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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