Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!uwvax!speedy!chavey From: chavey@speedy.WISC.EDU (Darrah Chavey) Newsgroups: comp.edu Subject: Re: recommendations from teachers Message-ID: <3934@spool.WISC.EDU> Date: Mon, 20-Jul-87 11:24:19 EDT Article-I.D.: spool.3934 Posted: Mon Jul 20 11:24:19 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 21-Jul-87 04:44:08 EDT References: <6633@mhuxu.UUCP> Sender: news@spool.WISC.EDU Lines: 25 Summary: My approach In article <6633@mhuxu.UUCP>, davims@mhuxu.UUCP writes: > 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? > I have had weak students ask me for letters of recommendation. I am always careful to point out to them that, although I can say (good stuff), I will be obligated to also say (bad stuff). Here, the good stuff and the bad stuff depend on the student. I have never had such a student reconsider asking me to write the letter. I assume that they already knew my letter would be luke warm, and they didn't know anyone else from whom they could get a stronger letter. It sounds like these professors just assumed that such was the case and didn't bother to ask. Darrah Chavey Computer Sciences Department University of Wisconsin, Madison WI chavey@cs.wisc.edu ...{ihnp4,seismo,allegra}!uwvax!chavey