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Oswald Veblen
Oswald Veblen
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Is there a legitimate reason that someone in Dr. Z's position would have for wanting to see my academic records prior to providing a reference?

Yes - I usually look up the academic records of students when I write a letter for them. This is so that I have more data point about their academic success when writing the letter. For example, if they did well in classes that I know are particularly difficult, I can mention that somewhere, and if they have a high GPA, I can mention that somewhere.

In general, you should try to give your letter writers as much info as possible. This includes not just access to your academic records (which they likely have anyway) but also at least your CV. If you have them, it doesn't hurt to send your personal statement, teaching statement, research statement, etc. as well. Not every reviewer will be able to speak to all of these in their letter, of course.

Remember you have already trusted the person to write a confidential letter about you which you are very unlikely to ever see. This requires some amount of trust in the letter writer. For that reason, if a student told me "I would like you to write a letter of recommendation, but please don't look at my academic history", I would find it very unusual.

Is there a legitimate reason that someone in Dr. Z's position would have for wanting to see my academic records prior to providing a reference?

Yes - I usually look up the academic records of students when I write a letter for them. This is so that I have more data point about their academic success when writing the letter. For example, if they did well in classes that I know are particularly difficult, I can mention that somewhere, and if they have a high GPA, I can mention that somewhere.

In general, you should try to give your letter writers as much info as possible. This includes not just access to your academic records (which they likely have anyway) but also at least your CV. If you have them, it doesn't hurt to send your personal statement, teaching statement, research statement, etc. as well. Not every reviewer will be able to speak to all of these in their letter, of course.

Remember you have already trusted the person to write a confidential letter about you which you are very unlikely to ever see. This requires some amount of trust in the letter writer. For that reason, if a student told me "I would like you to write a letter of recommendation, but please don't look at my academic history", I would find it very unusual.

Is there a legitimate reason that someone in Dr. Z's position would have for wanting to see my academic records prior to providing a reference?

Yes - I usually look up the academic records of students when I write a letter for them. This is so that I have more data about their academic success when writing the letter. For example, if they did well in classes that I know are particularly difficult, I can mention that somewhere, and if they have a high GPA, I can mention that somewhere.

In general, you should try to give your letter writers as much info as possible. This includes not just access to your academic records (which they likely have anyway) but also at least your CV. If you have them, it doesn't hurt to send your personal statement, teaching statement, research statement, etc. as well. Not every reviewer will be able to speak to all of these in their letter, of course.

Remember you have already trusted the person to write a confidential letter about you which you are very unlikely to ever see. This requires some amount of trust in the letter writer. For that reason, if a student told me "I would like you to write a letter of recommendation, but please don't look at my academic history", I would find it very unusual.

Source Link
Oswald Veblen
Oswald Veblen
  • 14.2k
  • 47
  • 71

Is there a legitimate reason that someone in Dr. Z's position would have for wanting to see my academic records prior to providing a reference?

Yes - I usually look up the academic records of students when I write a letter for them. This is so that I have more data point about their academic success when writing the letter. For example, if they did well in classes that I know are particularly difficult, I can mention that somewhere, and if they have a high GPA, I can mention that somewhere.

In general, you should try to give your letter writers as much info as possible. This includes not just access to your academic records (which they likely have anyway) but also at least your CV. If you have them, it doesn't hurt to send your personal statement, teaching statement, research statement, etc. as well. Not every reviewer will be able to speak to all of these in their letter, of course.

Remember you have already trusted the person to write a confidential letter about you which you are very unlikely to ever see. This requires some amount of trust in the letter writer. For that reason, if a student told me "I would like you to write a letter of recommendation, but please don't look at my academic history", I would find it very unusual.