Follow this professor’s advice on asking for things from your prof
About the author
Hi there. I am the prolific professor with 15 years of experience teaching online and in-person. I have a graduate degree. I have a passion for education. But I’ve also worked in the professional world (outside of education) too. Thanks for visiting.
Asking your professor for something
I know it can be rather intimidating to need something from your professor.
Maybe you don’t know how to approach your professor, or maybe you don’t think they’ll accommodate you. Or worse, they’ll completely ignore your request.
Don’t worry, I know plenty of students that have been in your situation. See, I was a professor for over a decade, and I have talked to plenty of students that felt the same way you did.
I know that I can help you through this issue and give you what you need to succeed in college. Whether you need your professor to be a reference, or you want to ask for some extra credit, I have some information to share with you.
There is nothing to worry about. And after I give you these tips to talk to your professor and ask them for what you need, you’ll be feeling better soon.
How to ask a professor to be a reference
College students may need to ask their professor to serve as a reference for a job, graduate school application or an internship. Before a student lists their professor as a reference, they need to first identify the best professor to list as a reference. Then they should ask the professor for permission to list them as a reference, and provide all the necessary details so that the professor can understand if they can serve as a reference. And finally, the student should meet with their professor to help them get to know them a little more so they can answer the interviewer’s questions better.
Okay, you are applying for a job or are sending in your graduate school applications, and you reach the part of the application that requires a reference.
You probably have a lot of questions, like who do you ask and how do you ask? Some of these applications might require an academic reference to be listed so you’ll need to have some professors to ask to serve as your reference.
First, you need to think about who you are the closest to and which professor knows the most information about you. Because they will be required to answer questions about your academic abilities and other related characteristics and if they don’t know you well enough, it might hurt you more than help you.
So, you want to find that one professor that you think knows you the best. Think about who’s class you did the best in and which professor knew you by name. If you don’t need the reference yet, start making those connections now.
After you’ve identified the professor you want to list as a reference, you need to ask them first. Don’t just list them as a reference because they may not want to serve as your reference. They might not actually think favorably of you and it could hurt your application.
You need to communicate with them about your need for a reference, and ask them if they wouldn’t mind serving as a reference. Make sure you let them know what the entity is and the description of your job, the internship or graduate school you are applying to. Or if it is some other application, you need to tell them all the details.
If they agree, you may want to share with them some additional information that can help them get to know you a little more. You can send them your resume to give them some more details about you.
And even better, offer to meet with them. You can have a 15 minute meeting with them to discuss your educational and career goals and let them learn more about you. This can go along way. They’ll be better prepared to answer the interviewer’s questions about you if they are contacted.
I have to admit, even though I have served as a reference dozens of times, I have only had ONE interview before. It rarely happens where they’ll personally talk to your references, but they may send them a generic form to complete.
PRO TIP : Ask the entity or institution you are applying with to share some of the details they’ll need from your references. Let them know that you need to make sure you select the most qualified person to serve as your reference. They might give you the sample form that they use for all your references. Now you know what you need your professor to know about you.
How to ask a professor for a favor
If a student needs to ask their professor for a favor, they should determine who the best professor is to ask first, if they have a choice. Then be prepared for rejection. When you ask, provide details about what you need, and ask in advance. Be polite and explain why you think they are the best professor to help. And make your case. You should be compelling but not too entitled to receive this favor. Lastly be grateful for the potential assistance.
You could find yourself in a situation where you need a special favor from your professor. There could be lots of different favors you could be asking your professor for so I will outline some general information to coach you through this process.
But first, I want to say something. Don’t expect your professor to agree. Your professor might ignore your request, or simply say no. Be prepared for some rejection.
Let’s get into how to ask for a favor now.
When you want to ask your professor for a favor, first think about what you are asking for. Is this the right person to ask? Or is it fair to ask them for this favor?
If you answered no to either of those questions, I wouldn’t ask. Now, you might inquire about who to ask instead, but it might be unprofessional to proceed.
When you do ask, be polite. And try to ask in person instead of communicating via email.
But before you start to ask for a favor, you need to figure out who the best professor is to ask first. You might not have a choice on which professor you choose, but if you do, you should select a professor who has the best ability to assist you further.
Secondly, provide as many details as possible and remain professional. What is it that you need from your professor? Be specific. And do this in a timely fashion. Don’t wait until the last minute to ask for this favor. They need to time to digest the request and provide the help. If you can do this a week or two in advance, that’s best.
Then follow up with detailed information on why you think that they are the best person to offer you this assistance.
And make your case. I don’t want you to sound too desperate or too entitled but you need to help your professor understand why you deserve this favor.
This is the time for you to explain why you need this and what it can do for your future. But remember, you don’t want to overshare too much and you don’t want to make it sound like you deserve it.
Lastly, be grateful and explain how appreciative you are for their time and commitment to your educational journey.
If you do this in person, I think it will be harder for your professor to say no and dismiss you. So, if you can, meet them during office hours and talk with them in person instead.
How to ask your professor what you missed
There is going to come a time where you are going to miss class, and you’ll be frantic wondering how you are going to find out what you missed.
You are going to be very tempted to ask your professor for more information on what you missed, but I would wait. Read this before you do.
I frequently had students email me after they missed class and ask me if they missed anything important. Yes! Everything we cover is important. But I am going to share with you how to ask your professor so you don’t insult them.
First, read your syllabus. Your syllabus usually outlines the information you should have covered during that class. You typically have all your answers there and you shouldn’t even have to reach out to your professor.
