Karen Reid

Reference letters

Reference letters are an important part of a grad school application, so you need to start early in thinking about whom to ask for a reference letter. A strong reference letter has concrete examples of qualities that demonstrate that you will be a good graduate student. Reference letter writers are often asked to rate students on their academic ability, potential for research, communication skills, and ability to work independently. In other words, the professors who can write a helpful reference letters are the ones who know more about you than the grade you received in their course.

To be clear, writing reference letters is part of my job, and I enjoy writing reference letters for students I know well. It is exciting to see where students go next. If you ask me for a reference letter and I turn you down, it is because I want you to succeed and I don't think that I have enough information to write a good letter for you.

How to set yourself up for good references

• The best thing you can do it get involved in a research project. There are seminars and advice from the undergrad office on how to do this.
• Go to office hours when it isn't too busy to talk about what you are interested in pursuing in grad school, to seek advice, to ask about your instructor's research, to inquire about undergrad research opportunities, to ask about topics you are interested in that might be beyond the scope of the course. In other words, give profs a chance to get to know you (but don't pester them).
• Get involved in student clubs, as an ambassador, as a TA. These are other opportunities to get to know profs.
• Make sure your profs know your name. When you talk to a prof, tell them your name. This feels awkward at first, but is super-helpful.
• Avoid asking profs from first or second year courses. These courses aren't designed for you to show off your potential for research.

Would I be a good prof to ask for letter?

I would be a good person to ask if

• You worked on a project with me either as a CSC 494/495 course or in some other capacity (volunteer, work-study, casual employee)
• You worked as a TA for me
• You were involved in some extracurricular activity at the U of T that I was also involved in (so I have direct observations)
• You were a student in my course and were a very strong contributor (I would recognize you from office hours, Piazza, or other class contributions.)

I might be a good person to ask if

• You took a 3rd year course from me and got at least an A and you have two other stronger references.
• You took a 3rd year course from me and got at least an A and can remember some specific things that happened during the course that I could reference.

I'm not a good person to ask if

• You only took a first or second year class from me.
• You were a good student but we never interacted individually. It is a weak letter when all I can say is that you were in the top 25% of the class but I don't know anything else about you.

How to ask for a grad school reference

It is best if you can ask in person and then follow up by email but asking by email alone is fine. If you don't get a response, it is a good idea to follow up once or twice with about a week in between.

Include with your request the following information:

• The course(s) you took with me.
• An unofficial academic history.
• A copy of your resume.
• A bullet point list of things that you think I could say about you. For example, if you can recall conversations that we had, give me a brief summary. If you worked on a project with me, remind me what your overall contributions were. If you took the lead on a course project and I had the chance to observe your contributions, please mention that. If you TA'd for me, remind me when and what kind of work you did. Tell me about significant things outside of class that I should be aware of such as work with the CSSU or other University clubs or activities.
• A photo of you and clear information about your pronouns. Sometimes putting a name to a face can really help me remember. If I'm uncertain about your pronouns, I will use they/them.

Please remember that a reference letter is supposed to speak concretely about my first-hand knowledge of your abilities and achievements. I often receive requests for reference letters where students tell me how much they enjoyed my course or what a big impact it had their learning. While I always enjoy hearing that students found my courses useful, this doesn't make me a good letter writer and it isn't information I can use in the letter.

If I agreed to write a letter for you

• Please ask a few weeks before you need the first letter
• Send a list of the places to which you are applying. I may refuse to submit references to more than 5 programs.
• A day or two before the deadlines, please check to see if I've already submitted the letter and send a reminder if I have not submitted the letter. I appreciate the reminders!