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College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Getting letters of recommendation

Students often need letters of recommendation from faculty members. Here are some tips for useful and timely letters.

  • Ask only instructors for letters with whom you have had a good deal of contact. A popular professor whose only contact with you was in a lecture class with 300 other students will not be able to write a very strong letter for you.
  • Plan ahead. If you know that you are going to need letters, get better acquainted with the instructors you want to ask for them. This should require no more than what any good student who wants to do well in his or her courses should do anyway: ask questions during class, follow up on issues after class, visit your instructors during office hours, seek advice from them on papers, and so on.
  • Ask for letters in person; don't rely on e-mail or voice mail.
  • Give your referees enough lead time. Waiting until two weeks before a letter is due, or waiting until the last week of class, is not wise.
  • Provide your referees with a resume and any other information he or she requests in a timely manner. It may help you to complete this information sheet and supply it as well.