Called by another name in eLOR

[LondonBliss]

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So my boss wrote a really great eLOR for me, but in one line, he called me by someone else's name. He felt so bad about it, but it had already been sent. He is also German and his English as a second language is evident in his letter. Is this bad for me? I mean this was a practice year for me, but god it would be nice to get in earlier. He is a great boss and I know next year I will be able to proof the letter first and probably add what I want to it. Any thoughts?

 

[moosenanny]

There's nothing that can be done at this point. I couldn't even begin to predict the potential reaction - some adcoms might not even notice since they probably read the letters so fast, while others might think it's a red flag and become suspicious. It might make it seem like the letter writer copied and pasted old letters together, and then forgot to edit the product. In any case, you'll never know how adcoms will react, if at all. You seem to have a good attitude about it since this is a "practice" round for you anyways . . .

 

[bonaparte]

It might make it seem like the letter writer copied and pasted old letters together, and then forgot to edit the product.

Unfortunately, this is probably what it will look like and there's nothing you can really do about it. ): Hopefully, your other letters are really good and will help make up for it!

Sorry to hear about that though, that really sucks!

 

[EllieGirl89]

So my boss wrote a really great eLOR for me, but in one line, he called me by someone else's name. He felt so bad about it, but it had already been sent. He is also German and his English as a second language is evident in his letter. Is this bad for me? I mean this was a practice year for me, but god it would be nice to get in earlier. He is a great boss and I know next year I will be able to proof the letter first and probably add what I want to it. Any thoughts?

My guess would be that this shouldn't hurt you too bad. As for whether you should call or have the vet call the school to let them know of the error I don't know, I'll leave that to the more experienced SDNers. But vets are really busy and if they work with a lot of people I can see how it would be an understandable error. Personally, the vets that wrote my eLORS are pretty busy and absent minded (as most vets are) and also had several pre-vet students and veterinary students shadowing them this year, so I'm expecting that they might have made an error on an eLOR that I may have to explain in an interview. We're all human so it shouldn't be a big deal =)

 

[StartingoverVet]

That's why there are usually 3 or more letters. There are going to be duds once in a while and based on my experience working in an admissions office, unless there are multiple problems it will (mostly) be ignored.

I read some really horrible letters while "filing"!

 

[sumstorm]

Here the adcoms have told students in the CVM that the letters are really important and all need to be really good, because all the other stuff tends to balance out (ie good grades, lots of experience, extracuriculars) and that the PS, supplementals, and ELORs are where they get a feel for a candidate. We don't do interviews, though, so that may be part of the reasoning. So if letters are valued, it is probably a bigger deal because if there is a hint of 'copy/paste' then it suggests that the vet didn't take your cadidacy seriously. I worked with an amazing vet in Thailand who is even some-what associated with a joint program with our CVM. I opted not to get a LOR from him because his English wasn't adequate. Hard decisions. I don't think there is much you can do about it; I don't think I would draw attention to it by calling. It may get overlooked in the reading.

 

[that redhead]

Ouch, I'm sorry to hear this happened. It's impossible to tell the impact - maybe none, maybe heavy - but there's really nothing you can do about it. My boss actually gave me the letter he wrote for me to proofread, even though I hadn't asked and waived my right to see it, and in one sentence he forgot the 'e' at the end of my name, which I pointed out and he corrected. I'm sure they would have read it as a typo but to me, that kind of thing is important if you can catch it first.

I don't think they're going to throw out your whole application for one error, but if I were reading it I might question the copy/paste and/or how well your evaluator knew you. Did it just slip his mind or did he copy/paste, do you know?

 

[lunajett]

Yeah, there's a good chance it will be missed. But if it is caught, I would think adcoms would tend to discount that letter, so hopefully you would have at least two other strong ones. But like you said, nothing you can do now.

My first app cycle, a prof apparently recommended me for "dental school." Clearly a cut and paste job. Thanks dude - this was after I had carefully sent him me resume and bullet points of my goals/experience/motivation. Unfortunately, I didn't get to review it, and didn't hear about the mistake until a file review with one of the schools. I didn't get in anywhere that round, but I doubt the letter was the deciding factor.

