Thursday, January 12, 2017

Recommendation Letters – How Students are Evaluated

At the end of last semester, from about mid-November to mid-December, it seemed to me that I was writing more student recommendation/reference letters than usual — which is fine, of course — but, as I was doing so, it occurred to me (as it does every year) that, although every student is unique, they tend to fall into different categories:
  1. Those that are good at everything; 
  2. Those that are good at some things, and pretty good at others (e.g., good at composition, okay-but-not-great in theory and history);
  3. Those that are pretty good at 1-2 things, but fairly weak in others (e.g., pretty good at composition, but rather weak in theory, aural skills, writing skills, etc.);
  4. Those that are really good at one thing (e.g., composition), but really weak at others (e.g., theory, history, aural skills, and writing); and, of course,
  5. Those that don't fit into any of the above categories, such as students who are just average or even weak at everything, or almost everything. 
If I am asked to write a letter, the academic areas on which can I comment are the ones that I teach, namely music theory  and composition. But, as you can see in the list below, professors are often asked to rate students in a surprisingly-large number of areas that go far beyond specific academic disciplines, and so I thought it might be useful to list these areas, and, more generally, provide information on the evaluation process for anyone that may wish to request such a letter at any point in their future.

If you are in a Bachelor of Music programme and there is even a remote chance that you might apply to graduate school upon completing your degree, today's post may have some useful information for you. However, if you have no interest in this topic, just ignore it; I promise to get back to composition-related topics in my next post!




Asking for a reference letter
 • Don’t be shy about asking a professor to write reference letters; it is a part of our job, like correcting/grading, office hours, extra help for students that seek it, committee work, research/composition/performing, and of course, teaching. We do not have to write a reference letter just because you ask for one – sometimes, a professor might decline your request – but most of the time I don't mind writing these letters, as long as you were a good student.

• Be aware, however, that it takes time – for me, typically about 2 hours – to write a thorough reference letter.  

Why does it take so long?
Part of that time is spent going through a student’s transcript carefully (which I request from the student), reviewing how the student did in my courses (which involves opening the spreadsheet files for every course taken with me in order to see the student’s results in all parts of the course evaluation scheme), and ranking that student’s final mark in relation to the class (e.g., 3rd out of 34 students), because some graduate schools ask for that information, and if they don’t, I usually provide it anyway.

Time is also spent listing all of the positive attributes I can think of for that student, particularly those that I believe would be relevant to studying composition or theory at the graduate level.

I also list any weaknesses or concerns I have about the student, because admissions committees want a balanced and honest assessment; if I describe a student in only positive terms, but the transcript reveals that the student has a 75% average over the most recent 1-2 years, then it seems unlikely that an admissions committee would take my letter seriously; a B+ average is nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s not an A average, and, in my opinion, a professor's recommendation letter should expand on the evidence found in a student's transcript without making claims that are unsupported in the transcript.

What Student Attributes are Evaluated?
Professors are often asked to rate, and comment on, specific personal attributes or character traits, such as (these are taken directly from various evaluation forms I have seen):
  • Ability – All around
  • Ability to complete tasks on time (i.e., by a deadline)
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Ability to work independently/Willingness to take responsibility for learning
  • Academic potential
  • Academic preparation/Demonstrated academic ability
  • Achievement
  • Attendance
  • Communication skills – Oral
  • Communication skills – Written
  • Curiosity – Willingness to explore new approaches, ideas, particularly those that may fall outside the student’s comfort zone
  • Focus (does the student stay focused on the task at hand, or are they easily distracted, which can lead to failure to complete tasks, or failure to complete them on time)
  • Industriousness – Capacity to work hard
  • Initiative
  • Intellectual capacity
  • Leadership
  • Likelihood that my institution would accept the student, if we had a comparable programme (this is a strange category; do some professors write, "we would not accept this student into our graduate programme, but I think they'd be perfect for your institution," which implies that our standards are higher than yours?)
  • Likelihood that the student will complete the degree
  • Organization - Planning
  • Originality/Willingness to “think outside the box”
  • Creativity/Talent
  • Persistence 
  • Problem solving
  • Punctuality
  • Research ability
  • Response to constructive criticism
  • Teaching ability (if known) 
  • Teamwork (work well in a group)
The rating system varies, but it often consists of a series of clickable boxes assigned to percentile values, such as top 5%, top 10%, top 20%, top 50%, lower than top 50%, and "no basis for judgment." The professor clicks on the appropriate box, in their assessment, for each category.

