letters of rec !?!

[snaangirl]

Hello Everyone
I so happy 4 all of u that got in !!

I go to a school where average science classes contain 400 people and the proffs usually dont get to know the students. What do i do about getting recs from these profs when i took their class a long time ago?

thanks!
snaan girl

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[neeky]

ok,
well go to their office and chat it up!! Describe your experience in their class, a way to let them know you were their student at some point. Then slip in the question of the rec, since they don't know you that well offer to giver your cv for them to look over or a past exam from the class that you did well on..

 

[gradM.S.]

Hey Snaangirl,
Out of curiosity, do you go to UCI? That is where I went for undergrad. And I feel for you! It was hard for me to meet the professors especially with class sizes of 300+. What I did and I recommend to you is that you start doing research with a professor, preferably at the medical school. From personal experience I found their letters to be much more stronger. I would also recommend you to take a bio class with a smaller class size. I found that in the smaller classes it is much easier to interact with the professor and they are more familiar with your work. You can always go to office hours and try to meet your professors there. But that is something you have to do every week for the entire quarter. Because if you just go in a couple of times do you think they will honestly remember you and even if they do, how strong of a letter do you think it will be. Try taking a class in the humanities or social ecology department. The professors there are much nicer and more approachable.Good luck and start working on them now!

 

[gradM.S.]

Hey Snaangirl,
Out of curiosity, do you go to UCI? That is where I went for undergrad. And I feel for you! It was hard for me to meet the professors especially with class sizes of 300+. What I did and I recommend to you is that you start doing research with a professor, preferably at the medical school. From personal experience I found their letters to be much more stronger. I would also recommend you to take a bio class with a smaller class size. I found that in the smaller classes it is much easier to interact with the professor and they are more familiar with your work. You can always go to office hours and try to meet your professors there. But that is something you have to do every week for the entire quarter. Because if you just go in a couple of times do you think they will honestly remember you and even if they do, how strong of a letter do you think it will be. Try taking a class in the humanities or social ecology department. The professors there are much nicer and more approachable.Good luck and start working on them now!

 

[waiting]

Hey snaangirl,

My intro bio class was also huge...800+!! What I did was first approach the TA who taught my lab section...it was a small section, we met every week, and I'd gotten to know the TA fairly well, so I knew he'd write a solid, personal recommendation...I then approached the prof. who chaired the class (whom I hadn't spoken to before) told him a little bit about myself, gave him a copy of my resume and activities and things, etc. The prof. was more than happy to write a recommendation for me which was a combinatin of input from the TA's rec., talking with me, the mat'l. I'd given him, and my performance in the class....The profs. of such big, intro classes are used to being approached by students for recs for grad schools and it's common practice for them to draft a recommendation based on input from your TAs...anyway, hope this helps...

 

[snaangirl]

Thank u all so much!
yes,i attend uci and its so impossible to be buddies with these profs! i am totally dreding the letter of rec deal...
i heard that research prof letters dont count toward science proff letters... that they have to be from a prof that taught u in lecture
is this true?!?
M.S.---> any other words of wisdom regarding uci stuff?

thnx
snaangirl

 

[StarGirl]

no some schools count research profs as sciences professors as long as u did take a class w/ them like independent research! try taking an upper div class that's small, that's how i got my letter, and i didn't really do well in the classs, but the prof knew i was trying really hard, and that i care, but he also knew i was busy w/ work etc... letters of rec doesn't have to be from profs that u got A's from....just as long as it's a good letter that's better than a prof that says "joe, got an A, he's smart" if the prof can write about who you are that's great!

 

[gradM.S.]

If i am not wrong - a letter from a research professor is the same as if you were getting one from one of your science professors. I think that a letter from a research professor may even carry more weight just for the fact that they really know you and are rather familiar with your work skills and your dedication.
Good luck

 

[dragonfly9]

So glad that I went to a small liberal arts school. . .I was really intimidated by the letters of rec thing at first, but when I contacted my pre-health commitee, they completely took the weight off my shoulders. They write a composite letter and just my luck, I was on a first name basis with 2 of the bio professors on the board. Usually, if you find a common interest with the professor, its easy to chat with them outside of class. I also babysat for a couple of my professors and made sure to get to know my advisor. Your advisor should be helpful in making your way through the crowd as well. If its anything like my school, I had to schedule a meeting with him before each semester to go over my plans.