LOR--Writing my own?

[rotatedline]

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Alright, I know this topic has been covered ad nauseam, but I have no idea where to start. I'm waiting on my primary to be verified and all I have left is a single LOR that I have to write myself. It's for a professor that knows me extremely well, he is just incredibly busy. I know what I should say, I just have no idea how to format it (ie, the intro, length, etc.). Any thoughts?

 

[Mohammed1989]

Yeah I have to write one for a physician I shadowed and its insanely hard to write. I'm just jotting down what I can put in the LOR but have no idea how to start.

 

[Cannonball]

Wow, I wish I had this problem.

Just do a Google search for letter of recommendation.

 

[rotatedline]

Wow, I wish I had this problem.

Just do a Google search for letter of recommendation.

Trust me, you don't. It's extremely nerve wracking.

 

[DocHomer]

This is a great opportunity to highlight your strong points and have someone else sign off on it.

List your strengths and provide specific examples in a concise, coherent, and well-written letter. Start with bullet points and transition from one point to another, and find a template online as a guide. It only needs to be about three paragraphs or so.

Just like with any other essay, getting started is probably the hardest part. Good luck.

 

[Cannonball]

Trust me, you don't. It's extremely nerve wracking.

Sorry, I shouldn't make light of your situation. I wouldn't want to write anymore after all those secondaries.

Good Luck with it.

 

[rotatedline]

Sorry, I shouldn't make light of your situation. I wouldn't want to write anymore after all those secondaries.

Good Luck with it.

Haha, don't worry about it. I read what I said and it sounded serious, my apologies, it wasn't meant to be serious at all. Anyways, now that I'm kind of getting into it, it doesn't seem that bad--I can say whatever I want!

 

[droogdoc]

This is a great opportunity to highlight your strong points and have someone else sign off on it.

List your strengths and provide specific examples in a concise, coherent, and well-written letter. Start with bullet points and transition from one point to another, and find a template online as a guide. It only needs to be about three paragraphs or so.

Just like with any other essay, getting started is probably the hardest part. Good luck.

I didnt write my own letter, but my D.O. recommender mentioned when I last talked to him (a WHILE ago) that he had sent my letter and it was "almost 2 pages, and I spoke pretty highly of you. Dont believe in putting anything negative in just for the sake of it". I havent seen the letter, but I was surprised. 2 pages is long but I worked with him pretty closely so maybe he was just doing what you said, being concise & specific. Also, I think he mentioned this was the first time he had written an LOR, so he may have gotten carried away. Who knows.

Also, I am glad at what he said. I hate it when I hear people talk about LORs and that there has to be something in there highlighting bad points, and how the applicant works on them WHY??? It is a RECOMMENDATION letter!!! I have plenty of weaknesses, but nothing different from most human beings. That is what the interview is for.

Personally, if a recommender told me to write my own letter I wouldnt know where to start and probably would not do it. But, I guess sonce it isnt uncommon, just highlight your good points, including your character, and back them up with a few examples. If a school contacts your professor to verify, which isnt very likely, they arent going to grill him anyway. They will just ask if he sent the letter, and maybe ask if he has anything to add. He may edit it before he sends it anyway.

Also, if a school is able to contact my D.O. I would like to know! I havent been able to get a hold of him, and I know he was supposed to leave the country for an extended period of time right around now. Hopefully he put his email address in the letter.

 

[forrealz]

I didnt write my own letter, but my D.O. recommender mentioned when I last talked to him (a WHILE ago) that he had sent my letter and it was "almost 2 pages, and I spoke pretty highly of you. Dont believe in putting anything negative in just for the sake of it". I havent seen the letter, but I was surprised. 2 pages is long but I worked with him pretty closely so maybe he was just doing what you said, being concise & specific. Also, I think he mentioned this was the first time he had written an LOR, so he may have gotten carried away. Who knows.

Also, I am glad at what he said. I hate it when I hear people talk about LORs and that there has to be something in there highlighting bad points, and how the applicant works on them WHY??? It is a RECOMMENDATION letter!!! I have plenty of weaknesses, but nothing different from most human beings. That is what the interview is for.

