Letter
of recommendation form
To the applicant: Please complete this form and give it to the
Endorser. Please indicate to which area you are applying.
Federal law that became effective in November 1974 gave students and
former students the right to inspect their educational records. An
Amendment in January 1975 gave students the right to waive access to
their letters of recommendation when it was argued that many employers
place more trust in confidential letters. The corollary to this
principle is that some individuals who write letters of recommendation may feel more comfortable expressing
themselves if such letters are treated confidentially.
If you believe that it might be to your advantage to waive your right
to read this information in your file, so indicate below. If
you sign the waiver, our professional staff will continue to give you
information about the contents of your file at your request,
but will not show you the letters or identify the individuals making
specific comments.
To insure the confidentiality of this letter, I waive my rights under
the Buckley Amendment to inspect it.
___ I waive my rights. ___ I do not waive my rights
Signature _______________________________________________________
To the endorser: In order to protect confidentiality, please
place your letter AND THIS FORM in a sealed envelope, sign your name
across the sealed edge, and return to the applicant. The applicant will
include your sealed recommendation with his/her application materials.
________________________________________________ (applicant)
is applying for admission to and/or departmental financial support from the _______________________ (area)
in educational psychology at the University of
Minnesota and has indicated that you would write a letter of
recommendation. Your frank appraisal of this student may help
significantly in our attempt to determine whether his/her acceptance
would be beneficial to him/her and to the graduate program.
The application deadline for this program is ___________________
(date); late recommendations may jeopardize review of an applicant's
file. In your letter, please state how long and in what capacity you
have known the applicant. Your letter should include your frank
assessment of the applicant in as many of the following areas as
possible:
- Qualifications compared to those of other students you have known
(please cite your reference group, e.g., seniors at the University
of Minnesota).
- Potential for completing a graduate program.
- Professional promise.
- Personal strengths and weaknesses, interpersonal skills, and
maturity.
- Ability to express views orally and in writing.
- Ability to conceptualize and integrate knowledge.
- Prior experience and performance in research, teaching, or applied
areas.
- Primary interests (in research, teaching, or applied areas).
- Admissibility to your own graduate program.
- Additional information that you think the committee should have.
Thank you for your help. If you have any questions, please feel free
to contact us.
Revised August 2005
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