How to ask for Letter of Recommendation from someone you don't know??

[CR660]

Hi everyone! I am in the process of applying to CRNA school, and one of the schools I am applying to requires a letter of recommendation from the dean of your undergraduate nursing program. I looked her up on the school website, and she became the dean after I graduated. While I was in school she was the assistant dean but I have never met her. The thought of asking someone I have never met for a letter of recommendation seems odd to me and I am not sure how to approach it! Has anyone else been in a similar situation?

Thank you for responses!

[thoughtful21, BSN, RN]

Once I was in a similar situation, when I needed a letter of recommendation from a teacher who was no longer there. I contacted the committee, explained the circumstances, and asked them if it was ok to request the letter of recommendation from someone else. They said that would be ok, and gave me some ideas for who. But the stakes weren't as high in that situation, and I don't know much about applying to CRNA school.

If the former dean is in good standing, is there any chance you could contact her/him and ask for the letter that you need?

If the other options are impossible, maybe you could contact the current dean, and see if she's someone that's easy to talk to that would be willing to help you out. It wouldn't be ideal, but possibly you could explain the situation, tell her what you need, and if she was up for it, she could use information from your file to write a letter for you. But if you go this route, it might be good to get extra letters of recommendation from people who know you better in order to make your application stronger.

Good luck to you!

[VitaminDeeee]

I recently had to do the same thing. I think it's more common in academia than it would seem. She was happy to help, requested my resume (I sent her my application essays too), and she reviewed my nursing school transcripts and based her letter off that information. I can't speak to how great the letter was because I'm still in the application process, but she was more than willing to write the letter for me. Good luck!