Universities typically ask for a letter, in addition to asking the professor to rate the student in a number of categories, as above, but no university with which I am familiar asks that the student be assessed in every  category listed above; the above list is compiled from a variety of different universities' lists. Also, some universities have comment boxes in their on-line recommendation forms that allow professors to add a sentence or two explaining our rating in that particular category.

So What?
I have no idea how much weight is placed on this aspect of the evaluation process – I suspect that the above categories matter, but probably not as much as the student’s transcript, composition portfolio, and recommendation letters. At the very least, however, these categories tell us something about what graduate schools value in prospective students.

How would you assess your level in each of the above categories? Most people have at least a few weak areas; if you can identify your own, I encourage you to work at them so that they become strengths.




How to request a letter
When requesting a letter from a professor, give them lots of lead time, and provide all necessary information. More specifically:
  • Make your request at least two weeks in advance, because of the time it takes to write these letters. If this is not possible for some reason, then make your request at least one week in advance, but be aware that professors are generally pretty maxed-out in terms of demands on their time, and if you don’t give us enough time, we may not be able to write the letter you request. 
  • Make your request in writing, as well as in person (if feasible). The reason for this is that I don’t necessarily remember every request, but if you put it in an E-mail, then I have something to remind me. Confirming this request in person is mostly a social nicety, but it may also give you a sense of the degree to which the professor is willing to write you a positive letter.
  • If you are asked to include a composition portfolio, ask your composition teachers for their opinions on what to include, and make as many of the changes/improvements suggested by your instructor as possible. If applying for a theory master's and they require the submission of a theory essay, ask your theory teachers for suggestions and corrections on any essay you plan to submit.
  • Provide the professor with an up-to-date transcript, for the reasons cited above. The transcript can be a series of screen shots taken on your computer from your “university self-service” portal, or a PDF of the actual transcript.
  • Provide a list of every course you took with the professor, and the semester in which you took that course.
  • List any relevant achievements that might strengthen your case, e.g., Senior Rose Bowl Winner, Kiwanis Festival of (what region or city), Gower Band Terra Nova Competition Winner, etc., with the date(s) of the awards. You could include non-musical achievements as well, e.g., cycled from St. John’s, NL, to Victoria, BC, April-August, 2014... If I think they reflect  strengths in your character, I might mention them. And yes, one of our students did this, which I feel said a lot about the type of person they are (tenacious, able to achieve difficult goals, etc.)!
  • Indicate in writing every school to which you’d like a letter sent.
  • Include the submission deadlines for each school.
  • Indicate in writing the specific graduate programmes to which you are applying (e.g., MA in music theory, MMus in composition, etc.).
Electronic Submission?
Most schools allow professors to submit their letters electronically; I much prefer this, so if that’s an option, please choose it. I would guess most professors find E-submissions most convenient, but double check with the professor to see if they prefer to submit the old-fashioned way (i.e., a hard copy via "snail mail").

On the pros and cons of “Gentle Reminders”
To the best of my knowledge, universities automatically send applicants an electronic confirmation message every time they receive a recommendation letter for that student (UPDATE: Maybe it's a glitch in their systems, but they occasionally don't, according to a student who just contacted me… However, I think they are all supposed to do this). If the deadline is near, and you have not received such a notice, here’s what I suggest:

Send the professor a “friendly reminder,” or “gentle nudge” a few days before the submission deadline . For most professors, the workload tends to be heavy and incessant all semester (I take no days off from before the start of a semester to the point when we submit final marks for each course), but particularly so towards the end of a semester. Also, if you have, say, eight students who each want three reference letters, that’s twenty-four references; that's a lot of references, and it is possible to miss some. Not only that, but E-mail is a somewhat inefficient way to communicate, in that every day our inboxes are bombarded with SPAM and “noise” (messages that are not SPAM, but clutter up our in-boxes), so it is easy for the occasional legit E-mail (one that requires a response) to get buried among the debris.

I know that not everyone appreciates reminders, however – When I was an undergraduate student, I saw a professor in the hallway one day and reminded him as politely as I could that the deadline for that letter was that day, only to have the professor blow up at me and proclaim, in an outdoors (not indoors) voice, “Look! If I say I’ll write you a reference letter, I’ll write you that g**d*** letter!”

It occurred to me that I might have destroyed any hope I had of going to graduate school, which I found rather daunting at the time. In today’s world, however, this kind of situation can be mostly avoided, because a thoughtfully-worded gentle reminder via E-mail is unlikely to elicit such a rude response. Speaking only for myself, I don’t mind gentle reminders at all; in fact, I often appreciate them.

