- Professors have office hours specifically so they can talk with students, so you're not "taking up their valuable time," you are making good use of their time.
- In terms of developing relationships from professors, you need to think concretely about what you want to get out of the relationship. If you are just trying to get to know them for the sake of a letter of recommendation I'm not sure how productive that will be. If you want their help with research or coursework then your conversations will be focused on that.
- You want letters of recommendation from professors who know your work and intellectual abilities, so professors who you've taken a class from and the prof who you'll be assisting next quarter will be in the best position to write for you.
- Professors expect undergraduates to ask their advice about graduate school and they expect to be asked to write letters of recommendation. Try not to feel like you're burdening them or that you need to develop a substantial "friendship" before you approach them about these things. It's a professional duty of theirs, not a personal favor to you. (Note: Not that you should be all demanding and entitled when talking to them! I'm just saying your questions won't be out of the blue for them)
Thanks! It's always a relief to know that professors expect my awkward attempts to talk to them :) I'm constantly worried that I'm bothering them.
Oh, I meant that I felt that I was taking up the students' time, not the professors'. That is, I know the other students want/need to speak to the professors as well, and I worry that by the time I finish, they'll be upset with me for hogging professor-time.
Yeah, I think I should be worrying less about the actual letters and more about just getting more into asking them about topics I'm interested in. I'm trying to do that more often.
- Professors have office hours specifically so they can talk with students, so you're not "taking up their valuable time," you are making good use of their time.
- In terms of developing relationships from professors, you need to think concretely about what you want to get out of the relationship. If you are just trying to get to know them for the sake of a letter of recommendation I'm not sure how productive that will be. If you want their help with research or coursework then your conversations will be focused on that.
- You want letters of recommendation from professors who know your work and intellectual abilities, so professors who you've taken a class from and the prof who you'll be assisting next quarter will be in the best position to write for you.
- Professors expect undergraduates to ask their advice about graduate school and they expect to be asked to write letters of recommendation. Try not to feel like you're burdening them or that you need to develop a substantial "friendship" before you approach them about these things. It's a professional duty of theirs, not a personal favor to you. (Note: Not that you should be all demanding and entitled when talking to them! I'm just saying your questions won't be out of the blue for them)
Hope this is helpful
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Oh, I meant that I felt that I was taking up the students' time, not the professors'. That is, I know the other students want/need to speak to the professors as well, and I worry that by the time I finish, they'll be upset with me for hogging professor-time.
Yeah, I think I should be worrying less about the actual letters and more about just getting more into asking them about topics I'm interested in. I'm trying to do that more often.
Reply
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