Tips for Getting an Outstanding Letter of Recommendation

We enjoy providing advice on this blog to assist potential applicants in their quest to gain acceptance to great graduate programs.  However, sometimes the best admissions advice comes directly from the universities themselves!  For example, the Graduate Student Recruitment Office at Purdue University recently sent out a helpful email about how to get a great letter of recommendation (LOR).

We often tell our clients that if they want to secure a great LOR, they should take a hands-on approach and support their recommendation provider as much as possible.  The information in italics below (written by personnel at Purdue University) supports this idea -- they give very clear advice about proactive steps an applicant might take:

Coach your recommendation providers. Try to select recommendation providers who can talk about various aspects of your potential and suggest to them what they could highlight. For example, a research advisor could talk about specific research skills while a professor could talk about your academic potential. This prevents you from having three generic recommendation letters. Most recommendation providers appreciate knowing what they should discuss in their letters.

Make the process as easy as possible. Provide your recommendation providers with:

•          a copy of your resume or curriculum vitae

•          a file that lists all of the institutions, program names, contact information, and application deadlines to which you are applying

•          a list of details they will need to answer specific questions about you

•          a friendly reminder of approaching deadlines

After reading this information one should clearly understand that it would be a mistake to simply hand the recommendation provider a form (or send them the recommendation system email) and send them off to write without any further discussion.  Professors teach hundreds of students and they get many LOR requests each year.  Therefore it is very difficult to expect them to: a) clearly remember everything you have done or every skill you have, and b) to spend a lot of time writing about these things.

The applicant who takes a passive approach will more likely have a generic LOR sent to the school by the provider.  And that won’t help your application very much will it?  Therefore we strongly advise that you get organized and plan a strategy far ahead.  If the recommendation is professional, analyze the LOR questions and then write down bullet points of projects you have worked on and the skills you have displayed at work that fit these questions. Then discuss your application strategy with the recommendation provider in depth.      

Here are a couple more pieces of advice regarding how to best manage the LOR process:

Give your recommender a clear timeline. Send the recommender a schedule with the schools you will apply to and the deadlines for each school.  Ask them to complete the LOR 4-6 weeks in advance.  If you feel they have forgotten you might send them a friendly reminder after two weeks, and one week in advance of the deadline.  It is always better to have everything finished earlier than later, so choose a deadline that helps everyone.

Remember to send a thank you note to all of your recommendation letter providers! A thank you letter gives you an open door to go back to them in the future with more personal updates and an excuse to stay in touch.  This isn’t the last time you’ll need your recommender’s help (probably) so be sure to maintain a positive relationship with them all throughout your graduate education. 

Is Graduate School Right For You?

What do you do when you’re unsure about whether or not graduate school is right for you? There are a number of factors -- time and expense perhaps being the two biggest -- which could influence whether or not a graduate degree makes sense for you.

Graduate school is an amazing way to build new skill sets, network with ambitious people who are changing their industry, their country, and possibly even the world, and to acquire knowledge which will help you in your future career. Graduate school can give your resume a serious upgrade – but it’s not necessarily the case that you need to spend so much time and money learning new things and networking with new people just in order to polish your resume.

Before you decide whether or not you’re going to apply for a graduate degree, you should give careful consideration to some of the following questions. Be HONEST with yourself when you think these things through.

Why do I want to go to graduate school?

Different people go to graduate school for different reasons.

Some people want to go to advance within their company or industry, others want to change their career or hop into a new industry. Some of the folks in the latter group feel like graduate school is a great place to get your feet wet in an industry in which they have little, or no experience.

BUT – is it worth it?

If you aren’t sure about the path you’re going to take after you complete graduate school, and that a graduate degree concretely adds value to your future career path, you need to stop and think about why you’re going.

Parental pressure? A bad economy where it’s tough to find jobs? Because you have nothing better to do with your time right now?

These are not necessarily good reasons to go to graduate school.

If however, you see a clear path from your graduate degree to your dream career, if you are applying for personal reasons, to prove to yourself you can cope with the challenge of advanced education, or to become a better, more educated and well-rounded person, you may be thinking along the right track. Admissions committees are typically looking for people with a very clear career and learning objectives so thinking in this way will certainly increase your chances of convincing them to accept you.

Which graduate school is right for me?

Not everyone needs to go to the most famous school; and the question of what school is the best possible fit for you is a highly personal one. Even if you have a strong background and test scores, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the most famous schools are the right place for you.

You must examine the strength of the programs at the schools you’re considering. Some schools are better suited to engineering and technical education, some schools are better suited to venture capital and entrepreneurship, and some have better career services or international study opportunities.

Don’t make the mistake of falling for a sexy brand name if they don’t have a program well-suited to what you want to accomplish in your professional career.

Researching and selecting a school which will help you fulfill your dreams can sometimes feel daunting, but it is critical to take school selection seriously, as it will largely determine the quality of your graduate education experience.

Can I afford it?

This is a serious question, given the ever-rising cost of tuition at institutes of higher education. If you manage to secure admission to your dream school, but are also offered a scholarship from your second or third choice, which is the right school to attend?

You and your family, or anyone else supporting you in your quest for education, must do a practical cost-benefit analysis. Is attending a particular school worth going into debt for? You can always apply for financial aid, but keep in mind that there are rigorous requirements for international students and that not all who apply are awarded financial aid.

Especially in difficult economic times, jobs are hard to come by even if you have a degree from a prestigious graduate school. If you’re willing to take on a certain amount of debt to finance your education, make sure you have a solid plan in place to pay your debt off as soon as possible after graduation.

