Recommendations to Grad School

[allorec]

For those of you guys/gals that tested out of your degrees and went on to graduate school, how did you go about getting your letters of recommendation? I know employers are popular sources, but what if you need academic references? I'm going nuts trying to get these things for my application. banghead

[corpsole2]

I haven't applied to grad school yet, but my capstone mentor is on the list of recommendations. She told me that Letters of Recommendation have to be specific to the program you are applying for, so she couldn't write a generic one.

[Yanji]

I'd try to find one who you've had plenty of meaningful interactions with, meaning more than just submitting homework. This adds more depth to the recommendation than just a "xxx was in the top 10% of my class" or a similar statement. I think that it also helps if they're in the same field as the one you are looking to do your graduate degree in.

[NAP]

For those of you guys/gals that tested out of your degrees and went on to graduate school, how did you go about getting your letters of recommendation? I know employers are popular sources, but what if you need academic references? I'm going nuts trying to get these things for my application. banghead

Sorry for the delay in responding to this question.

I completely understand your predicament! A non-traditional education often means no teachers, besides yourself, and, in my case, no professional background either. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about that; I was very tempted to ask some of the wonderful members of this forum to write letters for me!

I was planning to ask my academic advisor for a letter because he knew about so many aspects of my background and non-traditional education. Then, he changed jobs, and I did not know how to contact him at the time.

I mentioned God’s favor in one of my recent posts; I have been beyond thrilled with how it all worked out! First, the proctor for my exams volunteered to write a letter for me; I was so surprised and touched and did not even know that was a possibility. That gave me the courage I needed to ask the professor I had for correspondence courses, which were prerequisites for the graduate school program. I have also had the opportunity to participate in a student council group, and I asked the college official, who was the leader of that committee.

I took the time to write a note about my background and goals, so they would know a little more about me. I wasn’t sure what the application process was going to involve, so I asked for several copies that were sealed and signed across the envelope flap. Since I have been accepted to my first choice for graduate school, I am thinking about asking if I can use the extra copies for scholarship applications.

I hope it all works out for you, too!

[cookderosa]

I see it's your first post, which might mean you have time to consider creating a solid plan for grad school admissions. I'd suggest you take a few classes locally or online that involve interaction with at least 1 instructor/professor. I'd suggest it be in your major, but something is better than nothing. You can also work on creating opportunities to build references through volunteer in your field and working a part time job in your field. You can even create your own internship. If you one and only academic letter is weak, using a couple strong letters (though not academic) may be enough to help. Furthermore, there are lots of grad schools that DON'T ask for letters, I'd look at all your options before deciding. And finally, if you have your heart set on 1 specific school, then please don't throw that away just so you can shave a few months and bucks off of your undergrad degree. Plan carefully and work the plan, THAT'S how you get the most out of testing. Make it work for YOU, not the other way around. Good luck!

[IrishJohn]

I'm currently applying to transfer to the University of Nebraska-Kearney to complete a MA in History. I've completed 2 grad courses through APU and will finish a third this Summer, all of which I expect to transfer (they accept 9 credits). I asked my online instructors from the first 2 courses which they happily agreed to do. I mention all of this because this is another way to do it: take the max number of credits that the school you really want to finish a grad degree at will allow at an online RA school like APU; get good grades in these courses and then ask the instructors for them. You could save some money also with cheaper tuition on these courses as I did. Of course, I also took 1 course at TESC back in 2010 so I could get a GPA and the instructor probably would have done the same if I had asked. I didn't know I'd be working on a grad degree so soon though...

[frankshorey]

I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction too. I expect to complete my undergrad degree in June and I'm trying to find a grad program in Workforce Education. I have been trying to find an online school in the $250 per credit hour price range and am willing to go a little higher than that. I don't want to break my bank account to accomplish this and would like some guidance on this. Everyone's help is appreciated.

Frank

[NAP]

To allorec -

As Jennifer (Cookderosa) said, starting with your goal and planning (backwards) how to get there is often the easiest and best way to make this work.

I also like IrishJohn's idea. I am very glad that I will hopefully have the continuity of learning in one degree program, but if I needed to do it, I would have tried individual graduate courses at the goal college to prove the academic standards needed for acceptance or transferring from a relevant program.

Consider all of your options and don't take "no" for an answer!

To Frank - If you don't get an answer here, try starting a new thread.

[Yanji]

IAnd finally, if you have your heart set on 1 specific school, then please don't throw that away just so you can shave a few months and bucks off of your undergrad degree. Plan carefully and work the plan, THAT'S how you get the most out of testing. Make it work for YOU, not the other way around. Good luck!

Excellent advice... use tests to help you get you where you want to go, don't let them limit you.

[Tex]

I'm currently applying to transfer to the University of Nebraska-Kearney to complete a MA in History. I've completed 2 grad courses through APU and will finish a third this Summer, all of which I expect to transfer (they accept 9 credits). I asked my online instructors from the first 2 courses which they happily agreed to do. I mention all of this because this is another way to do it: take the max number of credits that the school you really want to finish a grad degree at will allow at an online RA school like APU; get good grades in these courses and then ask the instructors for them. You could save some money also with cheaper tuition on these courses as I did. Of course, I also took 1 course at TESC back in 2010 so I could get a GPA and the instructor probably would have done the same if I had asked. I didn't know I'd be working on a grad degree so soon though...

This post deserves to be highlighted as it is a clever way to kill 3 birds with one stone:

1. Save some money on your initial graduate courses by going to a cheaper school initially
2. Give yourself a better chance of transferring to a "name" program since you've already proven you can handle the coursework of the graduate program in question
3. Much more relevant letters of recommendation from graduate level professors in your specific field

Great work, hope it goes well for you!