Career Planning
If you are planning to continue your education beyond the university--and most of us do, whether formally or informally--you may find wish to request a letter of recommendation for admission to law school, business school, or med school, or perhaps a reference letter for employment. If you wish to request such a recommendation from Dr. Hoston, click here to send her a message to make your request at least 4 weeks in advance. Any letter of recommendation is only as effective as the writer can show that she knows you, so you should immediately prepare to provide Dr. Hoston with a packet of the following materials:

• Your most recent certified transcript
• Your GREs, LSATs, or other applicable tests
• An up-to-date resume (or curriculum vitae), which indicates your work experience and extracurricular activities
• A draft of the statement of purpose (if any) that you are submitting to the graduate school/grant program(s) in question
• Signed access waiver forms for all references (a letter of recommendation without this waiver is worthless, as the reader will know it was written in expectation that you would read it).
• Stamped (be sure you provide sufficient postage!) envelopes addressed to the relevant schools (preferable) or to yourself (if the schools insist on your providing all materials together in a single envelope).
• A clear indication of the due date for each reference letter.
• These materials should be sent to Dr. Hoston at her mail forwarding address rather than to the University: Please contact her at ghoston@ucsd.edu for current mailing address.

The most important item here is not the transcript but the statement of purpose. You must be clear in your own mind--and make it clear to the reader--what it is that you could accomplish with an advanced degree from law school or graduate school that you could not accomplish without law or graduate school.

If your goal is simply to continue your education, there are many other ways to do so, and I heartily encourage you to do so. If you would like to discuss ways to do this further, click here.