Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are generally due at the end of the year, and it’s not unusual for a faculty member to send out approximately 100 letters (e.g., 20 students, each sending letters to five schools) during the week before the holidays.

To ensure that we are able to get these letters out in a timely fashion, please do the following:

1. Ask the professor if he or she is willing to write a letter of recommendation for you.
2. Complete the psychology department worksheet for writing letters of recommendation. This worksheet helps faculty identify relevant experiences and credentials when writing your letter of recommendation.
3. Provide each professor with a cover sheet listing the schools you’ve applied to, the due dates for the recommendations and any other relevant information about the recommendation (e.g., whether there is a cover sheet to complete, where to send the letters). If a letter is to be returned to you (some schools prefer that all materials be sent in together by the applicant), please remember to write the name of the school on each envelope.
4. For each letter, please provide the professor an addressed, stamped envelope.
5. Generally, each letter is accompanied by a form to be completed by the professor. Please complete as much information on the form as possible (e.g., professor’s name, address, email address and phone number — when completing upwards of 100 forms, this can take precious time away from writing excellent letters for our students). The address for each faculty member is:
   Psychology Department
   Hope College
   PO Box 9000
   Holland, Michigan 49422
6. Please give faculty members a few weeks to complete your letter of recommendation.