Tool_fan said:
I apologize in advance for posting in two different forums.
I Asked a faculty member for a letter of reccomendation and he said "sure, just give me a brief thing on why your choosing what your choosing, and tell me what you'd like me to write in there".
Has anyone ever read a letter of reccomendation? What type of specific stuff do they say in there?
As for the tell me what youd like me to write, what is the best way to get a STRONG letter without asking him to knight me during the open sentence. In other words, what should I ask him to say? Do I mention specifics, and if so what? Anyone have similar situations? Thanks
It's a letter that makes you sound good w/o going over the top. For example, it may go like this:
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter to you on behalf of GUP, a third year medical student at blank College of Medicine, whom I believe is an outstanding candidate.
I encountered GUP very recently during his core rotation in pediatrics at xxx and worked very closely with him throughout his rotation.
Students like GUP are absolute pleasure to work with and are impossible to forget. Right from the start it was obvious that he was extremely bright and hardworking student with excellent professional conduct and pleasant demeanor. He always seems to be going the extra mile in every aspect of his work. He often wants to discuss the subtle, advanced aspects of the case, which are usually beyond the scope of most of the medical students. All this extra effort has given him an outstanding knowledge base, which is very advanced for his level of training and is reflected in all his presentations.
GUP not only excels in the academic setting, but in the clinical setting as well. His clinical abilities are outstanding. His ability to synthesize the information from the history and physical examination, and then generate a thorough differential and management plan is far above what I would expect from a third year student. GUP could always be found staying late to follow up on his patients. Without prompting, he would always take on additional responsibilities, see an extra patient, reassess a sick child, or track down an outstanding test result. He interacts extremely well with patients and families and was a very valued member of our team. The house staff spoke very highly on his abilities and hard work on multiple occasions
After working with GUP in both the clinical and academic settings, I feel extremely confident in saying that he is best of the best students with whom I have ever worked with. His level of maturity and professionalism is far beyond what one would expect from a third year student. His work ethic, conscientiousness, and attention to detail are far superior to his classmates. He is always an active participant is his education, which is quite a refreshing change. I have no doubts that he will excel in any field that he chooses. At this stage all I can say is that, It will be an honor to have him as a colleague following the completion of his medical education. Please feel free to contact me if you should have any questions.
__________________
Just be sincere with the guy. Tell him you need this letter and it means a lot to you that you get a good one. If he wants, show him your CV and why you want to go in a particular field. He should know the rest.
