Applicants with similar LORs? How are those viewed ?

[Bagheera]

Hi,

Let us use a hypothetical siutation. Say you ask a Dr. for a LoR, and he is so busy to write out a personalized letter that he just uploads a template type of LoR for you. And for his other students, he uploads the same type of LoR with minor differences. How is that LoR going to be viewed by the Program director if he sees two applicants with that same LoR? Will it lose its value?? Will both applicants be rejected because of it? Thank you in advance.

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[thehundredthone]

Would you feel safe using a template based letter, unless you had no other choice? Or are you talking about a situation where you don't know that he has uploaded a template based letter?

 

[Winged Scapula]

I'd think:

- that 2 applicants aren't likely to apply to the same program, with the same letter, the same year

- that the same faculty member reads both letters

- that the same faculty member recalls that the letters are the same

While I'm sure this has happened, it's unlikely.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

It's very unlikely. It happened to me a few years ago. I was reading a letter and it was really amazing. Later that day, I'm reading another letter and it looked very familiar -- the same amazing language. I pulled the two letters side by side, they were word for word duplicates except for the name. I pulled all of the letters from this writer (all applicants from a single school) and pulled everything from them for the last 3 years -- all completely identical. I sent all of them to the Chair's office. Got a personal call/apology from the chair which I thought was a nice touch.

So, this had been going on for years and it was only that I happened to read two of the letters in close proximity that I noticed it.

If several letters have the same "template" but have different content, then that's totally fine.

 

[Bagheera]

Would you feel safe using a template based letter, unless you had no other choice? Or are you talking about a situation where you don't know that he has uploaded a template based letter?

Situation where you don't know that a template based letter was uploaded. I have heard from some students before that a particular dr gives the same LOR to all students he thought deserved one.

Thanks wingedscapula and aprogdirector for replies!

 

[thehundredthone]

I would speculate that most LOR writers have a skeleton template, which they then personalise based on their experience with the student. I thought you were talking about the kind of letter aProgDirector referenced, where the only unique aspect was your name.