eLORs: How detailed?

[Mouse2106]

---

Members do not see this ad.

When asking for eLORs, did you give your writers a list of prompts that you wanted them to touch on in the letters or did you just simply leave the content of the letters up to them?

 

[Minnerbelle]

When asking for eLORs, did you give your writers a list of prompts that you wanted them to touch on in the letters or did you just simply leave the content of the letters up to them?

If you're selecting different evaluators to highlight different personal attributes, then I think it's smart for you to relay that information to them. I think writing a list of prompts would be a bit much and kind of disrespectful to the LOR writer though.

I kind of knew what each of mine were going to say, and selected people from very different disciplines, so I just gave each a copy of my resume and let them write whatever they felt like. But if you work for 3 different vet hospitals, and you want each to highlight a certain aspect of you so that the letters don't all sound the same, I think it's a very reasonable thing to do.

 

[bbeventer]

I didnt give mine anything. I only met with one LOR writer who was a professor to discuss my background, and my application in general so he could get a good idea of everything. Other than that I trusted my decision in the people I selected and the direction in which they would write.

 

[LetItSnow]

When asking for eLORs, did you give your writers a list of prompts that you wanted them to touch on in the letters or did you just simply leave the content of the letters up to them?

I think MB is right in that you don't want to tell them *specifically* what to write; that's somewhat ... yeah, disrespectful.

But I did meet with mine. Went out to lunch, talked over my whole application so they knew the general 'story' behind the whole thing and could tailor their comments to support it. A couple of them had great ideas for changes/modifications.

 

[equineconstant]

One of my LOR writers asked me to meet; he was my employer and wanted specific stories of when I was working that he might not have been supervising so he could be more specific in my letter. Another LOR was from an international experience, so when I initially asked for the letter I pointed out a couple of attributes I wanted him to highlight. The others I just let write whatever they wanted.

 

[Bismarck]

The best way to approach what the OP wants is to frame your request as follows (usually an email for me):

- Salutation and brief exchange of pleasantries
- Set the stage (i.e. remind the individual how long they've known you and how much you grown if it's been a long time)
- Indicate you are looking for a strong letter of reference for your application to veterinary school that emphasizes xyz qualities about yourself (whatever you feel schools should take away from your letter)
- Ask if, based on the working relationship you have with this person, they feel comfortable writing such a letter for you at this time (it's important to give them an 'out' if they are busy or not comfortable writing a letter for you
- Thank them and let them know you'd be happy to meet with them in person to discuss the letter if they'd like. Leave the actual content up to them though.

 

[BlackDog17]

I agree with what others have said about giving a list of prompts. To me that would come off as very pushy and pretentious. However, I think it would be perfectly acceptable to offer to meet with your eLOR writers individually to discuss your goals and other aspects of your application. But I'd leave it up to them to decide whether they want to accept that offer or not.

I just asked for recommendations and let my writers take it from there. My advisor asked me to meet with her and we spent an hour and a half talking about everything - my goals, where I was applying, my experiences both in and out of vet med, my hobbies, etc, etc. It was great because I knew she was going to write me a very personal, well thought out recommendation. The professor I asked for an eLOR from simply asked if I wanted him to focus on my large animal experience. The vet I worked for just went ahead and wrote something, no questions asked. The only person I gave any real directions to was my rowing coach. I asked her to focus on the time commitment, dedication, and physical challenges of rowing so the adcoms could see just how much of my life it took up while I was in undergrad.

The vet who wrote me an eLOR stressed this to me: make sure you ask everyone to write you a good recommendation, and let them know that you'll understand if they don't feel comfortable doing that. The last thing you need is a bad recommendation in your application!

 

[Mouse2106]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses 🙂 Much appreciated.

I, too, thought that prompts would be a tad pushy, so when I asked for eLORs a month ago, I simply asked if they would be willing to write me a recommendation letter for vet school. However, I became a bit nervous yesterday when I noticed the VMCAS had an excerpt of what they would like to see on recommendation letters. Since I didn't specify anything in particular other than wanting a positive recommendation, I was a bit worried upon reading that.

 

[BlackDog17]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses 🙂 Much appreciated.

I, too, thought that prompts would be a tad pushy, so when I asked for eLORs a month ago, I simply asked if they would be willing to write me a recommendation letter for vet school. However, I became a bit nervous yesterday when I noticed the VMCAS had an excerpt of what they would like to see on recommendation letters. Since I didn't specify anything in particular other than wanting a positive recommendation, I was a bit worried upon reading that.

I assume you asked them to submit their recommendations online via VMCAS? If so, they should see the same sort of prompt.

 

[Mouse2106]

I assume you asked them to submit their recommendations online via VMCAS? If so, they should see the same sort of prompt.

Yes, I did. You're right. I just came across the VMCAS sample evaluation and saw the same prompts. Thank you very much 🙂