Trust the Process; How do you know the professor will write a good letter?
Speaking of daunting, it can feel a bit scary to request a letter and then trust that the professor has written a good letter. But, once your request has been made and the professor has agreed to recommend you, I would suggest trusting the process. A conscientious professor should tell you if they can’t write you a good letter, rather than agree to write a letter, and then write only negative things about you. I suspect that most professors adhere to this ethical code, but you obviously can't assume that every professor does.

I have turned down requests to write recommendation letters on very few occasions — when I do, I always suggest that the students find other professors to write recommendation letters —  for one of three reasons:

(i) The student's request came too close to the submission deadline. This is just a practical matter, not personal — requests often come at the busiest time of a semester, and there are times when I cannot set aside all the other work I have to spend two hours writing a letter that is due the day after I got the request. On the other hand, if I have recently written a letter for you, and you ask me to send it to more universities a day or two before a deadline, this is less problematic. It still can take a little more time than you might expect, particularly when the original letter needs to be modified in any way (such as if the original letter needs to be updated due to new information), but if I can do it, I will. But I'd still prefer 1-2 weeks notice, of course;

(ii) I don’t know the student well enough to say anything really positive about her/him; e.g., they only took one course with me, and it was a few years ago, and the student did not get a very good result in that course. Or perhaps they were an average student but they never came to see me at an office hour, and they never said much in class, so I don't feel like I know the student very well;

(iii) I know the student pretty well, but what I know about them is not positive… Perhaps they took several courses with me, but did not do very well in any of them, or they were rude/disrespectful on multiple occasions, or they skipped classes and/or were late on multiple occasions, or they did not complete  assignments or quizzes on multiple occasions, or they committed academic dishonesty (the most common example of this is students collaborating with each other on assignments), or they generally disregarded my compositional advice and suggestions, etc. If a student has shown little indication that they are willing to be taught, why would anyone else want to teach them?

To be clear, I’m not talking about an occasional disagreement; these are not unusual in teaching, and I don't mind them as long as the discussion is respectful. I’m referring more to an on-going and troublesome pattern of behaviour, which is extraordinarily rare; I think I have encountered only about three such cases in thirty years of teaching.

The only time I recall declining a recommendation letter request for reason (iii) above involved a student who was extraordinarily sullen and rude. Don't get me wrong — I have encountered occasional instances of rudeness over the years, but this particular student really stood out from the rest (and not in a good way!), so much so that other students complained to me in private about the student’s behaviour. I was therefore surprised when the student asked me for a recommendation — did they think they were somehow accumulating karmic good-will credits while engaging in blatantly-disrespectful behaviour? — and so I suggested that the student would be better off asking someone else for a recommendation.

I don't hold grudges, or try to undermine students in any way. Had I decided to write a letter for this person, I would have found positive things to say about her/him (no matter who you are, I can usually find positive things to say about you, and this student was definitely smart and talented), but I would have also had to mention the problematic behaviours that I felt would sabotage their chances of succeeding in a graduate programme, which is why I suggested they ask someone else.

Not sure about applying?
If you want to go to graduate school but are thinking that perhaps you ought not to apply because your marks aren't great, or your composition portfolio is not strong enough, I would suggest applying anyway, because you never know what the outcome will be. Sometimes, average students (IMO) have been accepted into master's programmes, while stronger students have been rejected. You don't know the circumstance or criteria used in the evaluation of your application; in some years, and in some universities, you might be in competition with sixty other students for six spots, while in other years or different universities you might only be in competition with eight other students for six available spots. I was at a graduate admissions committee recently in which we rejected a couple of the applicants because they had 72-75 averages and below-average audition scores. We then learned that they had both been accepted at a larger (and better known, frankly) university, presumably because this university had admission quotas to fill, and these applicants met their minimum admission standards.

If graduate schools reject you, and you are not willing to give up on your dream, find a way to turn this into a positive experience: Identify your weaknesses, work hard on improving in those areas, and then apply again. For composition, this might entail writing more pieces, perhaps longer and more substantial, perhaps for larger ensembles, or written more idiomatically for the instruments involved, or exploring new techniques, or providing more score detail, or better recordings, or just writing better pieces; most of us acknowledge that our early compositions are not as good as later compositions. If you want to do a Master's in composition but you had some weak results in music theory classes, explore the possibility of taking some of them again, this time working harder or more consistently than you did previously, in order to gain a better understanding of the material, and demonstrate that you are capable of getting good marks in theory.

