Asking Asian profs for LORs?

Narratologist
Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:29:14 +0000

I’ve heard from multiple people that Asians (Indians & Orientals) professors expect more from their students than most white professors.



Firstly, you probably shouldn’t refer to East Asians as “Orientals” since the term has negative racial connotations in the US. Secondly, academic expectations vary from professor to professor; you cannot assume that all Asian professors will be more challenging or demanding than non-Asian professors.



Do you guys think these professors will be less likely to write a good LOR for a student? I can’t tell if they would write a good LOR for me because it’s hard to tell what they’re thinking…



You need to ask each prospective LOR writer, regardless of his/her racial background, whether he/she will be able to write a strong letter of recommendation.