Advice for Students

• What are Letters of Recommendation?

  A letter of recommendation (written by one of your mentors, recommenders, or professors) is a document that highlights your strengths and experiences. In that respect, each letter of recommendation functions  much like your List of Honors, Awards, and Activities, but they’re written from the point of view of another person--a person that isn’t at all obligated to say good things about you yet has still chosen to--which further validates your achievements.

  Each letter of recommendation should be specific to the scholarship you are applying for, as you’ll learn more about in the sections below.

• Accordion Title 2

  With increasing numbers of students competing for major scholarships, letters of recommendation are extremely important and factor heavily in the selection process. The letters you collect should reflect the higher standards of the programs themselves.

  Generic, two-paragraph letters full of vague superlatives are of little value. The same goes for letters that have a fill-in-the-name appearance of that simply rehash items in your activities list. You want letters that provide detailed knowledge of your talents, because those are the key to a successful application.

  Getting good letters takes time and legwork on your part. Plan for it. Make appointments with the people, the recommenders, you wish to ask for letters well in advance of any application deadline. Get to know your recommenders and let them get to know you, too. Discuss your larger interests and goals, and ask for their advice about potential projects, readings, courses of study, etc. These conversations will be invaluable in themselves, but they will also allow you to judge which people are likely to be your most enthusiastic and informed recommenders.
• Who should I ask for a letter of recommendation?

  Ask for letters from people who know you well. Rather than asking faculty who gave you As but haven’t spoken to you much, you may be better off with letters from faculty who gave you Bs if they can speak more knowledgeably and favorably about your academic and personal qualities.

  Some applicants seek out references from public officeholders, celebrities, high campus officials and the like. Unless these big-wigs know you and can give specific examples of your abilities and accomplishments, don’t ask them. Most application forms ask the recommender, “How long have you known the applicant?” Make sure whomever is answering can give a substantial answer.

  Think twice about seeking letters from “Friends of the family.” Because they know you well and like you, they can be generally counted on to say wonderful things. However, their personal closeness to you results in a lack of objectivity. As a result, they will write a letter not tailored to the scholarship for which you are applying.

  Strive for balance. Ideally, you should have a mix of professors and non-academicians so that, collectively, your recommenders paint a multi-faceted portrait of you. If all your writers are professors whose courses you have taken, try to get them from differently fields of study.
• When should I ask?

  Ask well in advance of the deadline. Two to four weeks may be adequate, but it is often helpful to consult with the recommender to see how much lea

  d-time is needed. This is especially true for letters for major fellowships and for letters to be written over the summer. If necessary, give your recommenders timely reminders.

  Ask your recommender: “Do you feel you know me (or my academic record, my leadership qualities) well enough to write a strong letter of recommendation for the X scholarship?” You’ve now given them the opportunity to decline gracefully. If the answer is “no,” don’t push. This inquiry may be done via email if you already have an established relationship with the potential recommender.

  No matter what they say, be sure to thank your recommenders for their help and consideration. If they agree, be sure to keep them posted on the status of your application.

• What should I provide?

  Your recommender will need more than memory to write a good letter. Be sure to provide them with these items:

  • A Current Resume (or List of Honors)

    Provide a current resume (or a List of your Honors, Awards, and Activities). Include:

    • Internships
    • Work/Research Experience
    • Community Service
    • Conference Papers/Presentations
    • Any other creative or leadership experiences
  • A Personal Statement or Research Proposal

    A copy of either your Personal Statement, Project Proposal and/or Course of Study, or other descriptive documents from your scholarship application. Information about career plans, foreign travel experience, or non-academic interests is sometimes required.

    If you have not yet completed these Application Materials, then provide an informal version in the form of a 1-2 page statement. If you’re not sure how to write this statement, be sure to reach out to your Scholarship Advisor for guidance.
  • Past Papers or Exams
    Any pertinent reminders about the work you have done for this professor that will help you highlight what makes you a strong candidate. Past papers or exams are especially helpful.
  • A Copy of Your Transcript

    If applying for a fellowship, you should provide a copy of your transcript.

    This transcript can be an unofficial copy. It’s meant to give your recommender an overview of your academic program to date as well as your grades. If your grades are not what you think they should be, then prepare to identify any extenuating circumstances--for example, family or other responsibilities, or amount or level of courses taken.

  • An Official Description of Criteria + Application Deadlines

    The LOR should address the official description of the criteria of the application, so it would be wide to provide your recommender with that official description of criteria. Supplement this description with your own suggestions as to what you would like your recommender to emphasize.

    Additionally, you should provide your recommender with the deadline by which the letter is due. 
  • A Cover Sheet

    Any cover sheets or official recommendation forms should accompany the letter. Be sure to complete any section that pertains to you. This includes such items as your name, the address to which the letter should be sent, etc.