List of Positive Attributes
It is easiest students to write strongly-suportive recommendations for students with the following qualities:
  1. At or near the top of every composition course they took with me;
  2. Developing into very good composers — this is slightly different than #1, because a student's course grade can be near the top of the composition class by getting full marks in all the extra-compositional assessment areas — excellent preparation, excellent contributions to class discussions,  making the required number of thoughtful composition blog comments — while producing compositions that are pretty good (B+, A-), but not extremely good (A, A+);
  3. At or near the top of every theory course they took with me;
  4. Actively curious about new music; they seek out new scores to study and new music to hear, and are excited by new discoveries;
  5. Respond well to compositional suggestions, which means they are willing to try new things without pre-judging them, and to embrace at least some of them;
  6. Do all their work on time with a minimum of excuses for gaps in productivity;
  7. Do more work than most other students;
  8. Are ambitious – I ask for a short character piece, and they write three; or, they write a piece for orchestra with zero training in orchestration; or, I ask for a string quartet of at least 4-5 minutes, and they write a 15-minute string quartet;
  9. Have a great attitude; and
  10. Participate regularly in class, and, in particular, they are skilled in giving constructive criticism to fellow students in our composition seminars.
If I were assigning a score of 1 (= terrible!) to 10 (= whatever is better than excellent!) to each of the above qualities, I feel confident in saying that I have never had a student who I would have rated as a 10 in every category.

However, I have had occasional composition students who are strong in all of these areas, meaning I would perhaps rate them as an 8 or higher in every category. Such students tend to be accepted into graduate programmes, provided they didn't only apply to the most selective universities, like Indiana or Yale (but some of our students have gone to Indiana University and Yale, for example, so why not you?).

What do you do if you are pretty good at composition, but pretty weak in, say, theory?
 Most students are strong in some of the areas, but not all, and in many cases such students have been accepted into graduate programmes. Some students are very good at composition, but very weak in music theory; this can be a deal-breaker for some universities, since a graduate programme in composition usually requires music theory courses as well. I still suggest that such students apply to graduate schools (because you never know what might transpire), and, if not accepted, then consider doing extra work in music theory (like re-taking music theory courses to try to obtain better results), and then applying again in the following year. Realistically, however, this does not give students much of an opportunity to improve their standing in theory courses, since applications are often due by the end of the fall semester, which would give a graduating student only one semester in which to demonstrate an improvement. But, if you didn't get in to any Master's programmes and you are average to weak in music theory (at least according to the marks you got), then it's worth a shot.



If you are reading this in the early years of your academic studies, the clear conclusion to draw is to become as strong as possible in every possible area. It starts with taking every course seriously, and not falling into the trap of making excuses for poor results in, say, theory courses, such as, "this is nothing but a set of rules for OLD music; I want to make NEW music, and break any rules I wish!"

This, strange as it sounds, accurately describes my mindset in my early years of music study. When I started taking music theory, I didn't see the point of it, and thought it had nothing to do with the music I wanted to write. Consequently, I failed grades 3 and 5 harmony at the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), and didn't do very well in grade 4 harmony either. After about two years of poor results at the RCM, I started studying privately with an excellent composition teacher, Dr. Sam Dolin, who made me re-do music theory all over again, from the beginning, and, while I resented it a bit at first, he made it interesting, fascinating, and relevant for me, and my love for music theory – which is, basically, learning how music works – began at that point, and has never abated. And yes, I got better at it.

You can get off to a bad start in something, and end up becoming very good at that thing; in my case I just needed a combination of a good teacher and an attitude readjustment.

What not to do!
Do not ask a professor to write you a recommendation letter, and then change your mind and, basically, fire them because you have suddenly become worried that they might say something negative or even lukewarm about you. If you ask a professor to write you a letter, and if they say yes, then just continue to work hard and be productive and respectful, and trust that the professor will advocate your behalf. I realize that not knowing exactly what a professor will write about you can trigger insecurities, but, again, you have to trust that, if a professor agrees to write a letter on your behalf, they believe in you have your best interests at heart.

This actually happened to me once. A student I knew very well because I had taught them in numerous courses, asked me to write various recommendation letters for them, so I did, and as I always do, I wrote very positively about the areas in which the student was strong. This student belonged to category 3 or 4, from the listed categories at the top of this post, meaning they were good in one area – very good, in my opinion – but average or even weak in some others. The student was not accepted anywhere.

