Dear CRCers:Â Â
I need a recommendation from a professor for a scholarship application; I don't know any professors well enough yet for ask for one.Â
Signed,Â
Stuck and Unknown.
What classes have you enjoyed recently? It may feel difficult to ask a professor from a large class, but don't assume they don't know who you are! Especially if you enjoyed the class and "did well" in it (e.g., you participated in class or section, and turned in work you are proud of), then you have enough of a relationship to ask for a standard recommendation.
When you make the ask, you can try first via email, writing something like,Â
"Dear Prof. X, I took your Y course last fall, and I enjoyed it very much. I'm emailing you to see if you'd be willing to write a recommendation for me for Z scholarship; a description of it can be found at this link. I've attached a draft of my personal statement and a rough copy of my resume. Ideally, I'd like you to highlight the strength of my writing based on the papers I turned in for your class, one of which is attached. The recommendation is due in a couple of weeks on March xx, and I believe you'd get an email link for the recommendation."
Give them as much information as possible, so as to make it easy to fill out. And the worst that can happen? They say they don't know you well enough; and then you try someone else!
CRCer Victoria wants to add:Â
Other options might be getting input from the TA alongside the professor for the rec if the TA knows your work better.Â
Sometimes professors will ask you to draft the letter of recommendation for them, which can be scary -- a lot of us aren't conditioned to reflect on our own strengths! But if that happens, think about the opportunity you're applying for and what it's looking for, and then which parts of yourself you want to highlight (what you bring to the table academically and personally). Then, if possible, think of anecdotes or specific moments in the course in which you felt like you embodied those traits. Try to be realistic but not overly humble - you should be proud of what you've done at Brown, and let other people know that!