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FAQ's

What is a recommendation letter?

What is a recommendation form?

How do I get my recommendation letter’s done?

How many recommendations do I need?

Who should be your work recommender?

My academic performance is the same at all classes. Whom should I approach for the recommendation letters?

Who should be your academic recommender?

Who should be your work recommender?

How long should the recommendation letter be?

What does the clause of ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ in a recommendation letter stand for?

I have a sample letter of my friend’s recommendation letter? Should I use the same format?

I am working in my family business? Is it alright to get a recommendation from my family members?

I have five recommendations? Which ones should I choose?

Most University’s ask for a Counselor recommendation. We do not have a counselor. What do I do in this case?

I have two recommendations already. My third recommender is not available currently. Can I send the third recommendation later?

Is it better to get a recommendation from someone who is more qualified although he does not know me too well?

Do I need the school/ college stamp on the recommendation letters?

What kind of envelopes must I use?

My professor will not know me as I passed out over 6 years ago. What should I do?

When do I get my recommendation letters ready?

What is a recommendation letter?

As part of the application procedure every University will require you to send recommendation letters. These letters are recommendations from teacher’s/ professor’s who have taught you at school/ college. The letter must reflect on your academic potential and your ability to successfully complete the degree at your respective school/ college.

What is a recommendation form?

A recommendation form is a part of the application package that the University sends you. It is a set format of questions, which the professors who have taught you will answer. The Admissions Committee will evaluate their responses when considering your admissions.

How do I get my recommendation letter’s done?

We have formulated a simple 3-step procedure to complete the recommendation letters process:

Select three people who you can approach for recommendation letters or some universities may specifically state which teachers you need to approach, i.e. your science and math teacher would be the recommenders for an engineering or science major.

Take the recommendation form provided by Univ. to the recommending teacher and ask them to fill up the letter. The recommendation letter must be sealed in an envelope with the recommender’s sign across the flap.

Mail the recommendation letter to your Universities. Provide your teacher’s with the mailing envelope. In some cases the teacher will hand you the sealed envelope, which you can mail with the rest of your application package. Do not under any circumstance tamper with the sealed envelope.

How many recommendations do I need?

You need a maximum of 3 and a minimum of 2 recommendations or as many required by the university you are applying to.

Who should be your academic recommender?

Please select your recommender(s) very carefully. Before you finalize your recommender it would be a good idea to ask yourself the following questions:

Does the recommender know me well enough to give me a recommendation letter?

How long has the recommender known me for?

What are my academic grades in that particular class?

Am I a good/ above average student?

Will the recommender give me a good recommendation? Do I have a good rapport with the recommender?

Does the teacher know about my co-curricular activities – my membership in any college associations, my participation in various debates/ dramatics/ sports/ cultural or annual day functions?

If you believe that the person you have selected will give you an honest and positive letter then you should approach him/ her to give you a recommendation letter.

My academic performance is the same at all classes. Whom should I approach for the recommendation letters?

Undergraduate (Freshman) – You can approach 3 teachers who have taught you in the 9^th, 10^th, 11^th and12^th grades. You could either get one recommendation from school and two from junior college or two recommendations from school and one from college. These could be from your English, Mathematics or Science teacher. If you share a good rapport with your Principal or Vice Principal you can get a recommendation from them as well.

Undergraduate (Transfer) – You can get two recommendations from teachers who have taught you from the 9^th to the 12^th grades. As a transfer student we advise you to get one recommendation from teachers/ professors who have either taught you or are currently teaching you in the Freshman/ Sophomore year of your degree. We recommend an English teacher, Mathematics or Science teacher and the Principal or Vice-Principal if you share a good rapport with them.

Master’s students – You can approach any three professors who have taught you in the course of your Bachelor’s degree. If you have decided on an area of interest or specialization at graduate school then get a recommendation from a professor who has taught you related courses. For example, if you would like to major in Psychology, with a minor in Child Psychology, you can get a recommendation from the teacher who taught you child psychology in your past or current college. One of your recommender’s could be your project guide. If you share a good rapport or rank among the top 10 students in your class, you could request a recommendation from the Head of Department. If you are an all-round student who has won laurels for the college either academically, in athletics or any other field then you could approach your college Principal.

MBA students:

If you are applying without work experience then you can follow a procedure similar to the Master’s students.
If you are applying with:

Less than 2 years work experience – then get 2 academic
recommendations and 1 recommendation from your employer

2 years work experience and above – then get 1 academic recommendation
and 2 recommendations from your employers

Who should be your academic recommender?

The objective of the recommendation letter is to ascertain whether you have the academic potential to successfully complete the program that you are applying to. We have provided you with the following guidelines that will help you in choosing your academic recommender.