Your professor likely has hundreds of students and cannot talk to every student who misses class and summarize the details for them. It’s up to you to figure that out. But there could be a time you still need to talk to them about your absent so keep reading.
After you read your syllabus, you should also reach out to your classmates. Ask your classmates what was covered during class and if you can scan their notes.
And then, talk to your professor. Tell them that you missed class and already looked at the syllabus and talked to your classmates, but you were wondering if there was any significant announcement that they made during class or any changes you should be aware of.
Then politely thank them.
How to ask your professor for extra credit
If a college student wants to ask their professor for extra credit, they should understand their professor’s policies first. Does the professor even offer any extra credit? Check the syllabus first and see if they mention extra credit. The student should politely approach their professor and explain why they need extra credit, and why they think their situation warrants any extra credit. But before you do anything, you have to do this one thing first!
Alright, I have to preface this answer with something first. Do NOT expect extra credit. I firmly believe that students should put in the hard work throughout the semester to earn the grade they need and shouldn’t rely on extra points.
But, I know that some students are going to be desperate to get extra credit. So, I will discuss how I think students should approach their professor about extra credit.
BEFORE you ask your professor for extra credit, you have to do this ONE thing first.
I want you to calculate your grade. And find out if a reasonable amount of extra credit would even help you out. Let’s say that you currently have a 74 in the class and you want to get a B, you can’t possibly expect your professor to give you enough points to help you get an 80 in the class. It’s too much to ask for.
But if you were at a 79 and needed that 1 percent to get to the next letter grade, it might make more sense.
You need to make sure you understand how many points you need to earn to get that extra 1 percent or however much you need.
Why this is so important is because you might need 40 extra points to achieve the next letter grade and that’s way too much extra credit. But if you find yourself needing 10 or even 15 extra points to help you earn a higher grade, then it might be worth it to ask.
Okay, now to how to ask your professor for the extra credit.
You should go in person and as early as possible. Don’t wait until the day or two before the semester is over. Visit them and talk about your grade in the class casually. Don’t start the conversation about extra credit, but rather your grade. Ask them if they think you are going to be able to achieve the grade you want.
When you are having this discussion, you need to tell them why a higher letter grade is so significant to you. Is it because you always wanted to get into a prestigious graduate school or you’ve dreamed of maintaining a 4.0 G.P.A.? Whatever the reason, make it compelling.
And let them know why you might not have performed your best on the other assignments.
Then, wait to see if your professor mentions any extra credit opportunities to you first. If they don’t, then ask them how they think you might achieve the grade you want.
If you still don’t have any extra credit offerings, here is the time to ask. Say something like, I only need 9 points to earn a B in this class. Do you think it’s possible that there will be any opportunity for extra credit.
Then wait for a response.
If they say no, be polite and don’t argue with them.
How to ask a professor to join their class
If a college student wants to join a professor’s class, they can politely send them an email and ask them if they can be added to their course. But it usually isn’t up to the professor. The student might get added to the class if they have any extra seats, or they can approve an overload in the class. Otherwise you might have to wait until the next semester. But it really all depends on when and why you want to join their class.
Sometimes college students want to join a class before the semester starts but the class is full. If this happens to you, you should put yourself on the waitlist first, if your college offers a waitlist.
Professors usually don’t have the authority to add students to their classes and they’ll need to forward any requests to their boss first so realize that it isn’t the professor’s sole decision.
But you could always contact the professor and explain why you want to be added to the class. If you need this class to graduate in the next year and it’s the only time you can attend that class, you should let them know that.
The more dire your situation is, the more likely you will get added to the class. So, don’t keep anything in and let them know why it’s so important to you.
PRO TIP: If you can find the professor’s boss, go directly to their office, in person, and ask if you can be added to the class if it’s already full.
A professor can ask their boss if you could be added, but sometimes colleges won’t do this if there is a waitlist because that wouldn’t be fair to all the other students who are waiting in line too. And they might not be able to add any students because the classroom only holds so many students and it’s already at its maximum capacity.
If you want to be added to a class after the beginning of the semester, you need to do this quick because time is ticking and eventually you won’t be able to switch classes. I find that students drop classes in the very beginning of the semester, and a seat just might open up.
So, if your college has a few days where you can drop and add classes in the beginning of the term, check the enrollment in that course often. You never know when a seat just might open up.
And I usually recommend that students speak with the college registrar about joining a class to see if they have any recommendations too.
Good luck. I hope it works out for you.
How to ask my professor for more information
College students may want to ask their professor for more information about the course, their education, a future career or anything relevant to their college experience. And if they want to ask for more information, they should schedule an appointment during office hours to have an honest and open conversation with their professor.
How you ask your professor for more information will depend on what kind of information you want. But I generally recommend that students go in person.
And make your questions specific.
Let your professor know exactly what you need, if you can.
I find that most students want to ask their professor for more information about the course material. You might be a student who is clueless about the topic and just needs to be pointed in the right direction or you might want to learn more about an interesting topic.
You can ask them to help you with this. Before you go and talk to them, make sure you write down all your questions though. And what it is you are trying to achieve.
If you are trying to learn the material, but are struggling, let them know what areas you need help with. If you are wanting more information on the topic, ask them if they have other reading materials that they would like to share.
Anything to get the conversation started and I am sure your professor will take it from there.
Now that I have shared with you all my tips about asking your professor for something, I know you’ll get exactly what you need in no time.
You’ve got this.
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