ReadingFlutist

i second that question AdamM412. i was thinking about filling out apps over winter break and asking for recs before thanksgiving break.

entomom

Thanks to pcristiani for the suggestions for getting to know your profs. I do however have cautions on some of them.

First, I would try to stick to office hours rather than sending numerous emails or phone calls as these can disrupt the time that a professor spends on research or preparing for classes. I would also be very careful about disscussing things other than the course, be absolutely sure that the professor is really interested and not just being polilte, again, their time is valuable. I would recommend against giving a gift, particularly since you are going to ask for a recommendation. I think this is a conflict of interest at the least and could be perceived as brown nosing at the worse. Finally, only offer suggestions on how to improve the class if the professor asks you first.

JMHO.

Andale

Assuming you are on the most common schedule - ie, fall transfer with apps due in March: working on your apps over winter break should work fine. That would give you time to think about your essays, research more about each school so that your "why xxx school" essay is very specific.

Asking profs just before winter break can work fine. Which reminds me of another FAQ, which I'll post below.

Andale

How can I ask my prof to write so many recommendations if I am applying to several schools? Isn't that a burden? What should I provide to profs when asking for recommendations?
Typically, faculty will write one recommendation for you (in a Word file or similar) and print it out for however many applications you plan to submit. So it is no trouble, as a rule, for them to provide you recs for several schools.

To facilitate it for them, provide stamped, addressed envelopes for each school with either a master list of deadlines or lightly penciled deadline on each envelope.

Many schools provide a form for the prof rec. You will notice, if you read carefully that many of them don't care if the form is actually used; or that the form just calls for a bit of identifying information about you (which *you* fill in before giving to the prof) and allows the recommender to simply attach his letter of rec.

In addition, profs might appreciate a *brief* resume, idea of your planned major and a copy of your transcript to know how you are doing in all of your coursework, not just their courses.

When should I approach the prof to ask for recommendations? How much advance notice should I give?

Speaking with them just before winter break is a good option for most application schedules. You are fresh in the prof's mind. You know that you did well in the course. They have plenty of time to do the rec over break, if they so choose, or plenty of time to do it after classes resume if that is their preference.

If you are not on that type of schedule, consider asking the prof as soon as you know s/he is one you want. Then ask him or her what schedule would be best for providing the form(s)/envelope(s) and what other materials they might like to have from you.

If you are "up against the clock" trying to give yourself time to get to know profs well enough to ask, try to give them 2-3 weeks. But.... don't worry about it too much. For most schools, the critical element for the deadline is for *your* portion of the app to be on time. If the prof rec trickles in a bit later, that is usually okay. Don't take this as gospel. Check with the individual school if you are running into a time crunch with the prof rec arriving on time.

enzo22

FAQ’s
Can you leave out a school that you went to for a short time and did badly? No. You need to list every school where you have ever been enrolled as a college student.

Sorry but does this include the college classes I took in HS? I did poorly in those classes but did have the credits transfer to my current school. Will I have to send that transcript?
And thanks Andale, you are always super helpful.

Andale

enzo, I found that this is a grey area. If you got dual credit and it is reported on your hs transcript, I don't think you will need the separate transcript.

My S took one college class during a summer while still in hs. He reported it on the applications under the list of "all colleges attended", where you put the school, year(s) attended and whether you were a degree candidate. Only one or two schools wanted a transcript on that one. He was not seeking college credit for that class, though.

Can you clarify more about your situation?

enzo22

Thanks for your expertise Andale.

I went to a HS that was closely affiliated with a CUNY college, as it was located on its campus. Therefore, students were asked to take college classes during senior year, which they called bridge year. I am pretty sure the grades were not reported on the HS transcript because for humanities seminar, which I received credit for at my current college as Literature, the grade that appears on the HS transcript is from our teacher (who taught the class with the professor) and the grade that appears on the college transcript is from the professor.

I am faced with a dilemma because I was able to transfer those credits to my current college so I am assuming I will have to put down that I attended that college on my transfer application correct? I was also put on probation by the college for my 1.something GPA. I do hope to receive credit for the four classes I have taken but it seems unlikely I will since my grades were C,C,D,A.

So Andale, what do you think?
Will I have to report it on the apps under list of colleges attended?
and equally as important...Will I have to get a Dean's Statement from that college, because seeing as though I was on probation, I'm not sure that is going to go over so well with the adcoms.

And yes, the moral here is to work hard in hs!

lilkrnq

This thread is a great idea! Thank you for all the great information.

Andale

Well, enzo, I'm really *not* an expert. And I don't know the answer for you. I believe you will only need a Dean Statement from your current college. As to the courses you took from a college, while at hs.... I really don't know. You'll have to scour the website of the college where you want to transfer and/or ask the admissions office and/or start a thread here with your specific qx and see if anyone has the answer.

Best of luck.

hasanmujahid

If I am starting college in fall 07, and want to transfer for fall 2008, do they look at my first semester GPA and give me provisional admission on that basis?

Andale

Yes, they look at your first semester GPA. Some will ask for mid-semester grade estimates for your spring term. Some of these will let you self-report; some will want prof signatures/initials.

Some will make it expressly conditional on seeing your grades, if they feel they need more information to evaluate you, before they give you firm acceptance. But this is not particularly common.

Virtually all will in effect be provisional, because they will ask for your spring transcript and if your grades tank spring term, that could be a problem.

lilkrnq

In terms of recommendations, is it a big negative if multiple recommendations come from different professors in the same academic department? For some reason, I have two good relationships with two history professors with an additional third history professor willing to write me an optional rec as she got to know me through freshman forum introduction classes and when I visited her office hours.

Cvjn

Recommendations tend to be more in the iffy area. They're not going to really make up for any part of your application if you're lacking in an area, so I don't suggest getting that many. I'd only send 3 recommendations at most. If you believe that your professors, all of them, can tell a different story about you, and have it be unique things specific to what they saw in you, then by all means, get all 3. But if they are just going to be the same things, then you only really need 1. Repetition isn't that good.

Andale

Re 3 recommendations from profs all in the same field: I think it depends a lot on your intended major. Two from profs in your intended major would generally be a good thing. Sending a 3rd - I agree with Cvjn not to do 3 if they do not provide different insights. Further, even if they were in my major field, I would prefer to see the 3rd from a different field.

lzh

Can anyone give instructions on how to finish the "Midterm report"
Thank you.