[Prevscilist] FW: cpsylist: Best Practices for Requesting Letters of Recommendation

[Leslie Leve]

Greetings Prev sci students,

I am co-opting the very informative email Dr. Ellen McWhirter composed for CPSY students regarding scholarships and best practices in terms of requesting letters of recommendation. As we discussed in class the other week, check-out the COE and University scholarships, and if you decide to apply for these (or others), please attend to the guidelines below when you ask for letters of recommendation.

Thank you,
Leslie

***********
Leslie Leve, PhD (she/her)
Alumni Faculty Professor, College of Education
Associate Vice President
Associate Director, Prevention Science Institute
Program Director, Prevention Science graduate programs
University of Oregon

Phone: 541-346-9601
Web: https://levelab.uoregon.edu/
 https://education.uoregon.edu/people/prevsci/leve
Member, National Scientific Council on Adolescence, https://developingadolescent.org/

The University of Oregon is located on Kalapuya Ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. Today, descendants are citizens of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon, and they continue to make important contributions in their communities, at UO, and across the land we now refer to as Oregon.




From: <cpsylist-bounces at lists.uoregon.edu> on behalf of Ellen McWhirter <ellenmcw at uoregon.edu>
Date: Monday, November 30, 2020 at 9:14 AM
To: "cpsylist at lists.uoregon.edu" <cpsylist at lists.uoregon.edu>
Subject: cpsylist: Best Practices for Requesting Letters of Recommendation

Dear Student Colleagues,

Scholarship Season is upon us! Apply for scholarships!

COE scholarship letters are due February 12, 2021  (See https://coe.uoregon.edu/scholarships/college-of-ed-scholarships/).
University scholarships are due March 1, 2021 (see https://financialaid.uoregon.edu/graduate_law )

Please follow the best practices below when you request letters of recommendation for scholarships (or for anything else):

When you ask a faculty member for a letter of recommendation

  1.  Ask a minimum of 3 weeks in advance, except in very unusual circumstances.
  2.  Include in the initial request email:

  1.  Your updated VC without any typos in it (get it?) Put your name in the file name
  2.  Names, email addresses, organizations, and deadlines for each scholarship and any required supplemental forms. Fill out all parts of supplemental forms that you can and sign & scan & send with your initial email. List any directions such as “must be sealed and signed across the seal” or “Please email directly to moneybags at org.edu<mailto:moneybags at org.edu>”. Put your name on all file names of attachments (imagine how many attachments faculty receive named “CV” or “final draft”).
  3.  A statement of your career goals as they relate to scholarship criteria and list of bullet points the faculty member could highlight in writing about you that make you a great candidate for the particular scholarship(s) you are applying for. We appreciate humility; we also want to be specific in describing your strengths. Help us do that.
Include as well:
How long you have known the faculty member (we forget what year you entered the program after a few years!)
What classes you took from them


  1.  Do send polite gentle reminder emails to the letter writers (reminders occurring before the deadline are more effective than those occurring after the deadline).
       4.   Do not send multiple emails with different pieces of information in each email. If you forget something, re-send with all of the attachments so we have everything in a single email.
       5. If you decide NOT to apply for a scholarship, IMMEDIATELY let your letter-writers know.
       6. If you receive a scholarship, please let us know!

There are many, many scholarships. There are many donors, development staff, other staff and faculty who dedicate much time and energy to generate, fund, and manage scholarships, as well as to read hundreds of applications and select awardees. Low numbers of applications suggest that students are not in need of financial support. Apply!!!

Thank you in advance for following these best practices.

Ellen



*********************************************
Ellen Hawley McWhirter, Ph.D.
Ann Swindells Professor of Counseling Psychology
Director, Spanish Language Specialization
5251 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5251
(541) 346-2443 (office)
(541) 346-6778 (fax)
https://education.uoregon.edu/people/faculty/ellenmcw

I support all students regardless of immigration status or country of origin. As a member of the UO Dreamers Working Group, I support Dreamer students and promote their sense of belonging and safety as they pursue their higher education goals. For more information and resources please visit our Dreamers page (https://www.uoregon.edu/uo-dreamers) and the Immigration FAQs page (http://international.uoregon.edu/immigration_faq ). Remember, when interacting with faculty, staff, and offices around campus you are never required to reveal your status.

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