Although I was disappointed on the student's behalf, the rejections did not come as a big surprise to me – for the most part, you have to be good or very good in many areas (including composition and theory) in order to be accepted to a graduate programme in composition (although I know of a few students who were accepted to graduate schools when they were strong at composition, and only slightly above average at theory) – because I know that, no matter how positive a letter I write on your behalf, the transcript, which admissions committees always see and weigh heavily, does not lie; if you did poorly in cognate areas like music theory and aural skills, graduate committees are likely to be concerned about it.

The student decided to retake some theory courses and reapply a year later, and this impressed me tremendously. It further supported my opinion that this was someone who deserved to be recommended for graduate studies.

The flaw in this plan was in its execution, however; the student did not do particularly well in the courses taken for the second time. In at least one course they got a lower mark. I mentioned to the student that s/he might not have improved their theory marks sufficiently to impress graduate committees favourably, which, from my point of view was just a reality check – if you take a course and get 68% the first time, and then retake it and get 72%, it seems likely that an admissions committee will be convinced that you have made significant improvements in that area.

It was not intended as a signal that I would now be writing a lukewarm letter on their behalf, but I gather that is how it was interpreted, and I received a formal note from the student that evening informing me that I had been removed from the student's reference list.

Ouch!

The most unfortunate part of all of this is that the student then asked a colleague of mine to write a letter for them, and the colleague (a) had not taught the student in many courses and thus did not know them very well, and (b) taught a course that the student re-took but did not do particularly well in the second time, and so there was no way that this other professor was able to write a strong letter. for the student In fact, I am pretty sure that the letters I had written on the student's behalf were the most supportive and positive of any of the letters written by other professors, simply because (a) I knew the student very well, (b) I strongly supported their candidacy for graduate studies, and (c) I knew that the student was not held in high regard by some of my colleagues.

Unfortunately, the student was not admitted to any graduate programmes after re-taking the theory courses. And, despite what happened, I wish for a bright future for the student, who I continue to believe is a good composer.

So the moral of this excessively-long blog post is: Work hard in every course, even ones you may think are useless or stupid, and demonstrate that you are a good student. Perhaps you will never need reference letters from your professors, but you might; you don't know if your ambitions will change in the future. If you do , pick professors who know you well, and who have been supportive of you, and trust that they will advocate on your behalf.

18 comments:

Flutiano said...

As someone who is waiting to hear back from Master's programs, and hopes to one day be a professor who will write letters for students, it is interesting to read this perspective on recommendation letters.

I find the process that you (Dr. Ross) describe as preparation for writing a recommendation letter intriguing. Are you looking for particular things when you look at the transcript? Do you ever share with students where they have ranked in the classes that you took with you? Does looking at the spreadsheets remind you of things that they did well or poorly on in your courses that you would then include in the lists of positive attributes and weaknesses/concerns?

The deciding to and where to apply for master's programs is an interesting dilemma. Now that I am waiting to hear back from two schools, and the school that I did hear back from was a rejection, I am wishing that I had applied to more programs. Part of why I didn't apply for more composition programs is that I do feel like my composition portfolio is lacking, as are my compositional skills. It is hard to take rejection as a positive experience, although my anxiety about not getting in anywhere has led me to making plans for next year to the end of improving my portfolio and my skills and reapplying for the following year.

Clark Ross said...

Quick answers to Flutiano's questions:

Are you looking for particular things when you look at the transcript? Basically, I'm interested in (a) trends (are they steadily improving, are they really strong in one area (e.g., composition), but really weak in others (e.g., theory)), (b) how they did in theory and composition courses I didn't teach, (c) how they did in ear-training and dictation courses (doing well in these courses is, IMO, a very significant indicator of a student's potential to do well in any aspect of music, although there have been rare cases where a student struggled in these areas and still did well in other aspects of music), and, more generally, (d) how they did in all other courses.

Do you ever share with students where they have ranked in the classes that you took with you? I am willing to do so if asked, but I don't volunteer this information.

Does looking at the spreadsheets remind you of things that they did well or poorly on in your courses that you would then include in the lists of positive attributes and weaknesses/concerns? Some students do poorly in part-writing, but well in analysis, and vice versa, and looking at my course spreadsheets can remind me of this. Spreadsheet summaries can also reveal that some students do well in assignments, less well in tests and exams, which can be a concern, depending on the degree of discrepancy between the two. Sometimes the spreadsheets show that the student is really good at everything, which is the ideal situation, because it is a pleasure to point something like this out in a reference letter.

Robert Humber said...

Waiting to hear back is an anxious time.

