Recommendation Letter Instructions

Recommendation Letter Instructions | Suraj Rampure

last updated November 30, 2024

If you’re reading this page, it’s likely because you’ve asked (or are thinking of asking) me to write you a recommendation letter. Helping students get into graduate programs is one of the great joys of teaching, and if I could help everyone who asks, I would!

But, I receive so many requests that I unfortunately don’t have the capacity to write letters for everyone who asks. And even if I did, if my only relationship to a student is that they were enrolled in one of my classes, it’s hard for me to say anything convincing in a letter.

As a result, 80%+ of the letters I write each year are for students who served on my course staff at some point (GSI/IA/TA/tutor), as those are the students I interact with the most and have the most first-hand knowledge of. The few other students I end up writing letters for are students who did extremely well in class and/or went above and beyond in some way. That being said, if you don’t fall into one of these categories, don’t pre-reject yourself - still ask me first!

If I agree to write you a letter, here’s what I need from you, ideally all in a single Google Drive folder shared with rampure@umich.edu:

Your preferred name and pronouns.
A description of how I know you.
- What school? (Michigan? UCSD? Berkeley?)
- What classes you took with me and what grades you got. Include your grade on the Final Exam and what the class average was (Gradescope has this).
- What classes you GSI/IA/TA/tutored for me and when, and what your responsibilities were (and anything you think you did a particularly good job at).
- Any standout facts about you that you think I should remember (e.g. created all the discussion worksheets, or had a really excellent final project in the TA training course, or had the most answers of any staff member on Ed, etc.).
Your latest resume/CV.
A copy of your (unofficial) transcript.
A spreadsheet with the following columns, with one row for each program you’re applying to:
- University name.
- Program name.
- Application deadline, in the format MM/DD/YYYY.
A brief description of what you’re trying to get out of a graduate program.
- For a letter to be strong, I need to be able to describe what value you’ll get out of the program and what value you’ll provide to the program, and why you’ve chosen those programs specifically.
- This could be a summary or draft of your statement of purpose/similar application responses.

Some other instructions:

I only need these materials ~two weeks before your earliest deadline. Make sure to tell me clearly when your earliest deadline is!
Please send me all letter requests for all of the programs you’re applying to at the same time. When I write your letter, it’s easiest to sit down and upload it to all of your schools at once; this minimizes the chances that letters sent later slip through the cracks.
Make sure to waive your right to view recommendation letters submitted for you. This will allow me (and your other writers) to speak more honestly. As discussed above, if I’ve agreed to write you a letter it’ll likely be quite strong, so there’s nothing to be worried about!

The information you should use for me is below.

Suraj Rampure
Lecturer III, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan
rampure@umich.edu
734-764-9579

Bob and Betty Beyster Building
2260 Hayward Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Thanks to many, but Mark Brehob in particular, for inspiring this page.