coffeeandchemegstry

[coffeeandchemegstry]

28.06.2021

Rereading books from high school to feel somewhat young again is a valid form of self care.

🎼maneskin, i wanna be your slave

[coffeeandchemegstry]

golden hour hits different in my new house

[coffeeandchemegstry]

yesterday i rearranged my at home office and i am obsessed with the final look | more on my instagram account @thomreads (for anything studies and books related)

[coffeeandchemegstry]

[coffeeandchemegstry]

24.06.2021 // reading some essays and doing a little self-study this afternoon! i spent the morning reading my old journals from 2019 and wow 16 year old me was so dramatic

[coffeeandchemegstry]

yooo how do u email a prof for a recommendation letter?

Hi Professor!

I am in the process of applying to ____ and they require letters of rec. I sincerely enjoyed your classes, and felt that they gave me a particularly good chance to display my strengths, such as ____ [class participation, writing, etc.] and would love for you to write me a letter, if you’d be willing. The due date is ____, and I can send you further instructions for submission later if you accept.

Attached to this email is ____, the piece of work I did in your class which best showcases my abilities, as well as my current CV [or resume]. If you agree to write me a letter, soon I will also send you drafts of my ____ [statement of purpose, personal statement, application essays, other relevant material] for my application to aid in your writing. I am also happy to meet in person to discuss this with you.

I want to stress that this application is quite competitive, so if you feel you will not be able to write me a strong letter then I completely understand - but please let me know. Thank you so much for your time!

Sincerely, ____

—

a few notes:

- you should have all your relevant materials (app essays, etc.) sent to them *at least* a month in advance to give them ample time to write the letter

- thus, your initial email asking them if they’d be willing to write a letter for you should be sent *over* a month in advance. professors are busy

- if you are applying for a really prestigious position/scholarship/fellowship, or grad school, it’s best to have at least a majority of your letter writers be professors (rather than adjuncts or post docs). ideally you’d want them to be full/tenured professors. in lots of cases, especially academic ones, *who* writes your letter matters - not just *what’s in* your letter

- the reason you send them the piece of work you did in their class that you are most proud of is to remind them of your abilities as a student and the quality of the work you produced for them. they have lots of students. sometimes they need a bit of help jogging their memory of exactly what you did in their class.

- the reason you send them your other application materials (personal statement, statement of purpose, CV) is so that they have information to draw from when writing your letter. they know what you’re passionate about, what you hope to do in the future, other experience you have, and can use this information when writing your letter

- on a similar note, this is also why you’d want to list the strengths you displayed in their class

- basically, you want to give them as much information as you can about your strengths, goals, and intentions - give them prompts they can use to write your letter

- the bit at the end about asking for a “strong letter” is important because some professors can only write you mediocre letters (e.g. “this student was always on time to class and gave their undivided attention during lecture” - what does this tell admission committees? well, it tells them that the professor has nothing positive to say about your *academic* abilities and so they’re resorting to other strengths. it’s a polite way of saying “this student was okay, but not spectacular in any notable way”. big red flag for admissions committees.) if all you’re going to get is a mediocre letter, you might as well not get a letter at all

- if the professor you ask accepts, then be sure to send them polite reminders as the date approaches. (i usually send a reminder at the 1-month-till-due-date mark when i send the other application materials, and then again at the 2 week and 1 week marks, and, if necessary, every day after the final 3 days leading up to the due date

—

i know this was a lot, but i remember being in your shoes and being completely lost when it came to applying for stuff so i know how daunting it can be. i figured i’d just throw all this information at you to be of as much help as possible.

for reference, i’ve applied to graduate programs, fellowships, and scholarships. i have been accepted into several of the top 10 graduate programs in my area, as well as received multiple scholarships and a fellowship, and received honorable mentions for some of the most competitive fellowships in the US. i have also worked with the admissions committee at my graduate program to organize multiple informational events for those interested in applying to graduate school and, in the process, have learned a lot about what makes a strong application.

so while you should absolutely take my advice with a grain of salt (different circumstances call for different standards), i do have quite a bit of experience with applications and what makes a strong letter of rec.

i hope this helped! best of luck with whatever you’re applying for :)

#tips #letter of recommendation

[coffeeandchemegstry]

bullet journal // @wyyae

[coffeeandchemegstry]

15.02.21, monday

morning, afternoon & evening; from calm to an absolute chaos.

[coffeeandchemegstry]

..and just like that, you're all I need.

[coffeeandchemegstry]

My desk set up.

It's almost always messy but sometimes, it actually looks like this lol.

[coffeeandchemegstry]

24.05.21 / last week’s bullet journal spread. may is leaving us soon. have a lovely week ahead ♡

[coffeeandchemegstry]

Hey guys, long time no see.

It's been forever since I posted regularly. Maybe this summer is the time to get back into it?

I've sincerely missed Tumblr, but I am not longer the same girl I was when I used to post on here and I think it's fitting to restart.

If you have any suggestions for a new blog name let me know :)

Sincerely, that girl

xoxo

#that girl

[coffeeandchemegstry]

22•11•19

[coffeeandchemegstry]

// 27 dec 2019 //

hello hello i have returned with more low quality photos of my bio notes :))))

it’s been a really hectic few months, and you cannot imagine the amount of relief i felt on the last day of school.

anyway, i got bored of doing nothing at home, so with only one week of break left, i finally started seriously studying. :’)

i hope everyone’s been having a lovely break!! might start posting again, who knows...

[coffeeandchemegstry]

soft jasmine and clean cotton scented candles ♡

[coffeeandchemegstry]

calculus + my artwork from igcse art and design that i finally put up!!

[coffeeandchemegstry]

Exams are hard. No studyblr is immune.

Took my immunology final today and am very tired. But have to keep the grind going for my stats and microbio exams this week.

Apologies for the incoherent caption but it is an insight into how my brain is doing this fine eve