Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Both sides previous revision Previous revision Next revision | Previous revision | ||
requesting_a_reference_letter_from_me [2020/01/25 18:13] – filination | requesting_a_reference_letter_from_me [2024/02/19 21:22] (current) – [Requesting a reference letter from me] filination | ||
---|---|---|---|
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
====== Requesting a reference letter from me ====== | ====== Requesting a reference letter from me ====== | ||
- | In every course I receive | + | Every year and in every course I receive |
+ | To make things clearer and to save us all time, the following is my policy regarding reference letters: | ||
+ | * I generally do not give personalized reference letters for large fundamental undergraduate courses (e.g., PSYC2020), because the course structure does not allow me sufficient individualized interaction with each student to truly talk the student. To be able to do so, we would need to have met and talked in-depth during the semester and/or started working on something together. | ||
+ | * If you did a personalized project in one of my advanced classes (PSYC3052/ | ||
+ | * If you did a thesis with me and did well (A- and above), indicating that we had no major issues, ofcourse I'm happy to support you. | ||
+ | * If you're a coauthor on a joint manuscript resulting from your work in my courses, then I am happy to support you. | ||
+ | * If you did a thesis with me submitted to PCIRR that received a Stage 1 in-principle acceptance, then ofcourse I'm happy to support you. | ||
+ | * For all other cases - It's best that you try and find other professors to provide you with a reference letter. | ||
- | I generally do not give personalized reference letters for large fundamental undergraduate courses, because the course structure does not allow me sufficient individualized interaction with each student to truly talk the student. To be able to do so, we would need to have met and talked in-depth during the semester and/or started working on something together. If you are still interested in adding me as a referee, then please send me a notification that you will do so and I will provide a short letter indicating that you took part in my class and will shortly comment about your overall performance in the course. | ||
- | If you did a personalized | + | (Template for students who did their thesis with me or who took my PSYC3052/ |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ====== General requests/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | - Think carefully how many applications you want me to help you with, I have my limits. I have hundreds | ||
+ | - For taught course student: I will support up to __**2**__ applications. | ||
+ | - For guided thesis UG/MA students: Up to __**5**__ applications. | ||
+ | - For students who published with me: Up to __**5**__ applications. | ||
+ | - For guided mPhil students: Up to __**12**__ applications. | ||
+ | - For PhD students/ | ||
+ | - I will only do things **electronically**. | ||
+ | - Please do not ask me to do reference letters that require mailing in post/ | ||
+ | - Please do not ask me to meet me in person to sign anything. | ||
+ | - Both are a problem, please understand. I simply do not have the time to try and meet 18th century requests, and to schedule meetings on this do this for every student that goes through | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== Detailed guidelines ====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | In such a case please follow the instructions on [[https:// | ||
< | < | ||
- | * Plan ahead. | + | * Plan ahead. |
* Be organized. | * Be organized. | ||
* If you decide to send more applications out, just ask us and send all the materials we need again. | * If you decide to send more applications out, just ask us and send all the materials we need again. | ||
Line 16: | Line 40: | ||
More relevant guidelines (adopted from [[http:// | More relevant guidelines (adopted from [[http:// | ||
< | < | ||
- | - You must have fully completed | + | - You must have __fully completed__ |
- | - You should have earned a grade of an A in my classes. A high grade in my class indicates that I think highly of your academic skills, which makes for a stronger letter on my part. If you have earned a grade less than an A-, you should carefully consider your request - it is better to ask for a letter from another professor in whose class you especially excelled. If you still feel I'm your best bet, I'm willing to try and help, but please note that I'll be very clear about your performance in my class. | + | - You should have earned a grade of an A in my classes. A high grade in my class indicates that I think highly of your academic skills, which makes for a stronger letter on my part. If you have earned a grade less than an A, you should carefully consider your request - it is better to ask for a letter from another professor in whose class you especially excelled. If you still feel I'm your best bet, I'm willing to try and help, but please note that I'll be very clear about your performance in my class. |
- I must have a sense of you as a person beyond the letter grade that appears in my records. Especially for large lecture-style courses, where it is difficult for professors to know their students well individually, | - I must have a sense of you as a person beyond the letter grade that appears in my records. Especially for large lecture-style courses, where it is difficult for professors to know their students well individually, | ||
- I will only write recommendation letters when you have signed a waiver of your right to examine the letter. When I write letters of recommendation, | - I will only write recommendation letters when you have signed a waiver of your right to examine the letter. When I write letters of recommendation, | ||
