Writing Effective Letters of Recommendation
for Rhodes, Truman... and Beyond
It’s tempting to think that exceptional grades, exemplary participation in campus and
extracurricular activities, and a strong scholarship application will speak for themselves.
However, given the level of competition for Rhodes, Truman, NSF, Mellon, and other
national fellowships, this is simply not true.
Each year, approximately 600 candidates are nominated for 80 Truman Scholarships;
1,200 to 1,400 candidates apply for Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships. Thirty-two are
chosen as Rhodes Scholars; forty become Marshall Scholars. Selection of finalists is
based on a candidate's personal statement, academic record, and letters of
recommendation. Quite simply, the committees aim to select the very best scholar
leaders from across the United States.
Virtually every candidate who is nominated by his or her university has a 3.7+ GPA, a
fairly extensive record of leadership and community service, and has demonstrated the
potential for future success through research, creative work, early involvement in
government or professional activities ... the list goes on. Often, little separates the very
good candidates from the outstanding candidates—on paper. Letters of recommendation
can be the decisive factor in a committee's decision to advance a candidate to the
interview. The letters, therefore, are critical to the candidate's chances for success in the
competition.
Your letter must be a very special one, written especially for this student and for this
competition. The best letters are from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pages in length, and take several
hours, often more than a day to write. You may find it helpful to sit down with the
candidate and discuss his or her academic work, extracurricular activities, and future
educational and career goals.
An effective letter will:
• State how long, and in what capacity you've known the candidate.
• Describe the candidate's personality and work ethic, using concrete examples that
demonstrate a strong relationship.
• Be vivid and specific, including personal memories of the candidate, suggestive
anecdotes, something to indicate that you know this candidate very well and think highly
of him or her. Letters that matter to selection committees bring the candidate to life on
the page.
• Describe and evaluate in detail the student's scholarly work, especially a major research
project. The letter should help the selection committee understand the significance of this
research, the contribution it has made, and include examples of the student's ability to
make future contributions as a scientist, policy maker, environmentalist, etc.
Address the scholarship criteria specifically in ways that demonstrate your abundant
confidence in the student and your knowledge of the candidate beyond grades and
classroom performance.
• Provide evidence of the candidate's leadership and service: the more concrete examples
that you can give of a candidate's public service (altruism, volunteerism, activism) the
better. The most effective letters use narrative technique to highlight the student in action,
as a teaching assistant, researcher, volunteer, innovator, and activist.
• Reflect, refer to, and elaborate on themes in the candidate's essay. A generic letter of
support is not helpful in these competitions.
• Rank the candidate in relation to other students you have taught, and if possible,
compare the candidate to Rhodes, Marshall, Truman or other Scholars you have known.
• Comment on the likelihood that the candidate will prosper in graduate school, in a
tutorial-based learning environment (for Rhodes, Marshall, Gates Cambridge), as an
independent thinker and solo voyager (Watson), etc.
Avoid common pitfalls. Unhelpful letters will:
Focus more on the letter writer's own resume, achievements, and stringent standards, than
on the student's qualifications for the scholarship. Be so generic that almost anyone's
name could be inserted into the text of the letter.
Provide no more information than could be gleaned from the transcript and application,
or merely list the student's accomplishments without a sense of personal contact on the
referee's part.
For more information on writing letters of recommendation for specific scholarships, see
the Truman Foundation's advice to faculty representatives at
http://www.truman.gov/facuJty foundation let.html and consult Writing
Recommendations