Kyle's References FAQ

Answering "Will you be a reference for me?" since 2013

Welcome to this FAQ! You've either found this on your own or someone pointed you here because you asked them to be some sort of reference. (I always immediately direct students here after they ask me for the first time.) If you're in that second case, read this, then decide what you want to do. I do expect you to get back in touch after reading this.

I get a lot of requests for references and recommendation letters at the end of the fall and during the spring semesters. I created this page to help answer the questions students have about recommendations. It seemed prudent for me to organize some common thoughts so that I could put my expectations all in one place and provide as many excellent references as possible.

Quality of the Reference

You want to get someone to be as strong a reference for you as possible. Here are some aspects you might not have considered:

• Position Title: A reference from a ("full") Professor is stronger than one from an Associate Professor, which is stronger than one from an Assistant Professor.
• Level of courses: A reference from someone you had a more difficult course from is better than someone from an easier course. I know that course numbers don't always correlate to difficulty... but they can make a small difference here.
• Number of courses and Time: A reference from someone you took more courses with is stronger. It's also better if your reference has known you for longer.
• Projects: A reference from someone you did independent/senior projects with is stronger.

Recommendation Letters

This involves me writing a nicely-formatted letter, then printing it out on our department letterhead, signing it, scanning it and uploading it somewhere. You'll usually need one of these if you're applying for a scholarship, Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs), grad school, summer internships, and even some jobs.

"Will you write a recommendation letter for me?"

I want to write letters for students that have shown me they are excellent. If you're not certain whether you deserve such a thing, here are some reasons you might be excellent:

• You do really well in my classes. (An A- or better is usually good, but this also depends on the level of the course. For example, an A- in Intro Programming is not as impressive as a B in Algorithms.) The more courses you've taken from me, the more I can use that to write about you. Improvement over time is definitely something I would like to tell people you've done!
• You've been a highly-motivated assistant. Maybe you were a lab assistant or you supported my teaching in some other way that I've seen. I'll be able to comment on your enthusiasm, work ethic, and responsibility.
• You did a cool independent project with me. This could be a senior project or an independent study project. In this case, I really want to tell people about it!

"How much advance notice should I give you?"

Over a month notice is standard. Less than that makes it dicey. Note: if I've already written you a letter before, then it's easy for me to write another one. (I'm also more invested at that point.)

"How should I ask you?"

If I sent you to this site, then you probably already did. After reading this, if you still want me to write you a letter, let me know.

"What are some reasons you might not agree to write a letter for me?"

• I don't have enough time left to write the letter. Sorry! I do need time to write these. This can happen if a lot of other people have already asked me.
• You will be seeing the letter. It is common to waive your right to see the letter as part of the application. If you don't do that or if I have to send it to you to submit, it is very likely that I will choose not to write a letter. This may happen even after I agree to write the letter for you.
• I haven't had you in enough courses. We might be in the middle of our first semester together or you've only taken one early course and only done okay in it.
• You haven't done well enough in my courses.
• The thing you're applying for is too prestigious. If you're not sure, ask me.
• You embellished or lied about your accomplishments. You are not an expert while you are a student. Do not misrepresent yourself!

Note: Even if I am not willing to write a letter, I may still be willing to be a reference.

"What should I do after you agree to write it?"

I want to make your letter look nice, professional, and specific to what you're applying to. After going through this a bunch of times, I think the best idea is to create a Google Doc or OneDrive file, with a bulleted list of all the things you want to apply to. (If you just want to put these things in an email, that's fine too.) For each of those things, include (in their own indented bullets):

• Name- Some name of the thing, e.g. "REU at Boston U about Banana Processing"
• Due Date- Due date for the letter. (Please organize them by due date.)
• Site- Give me the website for the thing, if one exists.
• Physical Address- If you know the address of who gets it, I'll put that on it to make it look really nice. If it's a grad school application, that might be the address of the grad school office or the college or department. I like to do this even if it is electronically delivered. Definitely look at the department's webpage; it looks really good if it's addressed correctly to their building. Warning: if you tell me there's no address, I will go looking. 80% of the time, I find the address, and then I'm annoyed at you for not finding it.
• Target- If you know who will be reading it, I'd rather put them (e.g. Graduate Admissions Committee or Scholarship Committee) than "To Whom it Concerns", so please give me that information too.
• Goal- What's the name of the position/scholarship/whatever you're trying to get? I want to put that in the letter too. For example, maybe it's the "Masters Program in Artifical Banana Processing". If it's a scholarship, is it (usually) awarded to just one person or to multiple people? I want to know whether to say "the" or "a(n)".
• Submission Instructions- What do I have to do when I have the letter ready? Usually they'll send me an email with instructions or there's already a link for me to follow or I just email it somewhere.

Then, just keep me up-to-date in emails as you add/change things.

Also, remind me about all the great things I should mention. In the document (and, preferrably, above the list of things you're applying to) add a list with all of these things:

• All the courses you took with me. (Please remind me when you took each course.)
• Amazing things you did in my classes. Possible things include:
  • Writing perfect players for Data Structures projects (remind me how many)
  • Completing "expert practice" problems in Intro Programming (again, how many)
  • Fixing code issues (with incorporated pull requests) for my open source class code on GitHub.
  • Got above a 90 on my Software Engineering final exam.
  • Anything you did above-and-beyond is fair game.
• Normal successes in my classes: maybe you...
  • Finished all the Intro Programming projects to completion
  • Finished all the projects in Operating Systems
  • Finished all the Software Engineering projects ahead of time.
  • ...or something else I haven't listed here...
• Examples of working well with others. Did you work with partners three or more times in 2381? How many people did you work with? Did you finish Software Engineering in a team?
• Taking initiative. Did you organize review sessions for my exams? Did you help get your friends to come to lab?
• Relevant on-campus jobs. Are you a teaching assistant or lab assistant or evening tutor? Do you work for ITS? Are you a tutor or do you work in the math department or another relevant department? Tell me!
• Relevant off-campus jobs. Tell me!
• Advising. If you're one of my advisees, remind me. How often did we have a failed advising meeting?
• Other awesome things you've done.

The more of these I've been a part of, the better. But, I can talk to some extent about things I didn't have direction interaction with too.

"What should I do after I remind you of all of that?"

Make sure I don't forget! Pester me. Come by my office. Reply to your email to check in on me. Usually places will send me an email where I can upload the letter, so you can ask me whether that email came through. All okay. The sooner I get it uploaded, the better.

List as a Reference

This usually involves me talking to someone on the phone about you. This is a much lower standard than writing a letter, so I am far more willing to do this. Also, know that they don't always call me, so if I don't get a call, I won't take any action.

"I listed you as a reference for a job, is that okay?"

Oh my gosh, no. You should always ask first. It's very awkward when someone calls me and I have to tell them I wasn't expecting a call.

"Can I use you as a reference?"

The answer is often "Yes" unless you bombed one of my courses. Come by and ask me (or send me an email).

"How much advance warning should I give you?"

I don't need much because I shouldn't have to do any prep work.

"How should I arrange it?"

The best situation is when you give them my email address so they can get in touch to schedule a time. Most employers, however, just want my phone number. I'll give you my cell number to pass on to them (unless they email me directly). Please don't give them my office phone. I don't check my messages on that, so it could be a dead end.

"What else should I do?"

Most importantly, remind me exactly which courses you took with me and how they went. Then, also remind me about awesome things you did! A short list is fine. Senior projects, how you did in tough classes or other relevant courses. Which courses did you take with me? Talk about how you worked in groups with people. If you've graduated, what have you been doing since. Tell me about the job so I can talk about related things you did. All these are good things.