I think it is really great that you pay attention to detail in your reference letters. I didn't really know what they entailed until now, and had no idea there was a survey-type thing. I obviously have no proof of this, but I have suspicions (and have heard) that some professors will write cookie-cutter letters. This doesn't necessarily hurt, but it also probably doesn't help... kind of just a nothing letter. By going into detail, you show an understanding of the student and give the committee something to consider. It seemed to work with UBC! :)

Alison Petten said...

Reading this post as a second-year student is both relieving and nerve-racking. Previously I had the mentality that all that was necessary for graduate school was a good transcript and developed musical skills, but after reading I now realize that students need much more than this to be successful in graduate applications. It is also very comforting to know that there are professors at our university who put so much thought and detail into reference - it's great to see faculty that care as much about their students as ours does!

Peter Cho said...

I'd like to add a few points regarding the anxiety that may surround asking for a letter of recommendation from a professor. The question of whether the letter will be positive or negative is certainly a worry. However, I found that in the process of applying to grad schools this year that there was an altogether different source of fear. I found that I a fair amount of anxiety stemmed from an almost complete unfamiliarity of the process of applying to grad schools. I trusted in the schools to make a fair judgement of my application. I also had complete faith in my referees to give an honest opinion of me in their letters of recommendation. But I still felt that I was doing this for the first time and had very little idea of the inner workings of the whole process. The most nerve-wracking part of this is that you get one shot at applying for grad schools (sure, you can re-apply the next year but that means you are left with a year with nothing planned to do). I wish that as a part of our undergraduate education we would be more informed on the processes of evaluation for grad school applications (and, as an extension, job applications and PHD applications). Even reading this blog post informed me on things regarding grad school applications that I had no idea about. If I had known these things a few months ago, it would have eased some of the anxiety I had about applying to grad schools. Knowing as much as possible about the evaluation process of grad schools would probably allow students to create stronger applications, or at the very least it would ease some of the fear of applying to grad schools.

Erika Penney said...

After reading this blog, it has given me a greater understanding on how important reference letters are. I have been told multiple times that not only are transcript grades and success in your degree important, but your references are also a big contribution. It does give students a bit of anxiety because they are not completely sure what their professor may say about them. Knowing that a teacher is completely honest while writing is different for some students because they may have good grades and great work, but maybe not the best punctuality or attitude, etc. It is great to know that professors take the time to write these letters because they want to see their students succeed in their future studies.

Benjamin Taylor said...

It is very interesting finally getting an insight of how you (and maybe some other professors) write reference letters. While finishing up my applications to Master Schools, I assumed you wrote a letter of some sort and sent it to them via a link the schools provide but it is interesting to hear that it is in a survey format. Even though many people think a GPA is everything, it is nice to see a point of view from the professors' side when it comes to the hidden side of applications and that reference letters (which now make sense) are close to almost as important as a GPA, portfolio or audition tape.

Julianne Meaney said...

These past few months I have been in the process of applying to Summer programs, and the reference letter section is one of the portions I feel the most stress about. Unlike the audition video or my resume, I have no control over this section. It is really helpful to know what criteria you use to write your letters, which I'm sure is quite similar to the ones my professors use when writing mine. There truly is so much more to a person's suitability for a program besides their GPA, CV and audition tape, and it's nice that these letters can help communicate these factors as well as what the rest of the application shows.

I also wanted to comment on your anecdote about your personal struggles with music theory. I started studying music theory later than most of my peers, and it did hold me back near the beginning of my degree, partially because I believed that I wasn't naturally good at theory and therefore would never be good at it. A shift in attitude certainly helped me improve my grades and my feelings towards the subject. It's certainly very encouraging to hear how far you have come, so thank you for sharing!

Jack Etchegary said...

While I have no immediate plans of pursing a Masters program, I do intend to do so sometime in the future, but simply have not decided what I would like to focus on. There are so many options for musicians to choose. That being said, reference letters are important no matter what field a student chooses to gravitate towards. From your post, it is clear to me that in order for a reference letter to be a positive, the student and the professor must have a positive relationship. This of course should be an obvious thing, but I suppose that sometimes a student may think that their relationship with a professor is a positive one, when in reality there are some barriers limiting the professors assessment of the student in a positive light. Another important point to note which I gathered from your post is that in order for a professor to write a recommendation letter/letter of support, the professor must actually know the student well! You've outlined several categories which a professor has the choice to rank a student with, and it is quite clear that some of these categories could easily be an immediate "no basis for evaluation" response. In summary, I believe it is important for students to foster positive relationships with their professors and to exhibit positive qualities consistently in order for professors to successfully speak about the student in a positive, supporting fashion.

