写一封出色的推荐信

Applicants for such prestigious and highly competitive national awards are required to have 3-8 letters of recommendation depending on the award, and these letters are critical to the deliberative process of selecting candidates and ultimately winners of these national fellowships and scholarships.

看到 这个文档 for 2022 guidelines for Marshall, Mitchell, and Rhodes letters of recommendation.

Following is a list of tips and suggestions for letters of recommendation for national awards:

1. Different scholarships and fellowships seek candidates with different characteristics, 但也有一些共同的因素, 信件的格式和长度也很相似. Tailoring recommendation letters to the individual and the award will enhance the chances for success for a candidate.
2. The most meaningful letters are written by faculty and others who know the candidate well and understand how s/he is uniquely qualified for a particular award. 知名人士的来信(如.g., 参议员, 市长, governors) who do not know the candidate well tend to be formulaic and not of as much value in the selection process as a letter from a recommender who does know the candidate and his/her unique qualifications well.
3. Recommenders should not feel that they must write letters just because they have been asked to.  Applicants understand that recommenders can and should say “no" if (1) they do not know the candidate well enough to write a specific, 详细的, and strongly supportive letter; (2) they know the candidate but do not see him/her as strongly qualified for the award; (3) they do not have time to write a strong letter that can be submitted to meet deadlines.
4. Letters with just warm but just general “support" for the applicant not only do not help but can have a negative effect on the candidate’s chances.
5. Letters from family, friends, and/or relatives are never a good idea (They are obviously biased).

信件中要包含的信息

1. 申请人是否有杰出表现, 说明申请人是如何做到这一点很重要. Reviewers look for specific details that demonstrate how the applicant is different and better qualified than others. Please provide specific actions and not just general qualities of the applicant.  Talk about this student in comparison to students and groups of students with whom you’ve worked.
2. 为教师, if information about your department or your course provides added information or context to the applicant’s accomplishments, 包括这个.  请避免, 然而, just providing a description of the content of your course and the student’s grade.
3. Without including a grade for a course an applicant may have taken from you, it is helpful for the recommender to indicate the applicant’s level of performance in a class, e.g.他是这个班的前三名学生之一."
4. Recommenders who can speak to the appropriateness of the applicant’s choice of a particular award should certainly provide this information, particularly if the recommender has graduated from or worked at that institution.
5. Applicants are expected to provide in their personal statements information—“a story"—about where they have come from, 他们现在在哪里, and how this fits with their desire to study/pursue a given award.  Recommenders can support and enhance this information with further specifics.  要做到这一点, it is helpful to see a draft of the application materials—personal statement, 建议的学习计划-无论申请人计划提交什么. 推荐信支持, 验证, and enhance what applicants say about themselves and their proposals.
6. Address the individual’s growth and potential growth with specific examples.  把候选人的成就放在背景中.  例如, if an applicant was a particularly high achiever in your organization or class, 解释申请人的与众不同之处.
7. It is okay to brag about an applicant, and it is especially helpful for the more modest applicant.  Again putting the information into context and describing in detail will go a long way in supporting the applicant.
8. 请坦诚但不要消极.  Reviewers are looking for a realistic evaluation of the applicant but negative information is a “killer." If you have negative things to write about an applicant, do not offer to write on their behalf.

附加一般指引

1. Letters should generally be 1-2 pages in length (single spaced) but no more than 3 pages.  为了这些推荐信, selection committees need information that will help them know the student and why this student should be selected. Note: For online letters of recommendation there is sometimes a space/word limit (e.g.(马歇尔奖学金的字数限制为1000字).
2. 请尽可能使用信笺抬头.
3. Please address the letter to the selection committee for each award, e.g., “To Marshall Selection Committee," or “To Rhodes Selection Committee."适用于申请多个奖项的申请人, 信件的内容可能相同或相似, but please be careful to address each letter to the appropriate selection committee.

Your support of 十大正规网赌平台 students and alumni in their application for these prestigious and highly competitive awards is critical to their success and your efforts are very much appreciated.  如果您有问题或想了解更多信息, please feel free to contact the director of the Office of 国家 and 国际奖学金 at jlocke@tbc007.net.