Does the professor know you and for how long has he known you?

How does the Prof. XYZ know you? If you attended his classes, what were the subjects that he taught you and the academic year(s) he has taught you in?

What were your academic grades? If you were especially good at a particular course draw attention to the same

What was the level of your participation in class? (were you a passive listener, did you ask queries in class, did you contribute to the class discussions)

Did you make any class presentations or participate in any seminars or guest lectures?

Did you complete any particular project or assignment? Were you evaluated on these grades?

What are your particular strengths?

What are the weaknesses that you need to work on?

Mention a few of your co-curricular activities

If you are a Master’s student, does the recommender know about your area of interest and of any academic work that you completed in relation to the same?

Who should be your work recommender?

A work recommendation must focus on your leadership, management and team skills. We have provided you with a few guidelines that will help you in selecting your work recommender.

How long have you been in the firm?

How long has the recommender known you in the working arena?

Your designation when you began your work and your current designation.

What was your job description?

What was your work related responsibility?

Have you received any promotions since then? Describe the merits on which you received the promotion.

Describe your new responsibilities.

What are your strengths?

What qualities have enabled you to be a good worker?

What are your weaknesses?

What qualities have hindered your work performance?

Did you work on any special projects?

Were you given an opportunity to work on projects out of the city and have you received exposure to markets around your city, nationally or internationally?

Are there any significant accomplishments that impressed your immediate supervisor concerning your work performance?

Do you think the senior manager would recommend you for the MBA program at this juncture in your career?

How long should the recommendation letter be?

The recommendation needs to be approximately one page or as per the recommendation form provided by the university.

What does the clause of ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ in a recommendation letter stand for?

To satisfy the ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ clause in your recommendation letters, you must ensure that:

The recommendation letter is typed on the institution/ teacher’s letterhead
Each copy of the letter has the recommender’s signature in ORIGINAL
The letter is enclosed in an envelope that is glued shut
The recommender has signed across the flap of the sealed envelope

I have a sample letter of my friend’s recommendation letter? Should I use the same format?

Please DO NOT use your friends recommendation letter format as he/ she certainly will have a different profile from your own. In terms of academic potential, courses that she fared extremely well in, the co-curricular activities and the recommender’s whom he/ she approached. Besides which is your recommender’s personal impression upon which they will recommend you.

I am working in my family business? Is it alright to get a recommendation from my family members?

NO. If you are working with your family, your recommendation letters will not be considered authentic. We recommend that you get a recommendation from the customers you have interacted with for a long period of time or a supplier that you have interacted with for long period of time. You could also explore the option of getting a letter from an immediate supervisor in some department that you trained in, as long as he is not a family member. These will be given greater weightage.

I have five recommendations? Which ones should I choose?

You need a maximum of three recommendations. Please refer to our previous suggestion on the recommender’s that you could approach.

I have five recommendations? Which ones should I choose?
Yes. You can get a recommendation from him/ her. The professor would have to specify as per the norm of how and where they have known you at the beginning of the letter.

Most University’s ask for a Counselor recommendation. We do not have a counselor. What do I do in this case?

Most institutes in India do not have a Counselor. Please mention this on the recommendation form. You could supplement this request with a recommendation from your class teacher or your Principal.

I have two recommendations already. My third recommender is not available currently. Can I send the third recommendation later?

Yes. You can send the third recommendation later. Most colleges may specify the deadline by which they need to receive all your documents. You will need to send the recommendation by this deadline.

Is it better to get a recommendation from someone who is more qualified although he does not know me too well?

The recommendation letter must bring out your academic potential to complete the program successfully. A recommender who does not know you too well will have fewer things to say about you. Hence, choose a recommender who knows you well rather than a teacher who is better qualified but hardly knows you.

Do I need the school/ college stamp on the recommendation letters?

No. You do not need the school/ college stamp on the recommendation letters. The original signature of the teacher on the letter and across the flap of the envelope is sufficient. As shown in the diagram above (give link)

What kind of envelopes must I use?

You will be using the envelopes provided by your institution. In case it is not provided you can use any envelope. It is not necessary to use the school/ college envelope where you are currently studying for the recommendation letters.

My professor will not know me as I passed out over 6 years ago. What should I do?

In this case, you can take your academic certificates and mark-sheets along with you when you go to meet the professor. You will need at least one academic reference.

When do I get my recommendation letters ready?

You need to have your recommendation letters ready well in advance of your application deadline date. Ensure that you have given enough time to your professor/ teacher, as most teachers are busy, or may not be available during the vacations. It would be a good idea to complete all your work two or three months in advance to avoid any difficulties at the last minute.