Recommendation Letters

Here is a message from Ingrid about Letters of Recommendation:

I am happy to write you a letter of recommendation. I believe it is part of my calling as a teacher and mentor to help people take their next step and find the path that is right for them. I will always write letters of recommendation for students who have cultivated a relationship with me through an internship, a senior thesis, or for those who have actively participated in a lab course that I have taught. Be aware that if I only know you through a lecture course, it may be difficult for me to write a well-informed, strong letter of recommendation.

Before emailing me to ask for a letter, prepare the following:

1. • Tell me about what you have been up to. Tell me where you are heading now and how this next step fits into your long-term career goals.

   • Remind me of a few things that you are proud of from either your time in the lab, or from your engagement with and performance in my class. What was your independent research or group project on? What about your involvement stands out? What is something you took away from the experience that helps to illustrate what was special about you then, and how you have grown since?

   • Before the first time I write for you, give me at least three weeks' prior notice to ensure I have enough time to plan for writing a good letter.

If you don't hear back from me within a few days, please re-send the message.

After you hear back from me, here is my advice to you to make sure this process works as much to your benefit as possible:

1. • I am happy to be able to support you, but I juggle many, many obligations and deadlines, and I receive hundreds of emails every day. It is your responsibility to be the "general contractor" of your own career path. One element of this responsibility is to check in with me to make sure your letter of recommendation makes it in by the deadline.

   • I am never annoyed by reminders; I welcome them.

   • Be well organized and give me a list of deadlines as soon as you know them. Don't forget to provide detailed information about where and how to send each letter (e.g., will it be an online form coming directly from the program? Do I send an email, and to whom? Note that I only write confidential letters of recommendation -- I will not provide a generic letter for a dossier).

   • Give me details about the job or graduate program you are applying for. If the recommendation is for graduate school, who would be your potential advisor at each program, and why does their lab appeal to you?

   • Tell me anything in particular that you would like me to comment on in my letter.

   • Sending along your CV/resume, and a draft of your personal statement or application, is also helpful.

As deadlines approach, send me frequent reminders. In any one week, I have many more obligations than I can get to. Be sure your letter does not fall through the cracks of my busy work life! My advice is that you send reminders two weeks before, one week before, three days before, and the day before. I try to notify people when I have sent off a letter, so if you haven’t heard from me, your letter may not have gone in.