DO LOR back out, II coming up with a school that asked about a DO LOR.

[CharlieBillings]

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I shadowed a DO and was under the assumption they agreed to write me a LOR (or rather have me write it and sign it). It seems this was a misunderstanding and they will not be writing me a letter!

One school asked if I will have a DO letter (but does not require it) and I answered "yes" when submitting the secondary.

Should I contact them this week to let me know of the inaccuracy? or go ahead with the II and discuss it there?

The II is coming up this week!

Thanks

 

[holdthemayo]

I wouldn't bring it up at the interview unless asked about it which I think is unlikely. You SHOULD bring up that you have shadowed a DO and be willing to speak well about that experience to show familiarity with Osteopathic Medicine. If you are that worried about it you could contact the school, or just shadow another DO ASAP for a new letter.

 

[CharlieBillings]

I wouldn't bring it up at the interview unless asked about it which I think is unlikely. You SHOULD bring up that you have shadowed a DO and be willing to speak well about that experience to show familiarity with Osteopathic Medicine. If you are that worried about it you could contact the school, or just shadow another DO ASAP for a new letter.

My main worry is that my application is now inaccurate, so I think I will contact to try and straighten that out.

 

[JB50]

I shadowed a DO and was under the assumption they agreed to write me a LOR (or rather have me write it and sign it). It seems this was a misunderstanding and they will not be writing me a letter!

One school asked if I will have a DO letter (but does not require it) and I answered "yes" when submitting the secondary.

Should I contact them this week to let me know of the inaccuracy? or go ahead with the II and discuss it there?

The II is coming up this week!

Thanks

What? I think you're in hot water to begin with... Them not agreeing is the least of your worries lol.

 

[holdthemayo]

Your story could easily be read like you are making an excuse for the DO not wanting to write a letter for you. If you feel compelled to contact them, I would avoid saying anything more than you incorrectly checked that you have a DO LoR on the secondary.

 

[CharlieBillings]

Your story could easily be read like you are making an excuse for the DO not wanting to write a letter for you. If you feel compelled to contact them, I would avoid saying anything more than you incorrectly checked that you have a DO LoR on the secondary.

As in they might think I did something horrendous that turned the DO off me? ~But you're right all I need to mention is that it is inaccurate.

 

[CharlieBillings]

What? I think you're in hot water to begin with... Them not agreeing is the least of your worries lol.

I thought people writing their own LORs for others to review and sign was pretty common now adays?

 

[JB50]

I thought people writing their own LORs for others to review and sign was pretty common now adays?

Yo are you serious? Nah nah nah man no.

 

[Fluffy123]

I thought people writing their own LORs for others to review and sign was pretty common now adays?

nah my man this is definitely not true.

 

[CharlieBillings]

Yo are you serious? Nah nah nah man no.

nah my man this is definitely not true.

****. Well LOR is gone anyway!

 

[Atom612]

I thought people writing their own LORs for others to review and sign was pretty common now adays?

The "write your own recommendation and I'll sign it" attitude has always been seen as a red flag in any field. You want a recommendation letter from someone who actually knows you and can use what they know to make a strong, compelling case as to why you would make a good physician. Any attempt to explain this scenario to an adcom without them asking you about it probably wouldn't reflect well on you.

I agree with the above that if anything you should just say you made a mistake when checking that particular box.

 

[JB50]

The "write your own recommendation and I'll sign it" attitude has always been seen as a red flag in any field. You want a recommendation letter from someone who actually knows you and can use what they know to make a strong, compelling case as to why you would make a good physician. Any attempt to explain this scenario to an adcom without them asking you about it probably wouldn't reflect well on you.

I agree with the above that if anything you should just say you made a mistake when checking that particular box.

That's probably the biggest understatement I've read on SDN

 

[CharlieBillings]

Well I contacted the school and they basically told me that the only thing that matters is if a letter arrives or not. If it never arrives it will be just like I never checked "yes" that a letter was coming.

So I guess it all washes away anyway. Thanks for the advice guys, you'll hopefully be happy to hear that none of my other LORs went this way at all (backing out, or being drafted by me!).

 

[Promethean]

I thought people writing their own LORs for others to review and sign was pretty common now adays?

Certainly, I had a couple of people that I asked for letters from suggest this to me, and I politely turned them down.

I find everything about this practice distasteful.
- It is incredibly lazy of the "letter writer" to suggest any such thing.
- There is maybe no better way for them to convey that they have absolutely no concern for your success.
- It isn't exactly ethical, because...
- The schools are really not asking for your opinion of yourself that some bored clinician signed off on. They are asking professionals to vouch for you, based upon your building a relationship with them of adequate quality for them to write a supportive letter.
- You don't know how to write a good letter. There is an art to it, and if you don't know how to word things just so, what you think sounds pretty good is going to come across as faint praise at best, and that can be damning in these letters.

Anyone who has made it through medical school and spent any time in academia should know how much damage a poorly written LOC can do, so again, to reinforce it... anyone who would allow you to write your own letter is basically telling you that, in their opinion, you aren't worth really helping.