Information for Letters of Recommendation

Getting Good Letters of Recommendations
In order for me to write a high quality letter of recommendation for you, you will need to do some work.  The more I know about your goals and activities, the better letter I will be able to write. SO... if you want a thorough, well-written recommendation I advise the following:
  *Give me the information requested below (email it to me, or collect it together in a folder or large envelope).
*If it is month(s) before the application deadlines, and you are not sure to which schools or other businesses you really want to apply or you have not begun work on your application/ essay, wait to give me the materials until you have firmed these things up more.
*As deadlines approach, please feel free to check with me to make sure the letters are getting in on time.
 
Written materials that I will need in order to write a good letter:
 

1. Organized, written information about yourself, about past activities, accomplishments, interests, or future goals, will be very helpful to me:
  ____•   A copy of your transcript or degree audit (an unofficial copy is fine).
____•   A copy of your resume (if you have one), or a list of activities and relevant experiences.

____•   A copy of your personal statement/ essay (talking about your strengths, experiences, goals) even if it's in a very rough form.
____•   Any relevant test scores (GRE for grad school, MCAT for med school)
 

2. Remind me of anything specific on which you are hoping I will comment (e.g., classes you’ve taken from me, particular personal qualities, the great paper you wrote in my class,  the leadership you demonstrated...).  It will help me if you bluntly point out your strengths.  Don’t be modest here!
 

3. A list of all the schools or other locations to which you want a letter sent -if you are applying to multiple places.  For each place, list its deadline,  and what type of program (e.g., “clinical”) it is.
 

4. For each on-line recommendation, please fill in information about me (name, address, phone number, etc.).  I have included that information below.
 

5. For each recommendation that is not on-line, you need to give me:
____ an addressed, stamped envelope for each place to which I will be sending the recommendation.  If a given school wants me to give the letter to you so that you can include it with the rest of your materials, make sure
to write that school’s name on the envelope (otherwise you could end up with several envelopes and not know which school gets which envelope).
 

____any checklist or waiver letter that the school or business requires (many schools have checklists that they want the professor to fill out).  Make sure that you have:
a)  completed the section on the top for the student to fill out (where you
indicate whether you waive your right to see the recommendation), and
b)  filled in my name, address, phone number, etc, often required at the end of
the form.

 
******************
 

The information about me that you probably will need for either on-line or paper recommendations is:
 

Name:  Donna K. McMillan, Ph.D., L.P.             
Title:  Associate Professor of Psychology
Institution/Address:  St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue,  Northfield, MN
55057-1098
Phone number:  507-786-3589   
Fax number:  507-786-3774
Email: mcmillan@stolaf.edu
  ***  IMPORTANT NOTE:  Because of the number of letters I write each year, I really need you to fill out the information about me.  This is true for on-line or paper letters of recommendation. Why, you might ask? In the middle of one year I counted that I had already written recommendations for over 55 different students. Even if each of those students applied to only three places, that’s 165 letters! (And of course sometimes students apply to 10 or more graduate schools.) That adds up to a lot of time I would have to spend writing in my name, address, and phone numbers. Please do not give me your materials until you have filled in these portions. 
Thank you!