Who to get to write university reference for mature student?
I'm thinking of applying to university but have been out of school for three years and as such only have colleagues and managers to ask to write me a reference.
Where might one find a good person (preferably a professional) who might be able to write a reference for me? I have thought of language tutors if I did some language tutoring lessons, but other than that I'm out of ideas.
Where might one find a good person (preferably a professional) who might be able to write a reference for me? I have thought of language tutors if I did some language tutoring lessons, but other than that I'm out of ideas.
Original post by AxSirlotl
I'm thinking of applying to university but have been out of school for three years and as such only have colleagues and managers to ask to write me a reference.
Where might one find a good person (preferably a professional) who might be able to write a reference for me? I have thought of language tutors if I did some language tutoring lessons, but other than that I'm out of ideas.
Where might one find a good person (preferably a professional) who might be able to write a reference for me? I have thought of language tutors if I did some language tutoring lessons, but other than that I'm out of ideas.
I used my supervisor from work. But I was working in the care field and I was applying for a degree in occupational therapy which is linked to the care field so it was quite similar.
Hey, I submitted my application last week. My colleague wrote my reference for me 
Original post by AxSirlotl
I'm thinking of applying to university but have been out of school for three years and as such only have colleagues and managers to ask to write me a reference.
Where might one find a good person (preferably a professional) who might be able to write a reference for me? I have thought of language tutors if I did some language tutoring lessons, but other than that I'm out of ideas.
Where might one find a good person (preferably a professional) who might be able to write a reference for me? I have thought of language tutors if I did some language tutoring lessons, but other than that I'm out of ideas.
Hi! I expect you've applied already and got your reference, but I'll leave this here just in case anyone else searches for this question.
Universities, generally, prefer an academic reference.
However as a mature student, it's not always practical to get one of these unless you've studied for a qualification recently.
So in this instance, an employer reference is perfectly acceptable and encouraged
What field are you looking to study in? Managers work well as professional references, as they can speak about your abilities from having supervised you at work. However for some universities/certain fields there will be a clear requirement for academic references, particularly if it's a research-focused course.
Academic references speak to your academic strengths/abilities, so if you've done well in a subject there's no harm reaching out to a previous teacher to see if they'd do an academic reference for you. You can always start your email off with an introduction - e.g. 'by way of introduction, I was a student in your subject of X in 20xx year, I received this grade for the subject...I am looking to study X in Y university, and Y university has requested an academic reference'...and so on. Teachers/lecturers are familiar with the concept of academic references and understand that students are often in a position of needing help.
Academic references speak to your academic strengths/abilities, so if you've done well in a subject there's no harm reaching out to a previous teacher to see if they'd do an academic reference for you. You can always start your email off with an introduction - e.g. 'by way of introduction, I was a student in your subject of X in 20xx year, I received this grade for the subject...I am looking to study X in Y university, and Y university has requested an academic reference'...and so on. Teachers/lecturers are familiar with the concept of academic references and understand that students are often in a position of needing help.
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