Unknown said...

I think everyone can benefit from reading this. People who are confident and need to see the importance of humility, the people who have different strengths in different places, or the people who need to work harder on themselves and their studies. Hearing from someone who is frequently asked to write recommendation letters for students and is honest about their recommendation makes you as a student more aware of your grades, your attitude, and behaviour when working in a class setting or performance setting, etc. There’s always something we can work on and better ourselves with, but I am a firm believer that many undergrad students forget how they are acting in front of others, and their time management with their own work and/or others work may be poor. How you behave and how much effort you put in to these courses will reflect on where you go after. There's a different mindset in high school that I think carries on into university ("if i don't study, i can still pull off an 85% on a test" is something always heard in high school!), but the workload is different and the work itself is different at this level. It is important to be reminded to keep working hard and these grades matter much more. During all this, its also important to stay positive and respectful to yourself and your professors and colleagues. I was told at an opera rehearsal before that “We are always performing. We are always presenting ourselves to somebody and you never want to leave a bad impression on anyone”. Bridges you may not even be aware of can burn. This post is like a friendly reminder to keep working hard at your studies and be kind to others. People will notice and you’ll be better because of it. In your undergrad, its good to be aware of your weaknesses and strengthen them up as best as you can with the incredible teachers you have. It’s not just grades. Reference letters can make or break your applications, even if you have a good transcript. I’m so glad I read through this before next year, I’m not sure where I am applying yet but I feel much more informed than before. These are little things that people don’t bother telling you or you can’t find in a book, so I thank you for putting the time into a post that benefits students so much!

Louise Brun-Newhook said...

This post was particularly interesting to me as I got to see the other side of the reference letter stress: the teacher's point of view. It gave me the actual criteria for a good letter, whereas I just used to make my request to my prof and hope for the best. Now I know that if I have good grades, participate in class and am a strong worker I have a good chance of getting a positive reference letter. I have no intention of applying anywhere soon but this knowledge will be useful to me when I do. Time to up my participation game in class!! I also agree with the part about not giving up on your dreams. Not everyone gets in to their dream school on their first try and it's not necessarily because they're not good enough. Maybe the school has fewer spots that year than usual. Maybe you just happened to apply to year that every single genius in the world applied too. Who knows. In any case, there is NO shame in redoing some courses to get a better grade or taking a year off to embellish your compositions. The important thing to keep in mind it to be a teachable student so that your profs take note of this and praise you in your reference letter for your preparedness, your eagerness to learn and your positive mindset. These are things that take NO effort and are easy to do no matter who you are. I will definitely be coming back to this post in two years or so if I apply to graduate schools. It also reminded me of the importance of the "small things" in life. Be ready, be active, be eager!

Unknown said...

This post was eye opening and a little nerve-wrecking to read. Reading your perspective on this post really gave me insight as to what goes through a professor’s head when they are evaluating a student for a reference letter. I had no idea that that many character traits were evaluated in a reference letter or that it was as thorough as you describe. I went through the list of character traits and found though I think to be my weakest so I have time to work on them while I still have time in this degree. I really respect how much detail and time you place in writing a student’s reference letter. It is a very thorough process, and this post helps show you need more than talent and a good transcript to have a successful reference letter. Reading the other side of a reference letter was very interesting, It reminds us to be as well rounded and eager to learn as possible as you never know what prof is watching and who you may need to write a letter for you some day.

Unknown said...

I remember I have only had to ask for once reference letter in my academic career. One of my old professors is notorious for being late and forgetting important things. (I am still waiting for my old recital video to be shipped after a year or so). The dead line came and I had reminded him. Turns out he sent it in late to them. Does this reflect against me? Or him? I got into all the schools of my choice so I am guessing the letter being late really did not matter. More so my performance ability and grades helped.

I applied for a job position last year and I put the same prof on my reference list. Each reference got a phone call from the company and had a 45 minute long questionnaire from the company. At the end of it he didn't know what he was answering questions for but I still ended up getting the position.

I am always nervous to put people as references or ask for letters of references. I assume my outlook of my ability and performance is different than that of my profs.

I guess if I got denied a letter by someone then that could be a bad thing!

nicholas.boland! said...

