Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rutgers!labrea!Pescadero!mason From: mason@Pescadero.ARPA (Tony Mason) Newsgroups: comp.edu Subject: Re: recommendations from teachers Message-ID: <788@Pescadero.ARPA> Date: Tue, 21-Jul-87 19:31:06 EDT Article-I.D.: Pescader.788 Posted: Tue Jul 21 19:31:06 1987 Date-Received: Thu, 23-Jul-87 05:33:50 EDT References: <6633@mhuxu.UUCP> <3934@spool.WISC.EDU> Reply-To: mason@Pescadero.UUCP (Tony Mason) Organization: Stanford University Lines: 37 >> My boyfriend is a May 1987 graduate in CS. He asked some of his former >> teachers for recommendations, and they said they'd be happy to oblige. >> When my boyfriend received his letters of recommendations from the teachers, >> they turned out not to be "recommendations" at all. They said some pretty >> nasty things about him that outweighed any good points. >> >> To the professors out there: Personally, what do you do if a student you >> don't have a high opinion of asks you for a letter of recommendation? > > It sounds like these professors >just assumed that such was the case and didn't bother to ask. Sometimes, maybe they do it out of spite. When I was applying to college, out of high school, I asked about seven teachers to write letters for me. Of those, I had one who decided to "get even" and write bad letters. Maybe this can occur as a fluke, but the guy who wrote those letters I had had for seven classes over a span of two and a half years. The letter he wrote was caustic. It didn't mention ANY good points, and he tore me down as much as he could. However, he didn't mention anything to me when he said he would write them (he wrote *three*.) Why? I've been asking myself that question ever since. He couldn't even say I was a bad student - I had a 4.0 from his classes, and a 3.9 overall. But he found something bad to say. Worst of all, I had trusted him. The guy was my debate coach for two and a half years. Just goes to show you cannot trust anybody. Tony Mason DSG Stanford Univ. mason@pescadero (But, I still went to college, got a degree, and now am out in the real world.)