Graduate School Preparation

Graduate School Applications Tracking Workbook

Scholarships Tracking

Scholarship Applications Tracking Template

Email Templates to Faculty

Research Interest

Dear [Professor’s Name],

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Ana Guerrero, a third year Sociology major at UC Berkeley. I was a student in your [Course Number/Title] course during [Semester/year]. I greatly appreciated your class because [authentic reason]. I plan to apply to graduate school in [semester/month and year] and would like to obtain research experience.

I took your [Course Number/Title], and was intrigued by ___. I also found the findings in your article [Title of Article] interesting. I am interesting in learning more about your research examining how ___.

Do you have any research positions available? If so, I would like to discuss potential involvement next [Semester/year]. My CV/Resume is attached to give you more information about my previous experiences. My transcript is also attached, as you will see, I have taken courses in ___ and ___, which your website lists as a requirement for research assistants. I’m happy to meet you in person or over Zoom if you’d like to talk more in detail. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Ana Guerrero

Scholarship Letter of Recommendation

Dear [Professor’s Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I was a student in your [Course Number/Title] course during [Semester/year] and attended office hours regularly. I greatly appreciated your class because [authentic reason]. I will be applying for the [Name of Scholarship] in order to help achieve my ___ goals. The scholarship aims to___. I am kindly requesting a letter of recommendation from you because [authentic reason]. With the scholarship I hope to ___.

Are you willing and able to write a letter of recommendation for me? If so, you would upload the letter here___ no later than [deadline].

Please find my updated transcript, CV/resume, and scholarship essay attached. For more information, the link to the scholarship is below:

I’m happy to meet you in person or over Zoom if you’d like to talk more in detail. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Ana Guerrero

 

Graduate School Letter of Recommendation

Dear [Professor’s Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I was fortunate to take the following courses with you: [Course Numbers/Titles]. [Or/and] I was your research assistant from ___to ___. [Or/and] you mentored me for ___. I am planning to apply to [graduate program] this [Semester/year], and am wondering if  you would write a letter of recommendation for me. [Explain how professor influenced you in this area of study].

After researching graduate programs in [area of study], I chose [graduate program] because [Provide short summary of graduate program]. As I previously shared with you, my goals in graduate school are ___, and my professional goals are___.

Here is the link to the program [link], and my transcript, updated CV/Resume, and statement of purpose are attached.

If you are willing to write a letter of recommendation for me, you would send the attached form to this [link/email] no later than [date].

I’m happy to schedule a Zoom meeting to discuss this more in detail. My availability is ___.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Ana Guerrero

Advice

• Reach out 3-4 weeks before the deadline.
• Make it easy for them--provide as much  information as possible.
• Choose your recommender wisely, choose people who are acquainted with your skills, accomplishments and strengths.
• Ask in person, if possible.
• Don’t be afraid to follow-up after a week.
• Show gratitude.