Hi Guys!
I'm still frantic with school (mid-terms for me and standardized tests for the boys) this week and am trying to apply for a couple of scholarships to pay for the rest of my schooling. I emailed 3 professors to write letters of recommendation for me. My mentoring professor (the one who will advise and oversee my dissertation) said she would SEND one, but she was too busy to write it. She actually said, "I would be delighted to SEND a letter, but I am swamped and you will have
to write it and email it to me. I then will embellish it and put it on letterhead and send it. Be sure to brag about yourself... it is a COMPETITION."

I really, really want/need the $10,000 bucks to wrap up my schooling because I want to finish debt free. However, I feel really silly writing a glowing letter full of praise for...myself. So, would any of you lovely and talented women care to take a stab at it. Here are the guidelines:
Recommendation letters should-
*indicate the applicant's potential for doctoral study
*note student qualities that will contribute to successful completion
of doctoral study
*comment on the student's level of commitment to a career as a
teacher-inverstigator
*explain other factors that may contribute to the applicant's
potential for career success.

Any generic sentences/paragraphs would be great, then I'll tweak it to be more personally about me (since none of you obviously know anything academically about me) and then she'll tweak it a little more. I just feel really stupid writing a recommendation about me for me. GRRR!

Thanks for any advice or suggestions! I'll keep you posted.

By Heaventree on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 09:59 pm:

O.K. so I'm no writer. I had to write my letter of resignation the other day and was stumped. I googled "Letters of Resignations" and found one that suited my situation on the first try.

Here are some Recommendation letters that I found, I typed in "Sample Letters of Reccommendation doctoral study". I'm sure you can steal a few lines from these or at the very least it might get you started. Good luck.

http://businessmajors.about.com/od/samplerecommendations/a/NewSample08.htm

http://www.boxfreeconcepts.com/reco/sample.html#Sample%20Hospital%20Administrator%20Recommendation

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 07:55 am:

Pam - Bubbels is an EXCELLENT writer!!!! EMail her........she isn't on the board much anymore.

By Bubbels~admin on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 09:05 am:

Here you go:

I have known Ms. Pam Tenaglia for the last three years and have had numerous opportunities to assess her performance in my capacity as her instructor and mentor. Pam Tenaglia is an extremely intelligent, young woman who is dedicated to her chosen career and possesses a passion for knowledge that motivates her to perform to the highest expectations always. She is thorough in her preparation for every class and has ranked in the top 5% of her class throughout her academic career.

As a human being, Ms. Tenaglia has always come across as being mature beyond her years, extremely hard working, and enthusiastic. She possesses admirable leadership qualities and is looked up to by her peers. She is well liked and respected by both faculty and students.

I am convinced that Pam Tenaglia meets and in most cases exceeds the qualifications for this scholarship. I believe that she will do great things in her chosen field and strongly recommend Ms. Pam Tenaglia with pride for your scholarship.

I can be reached at the above numbers to discuss her candidature, if you so desire.

Pam, I'm concerned that you should probably include more details and, in particular, an example of one or two projects where your performance was outstanding, so maybe you can add that. Hopefully, this will help you get started though. Here's another link to more tips about writing recommendation letters:
http://businessmajors.about.com/cs/recoletters/a/WritingRecoLetr.htm

GOOD LUCK!!!! You're a shoe-in for this. I just have a feeling ...

By Pamt on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 10:09 pm:

Thanks so much for the links and the start to the letter. I have spring break next week and will try to get all of this stuff together. I can't believe she is making me write my own recommendation...GRRRRR! Anyway, thanks! Hope I have some good news to share in a couple of months.