Have you ever written a LOR?

[EyesOfTheWorld]

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Hey guys!

So last fall I served as a learning assistant, which is like a TA but we're undergrads and we sit in lecture to help out as well as grading, office hours, and the like. I had a lot of awesome and dedicated students who I really bonded with and today one of my favorite students emailed me asking for a LOR. It's not for med school or anything, obviously I couldn't write that, but it's for a scholarship opportunity.

I'm incredibly honored 🙂D)but I've never written a LOR before. I've never even read my own since that's frowned upon so I'm at a bit of a loss. I want to write something stellar because she's a hard worker and totally deserves a scholarship.

I'm doing some google research, but I figured I'd also ask you guys to see if you had any advice. So, if you've written a LOR tell me about it!

Also, the scholarship is for some religious organization. I want to praise her dedication to biology and her development as a scientific mind, hopefully that's not going to hurt her chances. 😱

 

[QofQuimica]

First, ask her to send you a copy of her CV and PS for the application. You can use those to help you craft the letter and make it personal.

In general, try to speak to her personal strengths (ex. compassion, work ethic, honesty, team player etc.) that would make someone feel she was a good candidate for joining their organization. It's best if you can give specific examples. Saying something like, "Sue took the initiative to organize extra review sessions prior to each exam, including reserving the room and arranging to have one of the LAs present to go over practice problems and help students with any questions they might be having. Several of her classmates mentioned how helpful these sessions were for them," is much better than saying, "Sue is a hard worker who made an A in biology last semester."