Letter of rec for pharmacy school

[hopefulstudent2]

I have been volunteering at a pharmacy for a long time, and recently I asked the pharmacist for a letter of rec, and he said that he would be glad to sign it as long as I write it. I know this is unethical but I had no choice, I really needed his letter.
My roommate who volunteers in a different pharmacy is in the same situation, so we worked together and came up with a letter for the both of us. My question is is there a way that they would find out that our letters are the same, with different names? They have slight differences, but for the most part its the same letter.


thanks

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[170]

I have been volunteering at a pharmacy for a long time, and recently I asked the pharmacist for a letter of rec, and he said that he would be glad to sign it as long as I write it. I know this is unethical but I had no choice, I really needed his letter.
My roommate who volunteers in a different pharmacy is in the same situation, so we worked together and came up with a letter for the both of us. My question is is there a way that they would find out that our letters are the same, with different names? They have slight differences, but for the most part its the same letter.


thanks

In my opinion, I would not use the same letter. What if the school or pharmcas notices this? Both of you could get flagged as dishonest, even though the pharmacists are legitimately signing it. Its not worth the risk, just shake the lazy off of you and come up with separate letters.

 

[Pojman]

In my opinion, I would not use the same letter. What if the school or pharmcas notices this? Both of you could get flagged as dishonest, even though the pharmacists are legitimately signing it. Its not worth the risk, just shake the lazy off of you and come up with separate letters.

I don't know if this is entirely accurate. I know many people that have a "master copy" letter of recommendation, and will send that letter out to several schools. In fact, I have the exact situation. The people writing me my LoR's have copied and signed about 10 of the same letter.

As long as the pharmacist who signed off on the letter, is willing to back up the words on the document, I think it is legitimate. It is the Pharmacist, in this situation, that is putting his/her reputation on the line.

Now, personal statements are a bit different. These get checked for plagiarism.

I can not be 100% sure on this issue though. Perhaps someone that has sat on an admissions board on this forum can help better.

 

[owlegrad]

I have been volunteering at a pharmacy for a long time, and recently I asked the pharmacist for a letter of rec, and he said that he would be glad to sign it as long as I write it. I know this is unethical but I had no choice, I really needed his letter.
My roommate who volunteers in a different pharmacy is in the same situation, so we worked together and came up with a letter for the both of us. My question is is there a way that they would find out that our letters are the same, with different names? They have slight differences, but for the most part its the same letter.


thanks

This absolutely is not unethical. It is no different than filling out a check and letting the account holder sign for it. It is very common and there is nothing unethical about it.

Now if you signed it for him and he never gave permission, that would be unethical.

As for your question, I have no idea if they have a way of knowing if letters are similar. Sorry.

 

[NickW9682]

My professor gave strong warnings against generic LOR's. I mean, if you showed up and got a A then how does that distinguish you from anyone else in the mix. This has bad situation written all over it. He wants you to write your own LOR?? Isnt that what the f-ing personal statement is for? For you to BS the admin board about how you love morbidly obese smokers and arent really interested in the 100k paycheck is complete bs.

 

[dkphx]

you're better off finding someone else who is willing to put in some effort and write you a legit letter of rec. i was waitlisted last cycle and ultimately had to expand my choices this cycle and got in to few schools. i got a hold of the head of admissions committee for the only school i applied to last cycle and they mentioned my letters were a bit weak but this cycle is much better (all new recommenders). Letters of recommendations are really important! just as important as GPA and PCAT. anyway im sure you and ur friend can use the same letter just hope your friend isn't applying to the same schools as you.... good luck

 

[bw6]

You said it yourself... unethical. While I do not think it is completely immoral, you chose the wording unethical to describe it. Your opinion is the most important and it seems as though you have made up your mind.

Either way, if someone is willing to recommend you but won't put in 20 minutes to write a letter.. well then they are an awful reference to have. Get someone who actually cares enough to write a letter for you or you might as well have forged the letter. Your words + his signature = you speaking for him. In my opinion it is unethical and I am sure you can do better. If you cannot find someone to write a simple letter on your behalf, you should not be applying to any PharmD program.

I trust that you are good enough to get some real recommendations. If they can't spend the time to write a letter themselves then they aren't a good reference.

 

[PharmacyWarrior]

What I don't get is why are you struggling to write a LOR about yourself? Who knows you better than you know yourself? So start working on that letter and get it over with. You should be glad that your pharmacist agreed to sign your LOR.

 

[Incitatus]

This absolutely is not unethical. It is no different than filling out a check and letting the account holder sign for it. It is very common and there is nothing unethical about it.

Now if you signed it for him and he never gave permission, that would be unethical.

As for your question, I have no idea if they have a way of knowing if letters are similar. Sorry.

Also illegal, a Class D felony to be exact.

Many professors or people with too little free time will ask the person to be referred to draft a LoR and then they will proofread and sign it. As was said above, this is nothing unethical or unusual, it is in fact a very common practice.
As far as using the same letter from the same person for two different applicants...
Be safe, and rewrite one of them. These letters are read by people, not machines. And if you and your buddy are going to apply to the same school, it will be a dead giveaway that the letters were not drafted by the designate.

Whats wrong with this if it is such a common practice you might be asking yourself?
Well, in Letters of Recommendation, the admissions committee is looking for an opinion of you as a person and a professional. It is only natural for them to give more weight to those letters which give the designate more leeway to be candid. (This is also why it is a good idea to waive your FERPA access to any LoR if using an electronic LoR system) If they know that you wrote that letter, clearly there isn't a candid opinion, just an agreeable one. So while it is a common practice, and totally ethical, it is something you'll presumably want to keep under wraps.

 

[iBeast]

How can you write your own PS? I thought that PharmCas just mails your references some info/questions and they just answer it etc.

It's not really an essay... and that is why they call it a "letter of reference."

 

[xtsukiyox]

How can you write your own PS? I thought that PharmCas just mails your references some info/questions and they just answer it etc.

It's not really an essay... and that is why they call it a "letter of reference."

It's relatively common practice for someone to have you write your LoR, then sign off on it. (Others have written on this point up-thread more eloquently than I.)

You can print the forms off of PharmCAS. There is a questionnaire that would be attached to the letter.

 

[Nelcovp]

I have been volunteering at a pharmacy for a long time, and recently I asked the pharmacist for a letter of rec, and he said that he would be glad to sign it as long as I write it. I know this is unethical but I had no choice, I really needed his letter.
My roommate who volunteers in a different pharmacy is in the same situation, so we worked together and came up with a letter for the both of us. My question is is there a way that they would find out that our letters are the same, with different names? They have slight differences, but for the most part its the same letter.


thanks

What if the letter is to be sent electronically? Are you supposed to get access to the pharmacist's email account to do that?

If the pharmacist is not willing to write the letter himself, get a different recommender because to be perfectly honest, he really doesn't give a crap.

 

[bw6]

What if the letter is to be sent electronically? Are you supposed to get access to the pharmacist's email account to do that?

If the pharmacist is not willing to write the letter himself, get a different recommender because to be perfectly honest, he really doesn't give a crap.

AGREED.

Find someone who can spare 20 minutes to write a letter or that is a terrible recommendation to use because "he really doesn't give a crap." -So true.