RHODES, MARSHALL, & MITCHELL SCHOLARSHIP
REQUEST FOR LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

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Name of Applicant ________________________________________________________


Candidate for ______Marshall ______Mitchell _____Rhodes Scholarship(s)

The student requesting this recommendation must check one of the following and sign below. (Please note that recommendations for the Marshall Scholarship are confidential under all circumstances.)

_____I waive all claims to access to letters of recommendation written in response to this request.

____________________________________
Applicant’s signature date

_____I do not waive access to letters of recommendation written in response to this request.

____________________________________
Applicant’s signature date


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Name of Recommender _______________________________ Title______________________


Address ______________________________________________

Phone_____________


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NOTE TO RECOMMENDER: Regardless of which of the three major competitions the candidate has entered, one letter of recommendation from you will at this stage suffice. If the University endorses the candidate for two or three scholarships, an original letter will be needed for each of them.

Because the high stakes generate stiff competition the Selection Committee hopes you will find time for writing a searching and detailed statement about the candidate. The Committee will be especially grateful for evidence concerning the following aspects of the candidate’s achievements and qualities: academic performance, breadth and depth of professional training; capacity for further academic growth; analytical and critical ability; effectiveness in oral and written communication; promise of scientific, literary, or artistic creativity; self-reliance, self-discipline and emotional maturity; cultural breadth; physical and social adaptability; ethical strength; concern for others; potential for leadership or significant social service; health and physical vigor. Other things that will be of help to the committee include:

1. As much detail as you can provide.
2. Information about the course or program in which you have had a relationship with the student to put your comments into context.
3. Anything you can contribute that speaks to the appropriateness of the chosen U.K. program for this student or to this student’s likelihood to thrive in the British environment.
4. Evidence of intellectual or personal growth you have seen in this student.
5. Comparisons with other specific groups of students you have taught. “A good student…” is not very helpful; “one of the top 2% of the senior concentrators in the ___________ Department at the University of Michigan… ” is much more useful.
6. Do not list things on the student’s résumé or transcript. The committee will have both.
7. Use letterhead stationery.

Please send your letter, together with this sheet, to the Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, 3084 Fleming Administration Building, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. The due date for the preliminary application phase is 4:00 p.m, on the last Friday in March. Letters requested for the second phase of the application process have differing deadlines depending on the scholarship. The Provost’s Council on Student Honors may not be able to use letters received after these deadlines. Contact Gretchen Weir at 734-763-8123 or rmm@umich.edu if you have questions.