Editing your own LOE/LOR

[Chromium Surfer]

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So from what I have read on here it seems like it is not out of the ordinary for students to write their own LOR with a professor editing it and then signing it with their signature. So I am correct in assuming that is okay to also "edit" your own LOE if your writer emails it back to you and asks for you to make any edits. I apologize if this comes off as a stupid or neurotic question.

Additionally, if editing is indeed allowed, would someone with experience be willing to help me by taking a critical look at the letter I was provided? I gave my recommender the AMCAS guidelines to writing a LOR but I have no experience in "editing" a LOR. Thanks all!

 

[Chromium Surfer]

@Goro @gyngyn @LizzyM @mimelim I was also going to add that if this in fact allowed are there any specific things that I should be looking for when I am "editing' the LOE. I'm assuming none of you proofread LOE's since your adcoms. However to provide some context my talked about situations that I was involved in during my internship and the qualities and skills that I demonstrated. They also included some positive commentary from other professionals who worked with me during the summer and linked this to other traits that I displayed. To me this sounds like what should be in informative LOE but I'm not sure if this comes off as fluff or is unhelpful so please let me know if I interpreting any of this incorrectly. Thank you so much for your time and help you have shared with me in the past!

 

[LizzyM]

I would assume that you should be looking for anything that is clearly inaccurate (e.g. the person mentions that you won a prize for a poster presentation when, in fact, you presented a poster but didn't win a prize). I'd also be sure that you don't have a gender change mid-letter (I see at least two or three of these every year from people who recycle old letters and don't change the pronouns, etc). Other than that, I'm not sure what you ought to add.

 

[Chromium Surfer]

I would assume that you should be looking for anything that is clearly inaccurate (e.g. the person mentions that you won a prize for a poster presentation when, in fact, you presented a poster but didn't win a prize). I'd also be sure that you don't have a gender change mid-letter (I see at least two or three of these every year from people who recycle old letters and don't change the pronouns, etc). Other than that, I'm not sure what you ought to add.

thank you for your feedback!!

 

[efle]

I see at least two or three of these every year from people who recycle old letters and don't change the pronouns

How much does this hurt the applicant? Or is the damage already mostly done for having such a generic recycled letter?

 

[aldol16]

How much does this hurt the applicant? Or is the damage already mostly done for having such a generic recycled letter?

I would think that it just wouldn't add much to the applicant's application, as that letter can now be interpreted as not being very specific to that applicant. There are many reasons a letter writer might recycle old letters and even then, only certain parts may be recycled (it's really really hard to write letters from scratch if you already have a loose template).

 

[efle]

I would think that it just wouldn't add much to the applicant's application, as that letter can now be interpreted as not being very specific to that applicant. There are many reasons a letter writer might recycle old letters and even then, only certain parts may be recycled (it's really really hard to write letters from scratch if you already have a loose template).

I suppose recycling isn't the worrisome part, but rather that they didn't bother with a couple minutes of proofreading for the sake of the person's future. I know I would be hurt if one of my writers left me as "she" all over the place

 

[aldol16]

I suppose recycling isn't the worrisome part, but rather that they didn't bother with a couple minutes of proofreading for the sake of the person's future. I know I would be hurt if one of my writers left me as "she" all over the place

Yes, having the wrong pronoun in multiple places is an error on the letter writer's part, but I believe that a single typo isn't the end all be all. In big classes, one letter writer might have to write 5-10 letters per class (not only med school but also grad school, research programs, etc.). I think a single typo in a letter is forgivable. But that might be a self-serving opinion in my case.

 

[LizzyM]

How much does this hurt the applicant? Or is the damage already mostly done for having such a generic recycled letter?

The adcom member assigned to read the application asked the group"does this writer really know the applicant if the letter is so confusing about gender" (It switched back and forth a few times.)

When I wrote a template for my own use, I highlighted pronouns in red as a reminder to change them before uploading the letter.

 

[Goro]

At least 1x/year, I see a LOR from someone recommending the applicant "for XSOM."

But I'm on Faculty at YSOM.

So yes, letter writers have templates and/or recycle LORs.

I would assume that you should be looking for anything that is clearly inaccurate (e.g. the person mentions that you won a prize for a poster presentation when, in fact, you presented a poster but didn't win a prize). I'd also be sure that you don't have a gender change mid-letter (I see at least two or three of these every year from people who recycle old letters and don't change the pronouns, etc). Other than that, I'm not sure what you ought to add.