    Make sure you have waived your right to access under the Family Rights and Privacy Act. Selection committees often fail to take non-restricted letters seriously.

• Additional Tips for Applicants

  To give your recommenders further insight into your character, think about providing them with written responses to the following questions:

  • Why do you want to [X]? (In which “X” can be things like “study at Oxford,” “go to Indonesia to learn about native musical traditions,” etc.)
  • What in your background prepares and qualifies you for the scholarship or fellowship you are seeking?
  • What are your goals five, ten or twenty years from now?
  • What experiences have you had that reveal your leadership, creativity, motivation, or other asset?
  • What do you like to do in your spare time?

Advice for Letter Writers*

• To Write or Not to Write

  As a letter writer, it is acceptable, sometimes highly advisable, for you to decline writing a letter of recommendation (LOR), especially if you cannot reasonably produce an effective LOR for the nationally competitive scholarship the student is pursuing. If any of the following applies to your situation, it is likely in the student's best interest for you to decline writing a letter:

  • You cannot produce a sufficiently strong (i.e., emphatically positive and detailed) letter
  • You don't know or recall sufficient details about the student's work
  • You don't know the students goals--and won't be able to get up to speed on these goals by the time the letter is due
  • You know that there is someone else who would be a better writer for this student, if given this opportunity
  • You identify this student as a solid, high-achieving learner, but one that does not stand out to you as an exceptional student (in whichever way you define exceptional) worthy of an ultra-competitive scholarship
  • You are not able to review the criteria for the particular scholarship, which will be provided to you by the student and/or OURS or the scholarship application management system once the student registers you as one of her/his recommenders
  • You do not honestly have the time or material to write (potentially more than one draft of) an exceptional letter--one that might need to be revised and one that is perfectly polished in its final version

  Remember that it can be more helpful to support the student in identifying a more fitting letter writer.

• How to Write an Effective Letter of Recommendation for a Nationally Competitive Scholarship

  Reviewers look at the complete application package in order to get a detailed and contextualized understanding of the applicant. These materials stand in for the applicant in a first level of review, so they need to tell a complete, detailed, and compelling story for why the student is exceptional, deserving of this particular scholarship, and a remarkable fit for this particular opportunity (both in terms of the scholarship itself--its meaning, purpose, goals--and what the scholarship affords--such as graduate training in a particular context). The following tips will help you consider how this LOR should be different than others you will write for the same student:

  • Provide concrete and specific details of the qualities you discuss
  • Avoid generalities or genetic claims that could apply to any high-achieving student
  • Make evident the criteria on which you base your judgments (after consulting the selection criteria for this particular scholarship, which the student should have already shared with you)
  • Provide qualitative and/or quantitative evidence of how the student meets these criteria
  • Evince your understanding of how this particular application advances the student's specific goals
  • Include a brief description about you and your work that provides a context for your comments; especially important is a discussion of your direct mentorship of the student in undergraduate research work, if applicable
  • Bring the candidate to life for the reviewers by moving beyond the resume
  • Through discussion with the student, learn how your letter fits into the larger application since it will help you focus on your contribution and avoid unnecessary redundancy in the letters
  • Discuss how the student is a strong fit for the particular scholarship; what particularly qualifies the student for this award; and why the committee should pay special attention to this applicant, among the numerous other well-qualified applicants
• Feedback from Letter Readers: What Hurts Your Applicant
  • Letters that are too short and/or lack specificity
  • Letters that could be easily substituted for another scholarship or for application to a graduate program; using one-size-fits-all thinking when composing the letter
  • "All about me (the writer)" or "all about context" letters that don't quickly enough/sufficiently provide details about the applicant
  • Unsupported praise; no specificity that marks distinction
  • Praise for qualities that are not appropriate for the type of opportunity (e.g., punctuality, presentability, affability, etc.)
• Additional Tips for Writers
  • How will the student fare in a top-tier graduate school?
  • How will the student fare in an international setting?
  • What could the student gain from graduate study in the UK or in Ireland?
  • What could the student give in return?
  • Is the student an independent thinker--what evidence do you have?
  • How will this student make a difference in the world, in her/his chosen field of endeavor or in general?
  • Has the student made a difference in the classroom, in your own scholarship?
  • If you only know the student outside the classroom, what specific experiences identify her/him as a leader, a scholar, a professional, etc?
  • If you've only known the student a short time (or have had limited contact), what makes her/him stand out as exceptional and worthy of your support?
  • What can you say about the student or her/his potential that no one else can say?

  SUBMIT YOUR LETTER EARLY to avoid technical problems