1. I typically do not write letters for people who have only taken courses from me. Rather, you have to have worked with me so that I can gain some personal information about you. If it has been several years since I have worked with you, please send a picture with your request.
2. After I have agreed to write a letter for you please provide the following:
a) Responses to the questions noted below
b) the personal and research statements that you are submitting
c) your transcripts -- an unofficial copy is fine.
d) a list of all the places I will be submitting the information, addressed envelopes if these are used instead of email links.
e) please send all information to me at the same time.
2. After I have agreed to write a letter for you please provide the following:
a) Responses to the questions noted below
b) the personal and research statements that you are submitting
c) your transcripts -- an unofficial copy is fine.
d) a list of all the places I will be submitting the information, addressed envelopes if these are used instead of email links.
e) please send all information to me at the same time.
QUESTIONS TO BE COMPLETED WHEN REQUESTING REFERENCE LETTERS:
1. How long have I known you and in what capacity?
2. Did you take a class or classes from me? Complete the following questions for each class.
a) What was the class?
b) If you wrote a major paper for me what was it on, what grade did you get and was it a group paper or an individual paper? How does what your performance and what you learned from this paper relate to the position or graduate school you are applying to?
c) How does your class work connect to your career goals? And more specifically, what part of the class you took with me relates most to the position for which you are applying?
d) What were your strengths in this class? What makes you distinct from the average student in this class? (E.g., participation, ability to work with fellow students, taking leadership roles in conducting studies, independent exploration of topics, performance on exams)
3. Did you do independent research with me (e.g. senior or honors thesis) or work in my research lab?
a) What was the research project or projects?
b) What roles did you play in the research? (e.g., survey construction, data entry, web survey administrator, recruiter, and experimenter, confederate)
c) Did you work with others in the lab? How did that go?
d) How does your work with me connect to your career goals? And more specifically, what part of the research relates most to the position for which you are applying?
e) What were your strengths in this research? And more specifically, what makes you distinct from the average working on research with me?
4. In general, what do you see as your major strengths?
1. How long have I known you and in what capacity?
2. Did you take a class or classes from me? Complete the following questions for each class.
a) What was the class?
b) If you wrote a major paper for me what was it on, what grade did you get and was it a group paper or an individual paper? How does what your performance and what you learned from this paper relate to the position or graduate school you are applying to?
c) How does your class work connect to your career goals? And more specifically, what part of the class you took with me relates most to the position for which you are applying?
d) What were your strengths in this class? What makes you distinct from the average student in this class? (E.g., participation, ability to work with fellow students, taking leadership roles in conducting studies, independent exploration of topics, performance on exams)
3. Did you do independent research with me (e.g. senior or honors thesis) or work in my research lab?
a) What was the research project or projects?
b) What roles did you play in the research? (e.g., survey construction, data entry, web survey administrator, recruiter, and experimenter, confederate)
c) Did you work with others in the lab? How did that go?
d) How does your work with me connect to your career goals? And more specifically, what part of the research relates most to the position for which you are applying?
e) What were your strengths in this research? And more specifically, what makes you distinct from the average working on research with me?
4. In general, what do you see as your major strengths?