David Zureick-Brown's letter of recommendation information
Below is my checklist of things I ask for when I write a letter. (Some of these you may have already done, and some may not be appropriate for you; just do whichever make sense.)
- Please try to let me know at least a month in advance. (I will still try to accomodate shorter deadlines, but the letter is likely to be better if I have more time.)
- A list of links to the instructions/prompt for the letter writer, with deadlines.
- Instructions on how to submit (e.g., email to XXX, "you will receive an email", or send me a link, etc).
- Please also find out things like whether I need to mail a physical letter vs. upload to a web site, if my letter has a different deadline than the rest of your application, and any other special instructions.
- I have a strong preference for PDF or plain text documents. A spreadsheet is also ok but I strongly prefer PDF or plain text.
- Please include your name in the filename of any documents you send me.
- Who are your other letter writers? Include a sentence of context too (e.g., advised my honors thesis).
- Once you have drafts of anything you're submitting please send them to me. The basic principle is that I can't write about something I don't know about.
- If you are an undergraduate, I'd prefer you send an unofficial copy of your transcript too.
I leave it up to the applicant to make sure that I don't miss the deadline (something which has never happened so don't worry). I ask that you send me frequent email (every week or more as the deadlines grow closer) to remind me. I won't forget but this keeps it at the top of my to-do list. At some point I will then send you an email back saying that I have mailed/uploaded/etc the letter. If you do not receive confirmation from me, then you should assume that I have not submitted your letter and you should pester me.
Finally, on the application page, please use the following for my personal information.
- Name: David Zureick-Brown
- Affiliation: Amherst College
- Department: Mathematics and Statistics
- Position/title: Professor
- Phone: (608) 616-0153
- Email: dzureickbrown@amherst.edu.
- Address: 502 Seeley Mudd Building, 31 Quadrangle, Amherst, MA 01002
Good luck!
DZB