My letter of recommendation from the Rickster

I am writing in support of (my name) to the PhD program in psychology at (School's name). James, as we call him, has never been a student in any class I have taught, and I have more of a personal relationship with him than a student-teacher relationship. However, I am more able than anyone else to evaluate and comment on his educational accomplishments, his intellectual ability, and his academic promises. I have known James for more than ten years, and have been his mentor and informal advisor for academic matters throughout this time.

Shortly after I met James, I encouraged him to attend Bucks County Community College, a I recognized that he was exceptionally bright and needed to get started on the college track. After an outstanding performance there, for which he received impressive accolades from his instructors, I encouraged him to apply to Muhlenberg College, a college for which I have a great deal of respect. Again, he did exceptionally well, and I heard many enthusiastic comments and high praise from several of his instructors. He even received the only perfect score ever acheived in one very difficult biology course.

James wants to continue his studies in psychology and earn a PhD., a lan that I not only enthusiastically support, but very strongly encourage him in. I have never met anyone more suited to an academic discipline than James is to psychology. He has an extraordinary intuitive connection to people and a remarkable insight into understanding and relating to them. He is exceptionally enthusiastic about pursuing and academic career in psychology. My field is not psychology, I am an applied mathematician and my research is in mathematical biology, but I am confident without a shadow of a doubt that psychology is the perfect discipline for James to pursue. I witnessed first-hand the enthusiasm he showed for the psychology courses he took at Bucks County Community College and Muhlenberg College, and I saw how well he did in every one of these. James has great potential for being an outstanding member of the psychology profession.

There are many additional indications of James' intellectual strength and potential for sucess in a graduate program. He writes extremely well, at a level that places him among the best I have ever seen in a student. He has written a large body of poetry over the years, as well as short stories, and while I am not qualified to critique them, they are deeply moving, exceptionally insightful, and extremely well written. James is very talented musically, and this has been recognized and encouraged by his music teachers throughout his primary and secondary schooling, and his artistic talent has won him statewide recognition in major competitions. James is very well read, with strong intellectual curiousity. Finally he is exceptionally pleasant- a real people person- which may not be so important for someone applying for graduate studies in mathematics, but which I expect is a real asset for a fututre PhD in psychology.

While I am recommending James to you, not as one of his teachers, but, as someone who knows him in a more personal way, I recognize that it is my responsibility to him not to encourage him in a pursuit such as this unless I am thoroughly convinced that he is eminently qualified, and that as an academic it is my responsibility to help you evaluate your candidates accurately so that you can fill your program with the best students possible. I have been a professor at (school name) for over 30 years, where I have also served as chairman of the mathematics department. During this time, I have taught numerous outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. I have been the dissertation advisor to many graduate students, who no occupy positions at various universities, as well as at prominent research facilities such as the Mayo Clinic and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I am a graduate of Brown University, have a master's degree from Princeton University, and received my PhD in applied mathematics from Brown. It is with this background and experience that I write to urge you to consider James' application favorably. James would benefit greatly from being a graduate student in psychology at (school's name) , he would be an asset to your program, and I am completely confident that you would be very pleased to have him as a student.

Very truly yours,


(The Rickster's real name)