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How long are rec letters?
Started by sunshine02
Somewhere between 5 and 700 words typically. And length has nothing to do with how strong a letter is. The best letter I've heard of was only 5 words long.
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Quality > quantity. Most that I've seen/had access to in the past were 1-2 pages. The longest one that's ever been written for me went onto the 3rd page, but not by much. I think if they got much longer you'd run the risk of adcoms not bothering to finish reading it.
I think he's referring to the letter Richard Duffin wrote for John Forbes Nash Jr. :"This man is a genius."
Yeah, a rec letter like that sure would be nice, but so would being many orders of magnitude smarter than any doctor alive.
Ah yes I've heard of that rec letter!
The learned Mimelim is referring to this (but longer than 5 words in reality):
The shortest I've ever seen was two sentences (and definitely NOT in the realm of the above!) The longest ones have been 1.5-2 pages.
The learned Mimelim is referring to this (but longer than 5 words in reality):
The shortest I've ever seen was two sentences (and definitely NOT in the realm of the above!) The longest ones have been 1.5-2 pages.
Is that last sentence really that strong with no examples to their genius? Or is this a joke?
@Goro in your experience how long are typical letters of recommendation?
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Half a page to a single page.
The last sentence is strong because a well respected professor calling a 19 year old undergraduate a mathematical genius (a compliment few professors ever receive or bestow) is unheard of. Ending the letter with that point is also powerful.
According to my pre-health advisor who has seen many LORs, a typical faculty letter would be between 0.5-1 pages long. It can get a bit longer if the professor knows you in more than one role (e.g. physician who you shadowed and also researched with).
But quality matters. A 3-page generic letter is not as preferred as a 1-page stellar LOR.
But quality matters. A 3-page generic letter is not as preferred as a 1-page stellar LOR.
Just out of curiosity, could you give an example of how one of those short (abysmal) letters went? What did the worst LOR you've ever read say?
"Jack Jones was my student in my _____ class. He got an A."
Other bad ones have about half the text devoted to the LOR writer's pedigree and research interests.
So, since they didn't have much to say about the applicant, they just wrote about themselves? That's wild.
The learned Mimelim is referring to this (but longer than 5 words in reality):
The shortest I've ever seen was two sentences (and definitely NOT in the realm of the above!) The longest ones have been 1.5-2 pages.
Out of curiosity, would getting a letter from a prof saying just “this student is a genius” be considered a very strong letter?
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If it was from someone I knew
So if in theory, an EC letter is short like that but talks about the applicant very positively, it would be a strong letter? For example if a letter writer wrote an applicant goes above and beyond their line of duties for the betterment and benefit to their peers/mentees then with a specific example, it would be a strong letter, even if it's only one or two paragraphs?
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Sometimes, applicants are bound to ask for letters from people who can't write well or have no clue what to write in a medical school recommendation letter. Isn't going on about the writer's pedigree/research interests/other irrelevant bits really a reflection of the writer? I'd think this would be rather hard to evaluate and would essentially get tossed aside.
What do you do with a letter like this when reviewing an application -- that is, how is it viewed?
Sometimes, we do read a LOR that makes us wonder "what WAS this person thinking in asking this guy for a LOR???".
But someone's fate isn't going to hinge upon a single LOR in this situation. These are rare to begin with.
I read a physician’s letter of rec for someone’s residency, half of it is about why the physician himself is so great