In conclusion, graduate school isn’t always right for everyone. While you’re considering applying to graduate school, you have to seriously consider your personal and professional motivations, which school is the right fit for you, and how you intend to fund your education. If you would like any extra perspective on graduate school, you are most welcome to reach out to me at david@transcendadmissions.com. 

Top Public Universities in the United States

If you are an international student seeking to apply for undergraduate college programs in the US – you have probably heard of all of the famous schools – the Ivy League names that charge tuition fees.

Because of this cost concern, there is a growing trend with students to attend public instead of pricey private schools.  There are some truly world-class public schools in the US, and below we have sourced a list of the best public schools across the country.

It is worth keeping in mind that many public schools offer scholarships that grant international students in-state tuition even when they aren’t residents of the states where the schools are located.  If your grades are outstanding and high tuition is a concern for you, you may wish to look more closely into some of the following public universities for scholarship opportunities.

Top 25 US Public Schools for Undergraduate Education

Rank	School
#1	University of California–​Berkeley  Berkeley, CA
#2	University of California–​Los Angeles  Los Angeles, CA
#2	University of Virginia  Charlottesville, VA
#4	University of Michigan–​Ann Arbor  Ann Arbor, MI
#5	University of North Carolina–​Chapel Hill  Chapel Hill, NC
#6	College of William and Mary  Williamsburg, VA
#7	Georgia Institute of Technology  Atlanta, GA
#8	University of California–​Davis  Davis, CA
#8	University of California–​San Diego  La Jolla, CA
#10	University of California–​Santa Barbara  Santa Barbara, CA
#10	University of Wisconsin–​Madison  Madison, WI
#12	University of California–​Irvine  Irvine, CA
#13	Pennsylvania State University–​University Park  University Park, PA
#13	University of Illinois–​Urbana-​Champaign  Champaign, IL
#13	University of Texas–​Austin  Austin, TX
#13	University of Washington  Seattle, WA
#17	University of Florida  Gainesville, FL
#18	Ohio State University–​Columbus  Columbus, OH
#19	University of Maryland–​College Park  College Park, MD
#19	University of Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh, PA
#21	University of Connecticut  Storrs, CT
#21	University of Georgia  Athens, GA
#23	Purdue University–​West Lafayette  West Lafayette, IN
#23	Texas A&M University–​College Station  College Station, TX
#25	Clemson University  Clemson, SC

- Source: Forbes

Although the top private schools have a longstanding reputation for excellence, the price tag of higher education in the US has risen so much that many schools traditionally considered second tier are now being viewed as equal to the historically most prestigious universities.

And for all of you sports fans out there, keep in mind that public schools often have the advantage of incredible sports cultures. Many of the schools listed above have amazing tradition in football, basketball and many other sports that can make one’s university experience much more rewarding and interesting.

You are always welcome to reach out to me to discuss the pros and cons of different undergraduate schools (and their sports!). I welcome your emails at david@transcendadmissions.com.

Regards,

David Johnston

The Top "Up-and-Coming" Universities in the United States

Many international applicants are only knowledgeable about (aka, obsessed with) a small number of colleges and universities in the United States.  MIT and UC Berkeley are wonderful schools that can provide a great education -- but the vast majority of undergraduate applicants will not be able to gain admission into these iconic schools.  The good news is that you do not have to go to MIT to get a very high quality education in the United States.  There are hundreds of excellent colleges and universities that have all the resources that any student could want.  However, sometimes you need to scratch beneath the surface to understand which schools really offer a great education and solid ROI.   

Below is a list of the best up-and-coming universities in the United States which might give potential undergraduate applicants some fresh ideas about possible schools for the upcoming application season. You may or may not have heard of some of these schools before – but you owe it to yourself to take a closer look at the unique value they provide to international students.

The Top Up-and-Coming Universities in the USA

Rank	School
#1	George Mason University  Fairfax, VA
#1	University of Maryland–​Baltimore County  Baltimore, MD
#3	Drexel University  Philadelphia, PA
#4	Arizona State University  Tempe, AZ
#5	University of Central Florida  Orlando, FL
#5	University of Southern California  Los Angeles, CA
#7	Clemson University  Clemson, SC
#7	Indiana University-​Purdue University–​Indianapolis  Indianapolis, IN
#7	Northeastern University  Boston, MA
#10	Portland State University  Portland, OR
#11	Purdue University–​West Lafayette  West Lafayette, IN
#12	Tulane University  New Orleans, LA
#13	University of Denver  Denver, CO
#14	University of Arkansas  Fayetteville, AR
#14	University of San Diego  San Diego, CA
#16	Biola University  La Mirada, CA
#16	North Carolina State University–​Raleigh  Raleigh, NC
#16	Ohio State University–​Columbus  Columbus, OH
#16	Virginia Commonwealth University  Richmond, VA

- Source: Forbes

When selecting your school list, it is important to strike a balance between cost, quality, future prospects for employment, and other intangible factors. When you create your “game plan” for the upcoming application season, be sure to have at least two or three schools which fall into the ‘match’ and ‘safety’ categories. Consider some of these schools above for your ‘match’ and ‘reach’ choices, and you’ll be in the good company of outstanding students regardless of which of these schools you choose to attend.

If you would like any help talking through the pros and cons of the undergraduate schools listed here, or making the decision about which schools are right to apply to, feel free to reach me at david@transcendadmissions.com.