Nationally Competitive Programs Resources

Page Content

Letters of Recommendation

Selection committees for national awards receive dozens of impressive and worthy applications. Your letter of recommendation can distinguish a student from the paper crowd and prove decisive in the selection process. University of Southern Mississippi students have strong faculty support, and we appreciate your help. This page offers some tips to help mentors optimize their impact.

Recommendation Letters

• Detail how you know the student
• Illustrate the qualities that you value in him/her
• Contribute original information and insight to the application
• Offer some basis for comparison
• Anecdotes are extremely valuable
• Discuss a project or paper that the student handled well
• Highlight a conversation, class discussion, or group contribution that impressed you
• Address the letter “Dear [Insert Scholarship Name] Committee,” to allow for the letter to be used both for the USM nomination and the national competition.

Additional Resources

• Internet Resources in Educational Advising - This website contains many links to sources of financial aid, testing, international programs, and university based resources.

• Scholarship Connection Database - Students may also try this link to a searchable scholarship database that allows students to put in several different criteria to find less well known scholarship options.

• Undergraduate STEM Database - STEM students can use these databases to locate many external research opportunities.

• Graduate STEM Database

• Center for Pathways Experiences - This Center is a great resource for USM students to find meaningful experiences to enhance their career potential.