- | - I need at least two weeks to craft and submit a letter for you. Faculty schedules are busy, and I need as much lead time as possible. Two weeks is the minimum amount of lead time for me to consider writing for you. As the saying goes: “Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part”. | + | - I need at least two weeks to edit and submit a letter for you. Faculty schedules are busy, and I need as much lead time as possible. Two weeks is the minimum amount of lead time for me to consider writing for you. As the saying goes: “Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part”. |
If I do agree to write a recommendation, | If I do agree to write a recommendation, | ||
+ | - Take the template file (see above), adjust that to your case, add as much as possible about your specific case, remove whatever isn’t relevant necessary, include as much as possible about what you’re doing or have done with me, and make that together with the other things in the page above available to me. | ||
- Organize all the pertinent information together. Information that I need to know per letter includes: nature of your application (a description of the organization/ | - Organize all the pertinent information together. Information that I need to know per letter includes: nature of your application (a description of the organization/ | ||
+ | - Please also attach an up-to-date clear photo of yourself to help me remember who you are. | ||
- If you are applying to more than one program at a time, it is helpful for you to give me a detailed, organized list of all the sites. If there are unique features about a site that you want me to attend to in my letter (e.g., a job is asking for applicants with a strong statistical background), | - If you are applying to more than one program at a time, it is helpful for you to give me a detailed, organized list of all the sites. If there are unique features about a site that you want me to attend to in my letter (e.g., a job is asking for applicants with a strong statistical background), | ||
- | - Don’t ask for a recommendation letter unless you’re certain you’re going to follow through with the rest of your application. First, be sure that you’re eligible for the position by reading the fine print. If a summer clinical internship wants applicants who are fluent in Russian and you have never taken any Russian, then you are not eligible and should not be asking me to write a letter for you. Second, do as much homework as possible to make sure that you like the job/ | + | - **Don’t ask for a recommendation letter unless you’re certain you’re going to follow through with the rest of your application**. First, be sure that you’re eligible for the position by reading the fine print. If a summer clinical internship wants applicants who are fluent in Russian and you have never taken any Russian, then you are not eligible and should not be asking me to write a letter for you. Second, do as much homework as possible to make sure that you like the job/ |
- So that I can write a full and effective letter, it is helpful for me to have additional information about you when possible and when relevant such as: an unofficial copy of your transcript, your résumé, a copy of the cover letter that will accompany your job application, | - So that I can write a full and effective letter, it is helpful for me to have additional information about you when possible and when relevant such as: an unofficial copy of your transcript, your résumé, a copy of the cover letter that will accompany your job application, | ||
- If your application involves a funding request to an agency to support independent research (Fulbright Scholarship, | - If your application involves a funding request to an agency to support independent research (Fulbright Scholarship, | ||
+ | - If you require me to fill a form, please enter all details that you know in advance, and leave only the essentials to me. I expect you to fill in all fields like: Referee name, address, phone number, etc. (see below), and any general details. Help me help you. | ||
</ | </ | ||
Line 36: | Line 63: | ||
* Given Name - Gilad | * Given Name - Gilad | ||
* Preferred Name - Fili | * Preferred Name - Fili | ||
- | * Contact Email - [email protected] | + | * Contact Email - [email protected] (typically they expect institutional email addresses) and [email protected]. |
* Telephone number - +85239174151 | * Telephone number - +85239174151 | ||
* Correspondence Address: 622 Department of Psychology, Jockey Club Tower, Centennial campus, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam rd. Hong Kong SAR | * Correspondence Address: 622 Department of Psychology, Jockey Club Tower, Centennial campus, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam rd. Hong Kong SAR | ||
Line 42: | Line 69: | ||
* Position: Assistant Professor | * Position: Assistant Professor | ||
* Relationship to Applicant: Course instructor / thesis advisor | * Relationship to Applicant: Course instructor / thesis advisor | ||
- | * Submission Method (Online (Preferred)/ | + | * Submission Method (Online (Preferred)/ |
- | + | ||
- | ====== General requests/ | + | |
- | + | ||
- | - Think carefully how many applications you want me to help you with, I have my limits. I have hundreds of students, if I complete reference letters for all of them to all places they' | + | |
- | - For course instructor: I will support up to 2 applications, | + | |
- | - For thesis students: Up to 5 applications. | + | |
- | - I will only do things electronically. Please do not ask me to do reference letters that require mailing/ | + | |