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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?

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).

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.

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.

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.

MagicMike80 wrote: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.

BVest wrote:

MagicMike80 wrote: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.

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.

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

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