by Writing Workshops Staff
3 years ago
It can feel like you're jumping through a bunch of hoops just to get your MFA application complete. After polishing my creative writing sample, one of the things I worried over the most: letters of recommendation. For starters, I had been out of college for seven years and I wasn't a liberal arts major to begin with. I didn't know who to ask or how to ask them for what I thought was a BIG favor.
So, I made it as easy on them as possible by almost writing the letter for them. I figured my letter writers were busy and that I wasn't the only one asking them for a letter of recommendation. But, I didn't have a problem getting my letters. Why?
In each case I moved the due date up by at least a month. Instead of saying I needed the letter by December 15th I said I couldn't have it later than November 15th. This created some wiggle room if we needed it. Without fail, all the letters came in on time.
Even if your letter writers know exactly who you are, you should make it easy for them to write specifically about you and your work. This is doubly so if you are asking someone to write a letter who only has a faint recollection of you and/or your work. So I wrote a muscular paragraph in my Ask Letter on the following things:
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I wrote a paragraph on why I wanted to get an MFA and why I was ready now.
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I wrote a paragraph describing my work.
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I wrote a paragraph stating my literary influences.
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I wrote a paragraph telling them exactly what I wanted to accomplish in an MFA program.
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I wrote a paragraph telling them the most interesting things about my background so they could know me better.
Now that I am asked to write letters of recommendation, I ask students who reach out to me to address the bullet points above. I'll often adapt what they write and add my own perceptions from the time I spent with them and their work. If you include this information in your Ask Letter you'll eliminate a step for your letter writer and make it easier on them to get you the letter you need for all of the schools on your list.
And, in the end, you shouldn't worry too much about the letter of recommendation. Yes, you need them. So make sure you get them. But the people you ask to write letters for you have been in your shoes before. They know you're nervous about asking for the letter and they expect to write some every fall. I know I do. And I don't mind, as long as I get the request with enough advanced warning.
As long as you don't ask for the letter a week before the real due date and you give your letter writers enough info to work from, you should be good to go. So finalize the list of places you're going to apply to and ask your letter writers sooner rather than later.
Oh, and don't forget to ask for their mailing address so you can send a hand written thank you note.
If you have any questions feel free to contact us. If you'd like some help getting your application in order this year we'd love to work with you. Just let us know. Our students have gone on to funded MFA programs at The Iowa Writers' Workshop, The Michener Center for Writers, Michigan, NYU, Columbia, The New School, Indiana, Alabama, and more. We'd love to help.
Try Short Story Critique and/or MFA Prep with Kelly Luce!
And, if you're looking for a class in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or screenwriting, we've got you covered.
