One lecturer asked me to forward a copy of all my results and write a few lines about why I wished to become a teacher (it was for a PGDE application) and other related questions, which was no problem. Above all, be polite. I wouldn't ask a tutor for for the reasons already mentioned. Surely if you're applying for graduate studies you've made an impression on at least one lecturer? Have a look back over the essays you've written over the years, find the ones which received the best grades (or very thoughtful and positive feedback) and write a brief, polite email with the information P_1 mentioned. It's really not a big deal for them- they do this all the time.

ironclaw

I wouldn't ask for a reference letter unless I specifically worked with a lecturer on a project etc and the letter had that as a major focus. It would be meaningless otherwise as you'd get the same generic letter as anyone else.

Without knowing the lecturer on a better basis it basically says 'I saw John in my classes and he came to college because he obviously has a degree given by the results he showed me' and nothing more.

Just my outlook on it.

GlobalSun

That's the reason why I call this situation a hassle. If a lecturer can't even picture your face as they literally have no clue who you are, the recommendation letter might really hinder your application as it will be of poor quality.

Truthfully, I would not ask for a recommendation letter to someone who does not even know who I am, especially as there are about 300 students in those lectures.

All the lecturers who me personally (ie : 2) are gone now. They've retired which means I can't even contact them as they don't use their UCD address anymore I'm assuming.

Raphael

What type of postgrad are you applying for? Depending on the type, the reference letter may just be a formality, tick the boxes kind of thing

GlobalSun

I'm applying for an LLM. This school actually requires 2 letters.

POSSY

GlobalSun wrote: »

I'm applying for an LLM. This school actually requires 2 letters.

TBH: Get a 2.1 and show the money and your'e as good as in. The moolah is far too nice to turn down!

GlobalSun

Hum. I have a 2.1 for the moment.
I'm afraid it won't cut it though. Canadian schools are not exactly known as the easiest schools to get in.

An application without recommendation letters screams " Not postgrad material ". They surely won't take my application seriously.

POSSY

GlobalSun wrote: »

Hum. I have a 2.1 for the moment.
I'm afraid it won't cut it though. Canadian schools are not exactly known as the easiest schools to get in.

An application without recommendation letters screams " Not postgrad material ". They surely won't take my application seriously.

Seriously man, if you've the cop on to get a 2.1 go up and ask a lecturer for a recommendation letter. It's not rocket science.

Raphael

Depends on the competitiveness of the school/programme, tbh. For a Masters, in general making the grade is enough and anything beyond that is just box checking - they just want reference letters as a bull**** filter for complete wasters who managed to get that grade somehow but are actually useless, so a "Bob showed up, wasn't a muppet, submitted all his work and got a high grade" should actually cut it.

For primarily taught masters courses, a lot of schools really won;t care if you're postgrad material, you're just another paycheck to them, same as an undergrad. It's only in research and higher level courses where they start being discerning, as you'll be expected to publish something with the universities name on it, so they need to know you're not a complete goober. Though, for what it's worth, on my PhD application I had one academic who'd actually know me, and one person who taught me in a related course I got a high grade in. The latter emailed me when asked for info by the programme asking for my CV and academic record so he could find some nice stuff to say, and I got into the PhD.

Anyways, what I'd do, were I you, is ask your school office if they have a way to contact the 2 retired guys who'd know you, and ask them if possible. Failing that, pick the 2 courses you got your highest grades in last year and email the lecturer, say "Dear Dr Whatever, My name is GlobalSun, I took your class last year and got an A(+/-), I'm applying to X course in Y place and I'd really appreciate it if you could write me a reference letter. I've attached my CV and application cover letter to this email in case that will be of assistance. Thank you for your time, Yours faithfully, GlobalSun"

lemon_sherbert

Don't worry about it so much, when I applied for my LLMs (and all the others in my year who did likewise), I just sent an email to the lecturers (most of whom didn't know me) explaining the situation, including a copy of my CV and asking for a meeting to discuss them giving me a reference. Then at the meeting we discussed a little why I wanted to do a masters, why those particular universities, how I could demonstrate that I had the aptitude for one and they all gave me references no bother. Just give them plenty of time, some law lecturers in particular get a lot of requests this time of year, so they'll be busy. Don't worry about them not knowing you, its very common. Just pick subjects you did well in, and preferably ones you did recently, or relate to the subjects you want to do in your masters. Best of luck

Gae

GlobalSun wrote: »

That's the reason why I call this situation a hassle. If a lecturer can't even picture your face as they literally have no clue who you are, the recommendation letter might really hinder your application as it will be of poor quality.

You are overestimating the importance of recommendation letters. In the vast majority of cases, the decision to admit you into a course is based on your grades and other aspects of your application (depending on the course: personal statements, writing samples etc) and the letters are just a 'tick the box' exercise. A generic letter of recommendation is not going to 'hinder your application' because a large majority of letters are exactly like that. Even the most enthusiastic letters of recommendation are taken with a hint of salt, because some lectures are known to write that type of letter for all their students regardless of how good the student actually is.

Also, admission committees know well that depending on the course, a student might not be known personally by their lectures. They'll take that into account when reviewing the application.