Resources for Recommenders

From MIT's article on How to write good letters of recommendation for recommenders:

"Try to address the following questions in your evaluation:

• What is the context of your relationship with the applicant? If you do not know the applicant well and are only able to write a brief summary, please acknowledge this.

• Has the student demonstrated a willingness to take intellectual risks and go beyond the normal classroom experience?

• Does the applicant have any unusual competence, talent, or leadership abilities?

• What motivates this person? What excites them?

• How does the applicant interact with teachers? With peers? Describe their personality and social skills.

• What will you remember most about this person?

• If you have knowledge of [university], what leads you to believe [university] is a good match for this person? How might they fit into the [university] community and grow from the [university] experience?

• Has the applicant ever experienced disappointment or failure? If so, how did they react?

• Are there any unusual family or community circumstances of which we should be aware?"