Teacher recs Forum

[Anonymous User]

How well do you have to know your prof to ask for a recommendation? How often should I be seeking them out in office hours to establish a rapport or is class participation sufficient?

[MarkfromWI]

In general, I don't know if you could develop enough of a relationship to garner a quality LOR solely from in-class participation. Also, a high volume of in-class participation simply for the sake of getting noticed so they will know who you are when you ask for a letter of rec probably isn't the best strategy, either (Just as much as all of the other students don't like the kid who's always commenting on everything, I'm sure a lot of professors feel the same way).

Aside from that, how much you will have to interact with them outside of class during office hours or whatever will probably be a function of how big the class is. Your legal writing prof is usually a good place to start- they're generally the smallest class you'll have and are often times adjuncts (meaning they're probably less "invested" in the school and therefore more likely to help/encourage transferring).

[bugsy33]

Our school pays us to take our professors out to lunch. I've been out with two of my professors so far and it was a really great way to get to know them outside of the classroom. I went with a few other classmates to make it less awkward. I would suggest trying that even if you can't be reimbursed.

[bnghle234]

Raise your hand a couple of times in class and visit your Prof. during office hours at least once so they know who you are.

[MagicMike80]

Any professor whose class you do well in will be willing to write a recommendation letter. For me doing well included talking in class, but not too much soul-searching during office hours. One prof saw me in the hallway the day his grades were released and offered on the spot. This isn't really something to be worried about.

[BVest]

Any professor whose class you do well in will possibly be willing to write a recommendation letter.

I fixed this from experience. I've encountered one who suggested that he would write a very generic "Bvest did well" letter if I wanted him to, but that I'd get a better letter from someone else.

[Itwasluck]

Any professor whose class you do well in will possibly be willing to write a recommendation letter.

I fixed this from experience. I've encountered one who suggested that he would write a very generic "Bvest did well" letter if I wanted him to, but that I'd get a better letter from someone else.

I agree with BVest. I had a letter from a professor I did research for and for a professor I had several extended conversations with regarding the possibility of a transfer. I am sure other professors would have written decent letters in classes where I did well, but I think the special connections I had to these two professors in particular gave my letters a little extra. I guess there is a ton of room for debate on how much letters matter in a GPA/class rank dominated game, but good letters certainly can't hurt. I think it also helped that one of my recommenders was an alumnus of the school I ultimately transferred to. Just my two cents looking back on the process.

[shock259]

I got letters from professors where I never went to office or volunteered to speak in class (although I did fumble through cold calls to the best of my ability). Never was a problem so long as I did well in the class. One professor tell me directly that she would be happy to write that I was a good student and got a good grade, but she wouldn't be able to say much else because she did not know me very well. I told her that was fine, and I used that letter at many schools and got accepted at wonderful places.

So don't sweat it, basically.

[rebcca]

ask as much questions u have in your mind and grab your attention

[rebcca]

ask as many doubts u have..you will surely grab the attention