 

[EllieGirl89]

I agree that they may not even notice it, and that if they do there are many ways they could take it. So why not do what you can to alleviate that uncertainty and have him call up the school? Just have him say that he happened to be looking it over and realized that he'd accidentally typed the wrong name in that one spot. He can apologize for the mix up and ensure them it was just a typo on his part.

I don't know if that will make much of a difference, but at least it shows that you are on top of it and that you are aware of the error. Seems better to me than rolling the dice and hoping they don't find it? I would think being proactive and letting them know YOU know about the mix up before they find it themselves might be the best route. Just something to think about.

 

[sumstorm]

Just have him say that he happened to be looking it over and realized that he'd accidentally typed the wrong name in that one spot. He can apologize for the mix up and ensure them it was just a typo on his part.

if the name is something like calling a person named Lane a name like Jane, it is easy to argue a typo...and schools would proabably assume a typo, but if it is a real name change, like Jane being called Liz, if they notice it, it would be hard for it to look like a typo. As in 'did this guy actually know the applicant well enough if they couldn't remember their name when writing a reference?'

I don't know if that will make much of a difference, but at least it shows that you are on top of it and that you are aware of the error. Seems better to me than rolling the dice and hoping they don't find it? I would think being proactive and letting them know YOU know about the mix up before they find it themselves might be the best route. Just something to think about.

Actually...doesn't it show that you weren't on top of it, since the error already occured? I'm just not sure that drawing attention to it has any benefits, and does have potential negatives. It could also come across as the applicant micromanaging the LOR. What is the advantage in the school knowing that you know? Just seems like it could raise more questions than it could solve. But YMMV.

 

[laitmanvet]

Actually...doesn't it show that you weren't on top of it, since the error already occured? I'm just not sure that drawing attention to it has any benefits, and does have potential negatives. It could also come across as the applicant micromanaging the LOR. What is the advantage in the school knowing that you know? Just seems like it could raise more questions than it could solve. But YMMV.

I realize some people on here are reading their own letters, but I didn't. If someone spelled my name wrong or wrote in the wrong name theres no way I would or could be on top of it.

Just realized OP said it was only in a line....then they might not notice. I suppose if someone asks about it, like at an interview, you could simply say "yeah the writer told me about it later and apologized, he was busy that week/writing 2 letters at once/etc." If its not in the opening sentence or throughout the entire letter, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Whyevernot55]

I realize some people on here are reading their own letters, but I didn't. If someone spelled my name wrong or wrote in the wrong name theres no way I would or could be on top of it.

Likewise - although my writers would probably let me if I asked, I waived my right to read the letters. I think most vet schools will assume you HAVEN'T read it, and that the mistake is entirely the writer's. Especially if it is just one slip in the midst of the letter. There's certainly no way YOU can be held accountable for this person's mistake, more so since most of us never see our letters.

My advice, don't worry about it unless it comes up. There's nothing you can do about it now, and fretting about will only give you headaches. You will have plenty of other things to think about when interview invites start going out!

 

[LondonBliss]

I really appreciate all the feedback. It actually wasn't a vet it is my PI in the lab I work in. He is such a great boss. And yes he is so busy all the time. I found out later that it was his wife's name he called me by, Juliet. My name is Cheryl. Ya pretty different. I also got a 4th letter written by his second in charge and that one is also an amazing letter, but the guy twice in the letter spelled my name with an S instead of a C. I guess you really have to watch these people. I definitely plan on proofing them next year.
I never thought about calling the school, but at the same time I am not sure it is something that they even will note on my application. They may just hear me and then forget about it. Like someone else said, I wonder if they read them so fast that it may not matter. I also wondered if my boss secretly sabotaged me to keep me around. I am the only one that does the animals surgeries and I have gotten pretty damn good at them and he has made it known that he'd like me around for a while to complete the study, some 300 more animals. Though I'd like to think that he is just a kind German man that could never do that. 😉