Name misspelled in LOR

[kb20]

Hi,
I am applying for the residency match. In one of my LORs in which my name appears twice, it is spelled correctly the first time but there is an error ( 'i' instead of 'L') when it appears for the second time? So my question is should I ask for a corrected letter?

Please advice. Thanks

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[DrAwsome]

Hi,
I am applying for the residency match. In one of my LORs in which my name appears twice, it is spelled correctly the first time but there is an error ( 'i' instead of 'L') when it appears for the second time? So my question is should I ask for a corrected letter?

Please advice. Thanks

Yes. Polish-whether it comes to your application, your suit, or your interview, all matter in a competitive match.

 

[quique2]

Yes. Polish-whether it comes to your application, your suit, or your interview, all matter in a competitive match.

I understand that these things matter, but what if the letter is waived and you never got to see it? How much would it matter then? It's something that's been going through my mind lately. Another concern of mine is that I introduce myself with my middle name and some of my letter writers could possibly refer to me by that name instead of my full first+middle (despite the LOR request forms/e-mails having my full name)

Oh, if only there were a way where you could ask your LOR writers if they used spell check.

 

[DrAwsome]

I understand that these things matter, but what if the letter is waived and you never got to see it? How much would it matter then? It's something that's been going through my mind lately. Another concern of mine is that I introduce myself with my middle name and some of my letter writers could possibly refer to me by that name instead of my full first+middle (despite the LOR request forms/e-mails having my full name)

Oh, if only there were a way where you could ask your LOR writers if they used spell check.

I don't understand-how do you know your letter has the name mispelled-did you read it? I would definitely ask your letter writer to fix the name. I don't think it looks as good if it's mispelled, but that's my opinion.

And you should waive your letters btw. For PDs, they don't have the same weight if they are not waived.

And I guess you normally should just ask your letter writer to write the letter based on the name that you'll be using in your ERAS app-aka your official name that will appear on your app.

 

[mcl]

I understand that these things matter, but what if the letter is waived and you never got to see it? How much would it matter then? It's something that's been going through my mind lately. Another concern of mine is that I introduce myself with my middle name and some of my letter writers could possibly refer to me by that name instead of my full first+middle (despite the LOR request forms/e-mails having my full name)

Oh, if only there were a way where you could ask your LOR writers if they used spell check.

ERAS provides an opportunity to give the name you go by if you don't use your given name. I've found it incredibly helpful--it turns out that a lot of people go by their middle name or an informal version of their first name.

I like it when letter writers use the go-by name: a) it gives me a clue that there's a go-by name if the applicant didn't list it, and b) it gives the impression that the writer really knows the applicant.

I don't hold it agains the applicant if a letter writer has a misspelling or typo. Most of the time I think the office secretary types the letter and the attending signs without reviewing it. I've seen some very entertaining synonym errors, my favorite being "[applicant name] is very highly regarded by his piers."

The only time I'll question the letter is if it's for the wrong specialty. When that happens, I'll call the letter writer and ask about it to see if I can determine whether the applicant is applying to other specialties in addition to mine. Usually a corrected version of the letter will show up in my download within a few days.

Spelling errors that the applicant CAN control are an entirely different matter. Those will definitely count against you, so proofread anything you type both forwards (for sense) and backwards (for spelling).

 

[kb20]

Thank you for the reply everyone.

 

[Knicks]

Just curious. Sounds like you didn't waive your right to see your letter. Why wouldn't you waive?

 

[gutonc]

Just curious. Sounds like you didn't waive your right to see your letter. Why wouldn't you waive?

Waiving the right to see your letter (which everyone should do) doesn't mean that you can't see your letter, just that you can't demand the right to see it. The writer is more than welcome to provide you a copy of it of their own free will.

I got to see 2 of my 4 letters for residency and 3 of 4 for fellowship (2 of which were provided to me with a request that I review them before they were sent). No rules broken, either in letter or spirit.

 

[kb20]

Just curious. Sounds like you didn't waive your right to see your letter. Why wouldn't you waive?

Yes I had to do it because it was an away rotation and there was a couple of years gap for me to apply.
But yes definitely a mistake.

Sent from my GT-I9000