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Getting references for MA- etiquette?

  • 07-04-2015 10:12pm
    #1
    Sharri
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭


    Hi all,
    I am a year out of college after completing my BA and hoping to do a masters in September. One thing I'm unsure of is whether or not I should let my academic references know in advance that I would like to list them on applications?

    This is in the cases where references are not submitted by me in advance, but where the institution goes looking for them in future. So I just have to give their names & e-mails etc.
    I'll be applying for a few, maybe 3-4 similar courses so I don't want to annoy them with request after request coming in....or does this not mean anything to them in the scheme of things?

    Also does anyone know if it's a bad idea to have my 2 references listed as being from the same department and basically both being in the same position? I did a joint major in English and another niche subject in a very small department...so I was going to go with professors from there as they are more likely to remember me and I've actually had personal interactions with them unlike in the large English classes.

    Would just appreciate any advice here! I'm having trouble getting to see any guidance counsellors at the moment because of scheduling but I'm worried about not getting my applications correct.


Comments

  • #2
    innad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 306 ✭✭innad


    Absolutely ask for their permission first. A lot of the online application systems now generate automatic emails requesting references as soon as you submit your application. So you need to 1) make sure that the people you have identified are willing to provide references, and 2) alert them to the fact that they may be receiving a number of requests.

    Having two references from the same department shouldn't be a problem - I only ever had contact with one department during my undergrad, and both references for my masters came from there.


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