Incorrect LOR/Mistake

[letsdothis1988]

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This is about a letter I've sent to all schools. I was hoping for a great one but recently at a job interview, someone mentioned an incorrect gender and I went to talk to the professor. He confirmed writing the letter in the wrong gender, not once but throughout the letter, it's the wrong gender and he was very apologetic and sent in a fixed version. What's done is done. I can't change anything. I have received an interview at some schools despite the mistake of gender throughout this letter. My question is should I send in the corrected letter with the fixed gender or not, to schools that have already offered me an interview with the incorrect letter?
Any advice would be much appreciated.🙂

 

[SellerAl]

This is about a letter I've sent to all schools. I was hoping for a great one but recently at a job interview, someone mentioned an incorrect gender and I went to talk to the professor. He confirmed writing the letter in the wrong gender and was very apologetic and sent in a fixed version. I have received an interview at some schools despite the mistake of gender throughout this letter. My question is should I send in the corrected letter with the fixed gender or not, to schools that have already offered me an interview with the incorrect letter?
Any advice would be much appreciated.🙂

As in the writer was calling you he instead of her, or the other way around? Certainly won't help the credibility of your relationship with the writer and their comments about you. I may be inclined to ignore the issue instead of highlighting it. But thats just my opinion, most letters are supposed to be confidential anyway. I would avoid bringing attention to the issue.

 

[letsdothis1988]

As in the writer was calling you he instead of her, or the other way around? Certainly won't help the credibility of your relationship with the writer and their comments about you. I may be inclined to ignore the issue instead of highlighting it. But thats just my opinion, most letters are supposed to be confidential anyway. I would avoid bringing attention to the issue.

Yea thats the side i was leaning on; its what it is, teacher screwed up. For him its a mistake, for me it could cost me an year. Well anyway, since some schools have decided to interview me, i'll prepare to do well on those and control what I can.

 

[NeuralNetwork]

Something I've learned is that things work out better when you're on the offensive. Don't try to start defending your letter by sending in new stuff - it weakens your position by drawing attention. For applications it is critical to shine what you have, not demonstrate negative things. If I was in your shoes, I would come up with a clever but conservative joke to get past that if it came up in your interview. In this situation, there really is nothing you can say in your defense that will lighten the impact of the letter, so lighten the impact through confidence and knowing how to deflect or move the conversation to positives instead.

 

[dmf2682]

Something I've learned is that things work out better when you're on the offensive. Don't try to start defending your letter by sending in new stuff - it weakens your position by drawing attention. For applications it is critical to shine what you have, not demonstrate negative things. If I was in your shoes, I would come up with a clever but conservative joke to get past that if it came up in your interview. In this situation, there really is nothing you can say in your defense that will lighten the impact of the letter, so lighten the impact through confidence and knowing how to deflect or move the conversation to positives instead.

Can you, er, provide an example? I'm curious what you were thinking 🙂

 

[EBTrailRunner]

Can you, er, provide an example? I'm curious what you were thinking 🙂

Like... Oh, Dr. _____ said that? What a comedian! If you can't tell, we have quite a Dr. Cox/Dr. Dorian-esque relationship. Wait, you've seen Scrubs, haven't you? Ohhh, uh...... mint?

 

[Donald Juan]

Can you, er, provide an example? I'm curious what you were thinking 🙂

How about, "sorry for the confusion, Dr. Hingleweitz wrote that letter last year before the sex change"

 

[LizzyM]

How about, "sorry for the confusion, Dr. Hingleweitz wrote that letter last year before the sex change"

For some applicants, that wouldn't be a joke. So don't joke about it. Some interviewers might not realize it was a joke.

 

[lkthlttr]

I would say don't bring it up at all. I am sure that admissions committees, who see literally thousands of letters each year, must be aware that professors that value their time often write a letter of recommendation template and sometimes forget to change the appropriate information. I would be shocked if yours was the only instance of this that the schools you've applied to have seen this year.