"Christopher D. Green" "I have always said I would say this when the time came, but in 10 years of teaching it has never really happened that I was asked to write a letter for a student who I would outright refuse. Much more frequent has been the student for whom I have almost nothing to write -- a student in a large class about whom all I really know is his/her grade. I tell them that I will write the letter if they want, but it will amount to the following, more or less: "So-n-so was in my (e.g., statistics) class. S/he attended regularly [if I know whether s/he did], and received a grade of X..." If there was a term paper, I can write a little about its character and quality. Sometimes I can make a comment about the student's demeanor, though I'm reluctant to (I've never really understood why so many people make observations of a personal nature in letters of reference. They're obviously not reliable, and they often seem slightly demeaning). I then remind them that this kind of letter will probably not help them much in getting into graduate school, or whatever they want the letter for."
I don't think "observations of a personal nature" are demeaning. Applying to grad school often means applying for an assistantship and I want to know as much as I can about a potential research or teaching assistant. I agree that such statements aren't particularly reliable but the more info I can get, the better. I also believe (rightly or wrongly) that the more a professor writes about a student, the more that prof must think of the student (other things being equal). At least it means that he/she cared enough to write more than the minimum. FWIW, I won't write a letter for a student without seeing the student's resume. I want to know things such as whether the student working while taking classes. A student who can earn a 3.0+ GPA while working 20-30 hours week impresses the heck out of me. As someone who came from a relatively privileged background I have a real admiration for such students. I don't know how some of them manage to juggle their academic, familial & work lives. If they're doing that, I think it should be noted in a letter. Ed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University Office 610-436-3151 Home: 610-363-1939 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and herpetolculturist.............. in approximate order of importance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