This is a very important topic and I am glad you discussed it! While I do not plan on going to graduate school for music I do plan on applying to some highly respected schools for a second undergrad and I was definitely considering a letter just for the extra boost it may give me. Not to mention I may want to go to grad school after that second degree so again this is important information. I think one of the most important points made was "trusting the process". The bottom line about post secondary is that not a single aspect of it is easy! Everyone's working hard all summer long from staff to students. So when contact is made about a letter with a professor the student must keep the professor's duties in perspective. I would like to think at least some of the attributes from the list compiled for a reference letter may be applicable to areas besides music. This is good to note because things like attitude, showing potential and enthusiasm are all good things to keep in mind as I continue my journey through school.

Dylan M said...

I found this insight incredibly helpful. While I do not plan on applying for a masters in composition, I've been strongly considering applying for a masters in music therapy, which I've found increasingly interesting since I learned of its existence. While many of these comments apply specifically to composition, a great many more of them are valuable to any student, regardless of where their interests and plans take them. I'm still in my third year, but the idea of asking for reference letters next year seems very daunting. Before reading this post, I had little knowledge of what is required of a teacher when they write these. This has given me a much better insight into what it means exactly when you ask someone to do this for you, as well as help me decide who might be a good candidate to ask. Here at the school of music, I've always been very thankful for how well we get to know our professors, and the extra steps they often take to make sure we do well. Having been lost in the sea of huge math and psychology lectures, while I respect these professors, they don't get a chance to get to know you in all aspects as well as the professors here tend to do. Seeing that many of the things teachers must comment on go beyond grades alone, having this relationship with our professors definitely helps alleviate some of the stress involved and helps you trust the process, allowing you to focus on just doing the best you can.

Mason Power said...

While I don't have any immediate plans to apply to graduate schools, this information was very helpful and informative. I didn't realize how much goes into a recommendation later, such as all the different criteria and character traits that need to be evaluated. It seems very evident that it is crucial to establish good relationships with your professors early on, as it may not be enough to just get good grades. Judging by all the details you outlined, it seems like it could be a common occurrence for a professor to simply not know a student well enough to be able to give them an accurate letter of recommendation, since you likely would not be able to answer a lot of these questions without having taught them for many courses.

Jessica Ozon said...

Lots of good info in this post. I’m now beginning the process of deciding what I will do after my undergrad degree and I share some others commenters indecisiveness about what direction I would like to go moving forward. Despite this though I feel like this post reaffirms for me the importance of developing good relationships with people in school, as well as the importance of trying to expand your abilities in different areas. While I’m not sure if I’m one of those top students you refer to, I think I have thus far performed well in my courses and, for me, making a list of what I hope to get out of my degree has been helpful for keeping me on track. When I feel unmotivated in a particular area I try to refer back to that. Even in courses that may be less enjoyable, I think there’s always something that can make us into a better musicians or better people that we can focus on. I think the ability to recognize this and act on it is at the root of what makes the kind of well-rounded person you seem to be referring to as someone who is a good graduate school candidate

Adam Janes said...

After reading this post it struck a few stories of other topics that relate that I absolutely needed to share. When viewing the evolution of students and recommendation letters, people dont understand truly how long a 'good word' will go. Think about reccommendation letters like this, if you're applying somewhere for work, who do you reach out to for references? Someone who is 50/50 on you or is neutral about how they feel about you? I.E a teacher, past boss, coworker, etc. Or would you pick someone in one of those same positions who you know really respects you and you have a good bond with? These people need to speak on your behalf and speak highly of you, so of course you want the best recommendations you can. Referencing people who will give you good backing goes looooooong ways, especially in not only the schooling world but also In buisness. It reminds me of the job I have now, the guy who owns the resturant I work at, I have been playing pickup basketball with for years. When it came to me applying for work, it was like he was his own reference in a sense, but it was someone I had a great relationship with so the recommendation to get a job was no issue, in a case where I picked someone else to speak on my behalf, and the opportunity on the job could've literally varied. References and reccommendation letters go so far in evaluation.

As for seeing students and their levels, It really Made me think of my girlfriends classroom and how the children are organized now. She wrote a thesis on this topic for her masters, about how in her classroom of 20-25 kids, they now split them up into groups where their skill levels are similar to their peers, so that way they dont fall behind or become overwhelmed with a task they are not ready to handle yet. In the same class, she has some children who can read chapter books, and others who can't get through a few sentences, they gap of skill is very very huge, so I think it is crazy how the skill of those varies and plays a toll in the educational system along with how students need to be assessed individually instead of trying to file everyone into the same bracket all the time to see who's the best. Just thought of this while reading and wanted to share because I found it related!!!