People

For my advisees

I have set up a special page with some helpful links, and some potentially helpful advice. Please check out that webpage, and contact me with questions. It is especially useful if my advisees look over those resources in the weeks prior to "advising weeks" each semester.

Letters of Reference

If you are seeking a letter of reference from me, I won't likely decline. For most students who ask, I can write strong letters of reference because I have strongly positive experiences with them. If you request a letter of reference from me, it is best to send me an email with the following information:

• A quick summary of how we know one another.
  • Did you have me in BI111 three years ago? Were you an undergraduate who worked in my or a colleague's lab at some point? The odds are that I almost certainly remember you (at least if you were working in my lab!), but it is always good to give me specifics so I can try to track down information that spans the length of our relationship.
• A quick summary of what you are applying for.
  • Veterinary School Admission? An internship with a conservation organization? Graduate School admission? A summer REU opportunity?
• Due dates and addresses (email, postal, or web addresses) for all letters needed.
  • Be sure to give me at least 2 weeks notice.
• A copy of your CV, your transcript (unofficial is fine), and any sorts of "personal statements" you might also be submitting.
  • These things help me write more effusively about you and your qualifications.

About "waiving your right to review the letter"

Students often have the option to waive their right to review their reference letters. If you haven't thought about this too much, please read on. I don't insist that people waive their rights to review the letter, but I strongly recommend it because I think it is in your best interest (at least when it comes to the letters I write). Here is why:

Letters of reference (when strong) can have the most impact when the candidate has waived their right to review them. Think about it from both the perspective of the referee and from the requester (the institution that wants the reference). A referee might not feel comfortable making any statements of caution about a candidate if the candidate has the option to read the letter later - that is understandable, even if it only affects a referee subconsciously. Now when an institution looks at a strong letter of reference they might say, "Oh sure, the referee said lots of good things about the candidate, and nothing bad about the candidate...but the candidate retained their right to see the letter...so we have to take all those strong statements with a grain of salt."

With that in mind, the main reason I strongly recommend that my students waive their rights to see my letters is because it is in their best interest to do so. I will always be frank with students who request letters - if I have any reservations about a student's ability or fitness, I would let them know before I agree to write the letter. Students will generally know what will be in the letter and so should feel comfortable waiving that right, and thereby improve the perception of my letter by the university or employer that is requesting the letter.