I plan to ask three of my professors to write me letters of recommendation for graduate school. How do I ask them, and what should I expect of this process?

You should ask each recommender what their preferences are. Most will want to meet with you if they do not know you well, and perhaps even if they do. Most will want to review your resume or at least a list of your activities over the past few years. Some will ask to see a draft of your letter of intent. Writing a letter of recommendation is a careful and deliberate process for faculty. We are asked to comment on your academic record, your leadership skills, your interpersonal communication skills, and various other aspects of your potential for academic and clinical development at the graduate level. You should find out what your recommender is likely to say in the letter.

Specific to students who have transferred in from other Kent campuses or other (non-Kent) Universities:

Usually, the first step for transfer students is to meet with a College of Education, Health and Human Services advisor who will take care of allocating most of the courses you have taken to their equivalencies here at Kent.

The next step is to meet with the transfer student advisor to discuss any courses the EHHS advisor was not able to match to courses required by the SPA major.

Here are two typical examples:

1. If you took a Biology course at another university, and the EHHS advisor is not sure whether your previous course may be substituted for BSCI 10001 Human Biology, your transfer advisor will review your course's syllabus and make that determination.
2. If you took course(s) in a Speech Pathology & Audiology or Communication Sciences and Disorders program at another university, your transfer advisor will ask you for the syllabus for each of the course(s) in question. Your transfer advisor will then ask Kent State University Speech Pathology & Audiology faculty to determine whether your particular course(s) may be substituted for our required course(s).

Your transfer advisor will also make sure you are on track to take SPA courses in the correct sequence, and to help you seek permission from faculty if you need an exception to the sequence (this is rare, and not recommended). Once you have a written plan and all transfer coursework has been allocated properly, the transfer advisor will turn your advising over to the faculty member to whom those with your grade level and last name letter are assigned. Just as all students do, you will continue to see both your EHHS professional advisor and your SPA faculty advisor as necessary throughout your academic career here.