Letters of Rec

[dumadr.]

Help! I have just been informed from a PD that one of my LORs, though impressive, contained the name of another student. I am frantically trying to get in contact with this Physician and resubmit a corrected LOR, but I worry this has killed my chances. Should I email all the programs I applied to and let them know a corrected LOR is on the way?

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[Old&InTheWay]

Oh man, that is unfortunate. I would really want to first find out what happened from the letter writer. The way you respond may be different if it was simply an issue of uploading someone else’s letter by mistake vs not changing your name on a form letter. I would probably bring in some advisors/deans/mentors for advice and to see if anyone would go to bat for me if they have any connections anywhere.

 

[ridethecliche]

I would involve your deans asap

 

[FFH]

I won't worry too much about this. I'm not sure what your dean would do that can help you in this situation. Put yourself in the shoes of the residency programs, why would they judge you for this hiccup? A reasonable program would feel very sorry for you. For faculty who write a lot of letters, most do not write one de novo each time. I don't think anyone would blame them for modifying the content but keep the format of an earlier letter or mixed two letters up. Maybe contact that faculty involved-- first to thank him for writing you a letter in the first place, then ask him to double check and update the letter if needed. Then send the program a short reminder that your letter has been updated due to error that you weren't aware of. Who knows, this might make you stand out, and it's might be a good thing given how many programs have trouble choosing among similarly qualified candidates.

 

[ridethecliche]

My thought was more along the lines of them wondering if it's actually about the OP and not there for someone else entirely. I guess the content of the letter should clear that up!

 

[dumadr.]

Ok update: the letter writer uploaded a new, corrected LoR to ERAS using the same LoR request so as to replace the faulty letter. Is this how it works? Does it automatically replace the existing letter? I was planning on emailing the programs to let them know a new LoR has been submitted on my behalf because I'm really not sure how it works on their end. Thoughts?

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Ok update: the letter writer uploaded a new, corrected LoR to ERAS using the same LoR request so as to replace the faulty letter. Is this how it works? Does it automatically replace the existing letter? I was planning on emailing the programs to let them know a new LoR has been submitted on my behalf because I'm really not sure how it works on their end. Thoughts?

It should work that way. And it's fine to email programs about the error, these things do happen, and we know it's not the applicant's fault.