Personally, if a recommender told me to write my own letter I wouldnt know where to start and probably would not do it. But, I guess sonce it isnt uncommon, just highlight your good points, including your character, and back them up with a few examples. If a school contacts your professor to verify, which isnt very likely, they arent going to grill him anyway. They will just ask if he sent the letter, and maybe ask if he has anything to add. He may edit it before he sends it anyway.

Also, if a school is able to contact my D.O. I would like to know! I havent been able to get a hold of him, and I know he was supposed to leave the country for an extended period of time right around now. Hopefully he put his email address in the letter.

I agree with you on this. My pre-med advising office staff is so ridiculous, they said they would actually send out a "non-recommending" committee letter, if they disliked something about your application. That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, why wouldn't they just refuse to send out a committee letter instead.

 

[droogdoc]

I agree with you on this. My pre-med advising office staff is so ridiculous, they said they would actually send out a "non-recommending" committee letter, if they disliked something about your application. That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, why wouldn't they just refuse to send out a committee letter instead.

Exactly. Dont send it out. why put an applicant through such a situation and spend all that money?? If I was a professor or a physician, and someone asked me for an LOR, if I didnt think that my LOR would be to their beneift for admission I would politely tell them I wouldnt write them one.

Wouldnt this be the, well,......PROFESSIONAL thing to do???

 

[rotatedline]

I agree with you on this. My pre-med advising office staff is so ridiculous, they said they would actually send out a "non-recommending" committee letter, if they disliked something about your application. That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, why wouldn't they just refuse to send out a committee letter instead.

This is exactly what happened to me. Since my freshman year was terrible, the pre-med advisor told me the last 3 years wouldn't matter and she would send a "non-recommendation letter", so I did it on my own.

 

[forrealz]

what is wrong with all these crazy ****ers on earth?😡

atleast they told you straight up that they would send a crapy letter. Mine is keeping it all a secret, she is not even saying how she is feeling about my application. her mind game is messing with my head.

 

[droogdoc]

This is exactly what happened to me. Since my freshman year was terrible, the pre-med advisor told me the last 3 years wouldn't matter and she would send a "non-recommendation letter", so I did it on my own.

What the hell kind of school is this???? So basically they are saying "Well, we dont care how much you try your last 3 YEARS because your first year was bad, so you're screwed".

That is un believeable. Oh man, I would raised holy hell in that advisor's office. I find it hard to be shy when I am getting screwed over.

 

[scummie]

That is so crazy. We have to sign off confidentiality agreements saying that we'll never look at any of our letters, yet you guys actually get to write them. RIDICULOUS! Gotta love that good ole pre-med advising.

 

[rotatedline]

That is so crazy. We have to sign off confidentiality agreements saying that we'll never look at any of our letters, yet you guys actually get to write them. RIDICULOUS! Gotta love that good ole pre-med advising.

I think quite a few people end up writing one of their own LOR's, the confidentiality agreement is still intact (technically), because you don't see the final product.

Needless to say that was the only time I met with the pre-med advisor, instead of getting confrontational and pissing off people I didn't need to anger (dean, etc and--- maybe having it all reach the dean of medicine down the line...) I just struck out on my own.

 

[korsibor]

I've been out of school for about 4 years now and it was a bit difficult finding professors who knew me well to write recommendations for me. Besides, I wasn't a biology major, I did nursing. Last year I got my busy anatomy prof and some other folks to write recommendations, however, I ended up not sending them because I did not complete most of my secondaries. I had to write a couple of those letters myself. Now, my question is, can I use those same letters from last year for this year? Almost all of them were dated in October. I have then saved-up in interfolio.

 

[DocHomer]

I've been out of school for about 4 years now and it was a bit difficult finding professors who knew me well to write recommendations for me. Besides, I wasn't a biology major, I did nursing. Last year I got my busy anatomy prof and some other folks to write recommendations, however, I ended up not sending them because I did not complete most of my secondaries. I had to write a couple of those letters myself. Now, my question is, can I use those same letters from last year for this year? Almost all of them were dated in October. I have then saved-up in interfolio.

I think if your letters are only a year old, then that would be OK. I would check with a couple of schools though.