LORs

[Magree]

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Hi:

I was wondering what people's experiences were with LORs. It seems like some people are enthusiastic supports but often they are busy and it is impossible to get them to really write you a letter - or they just write a quick half-ass job in the end. On the other hand some people who you might barely know will write long glowing letters (or so they say). I find this process very frustrating. My letters go to my school and I don't really get to see them. How do I know if I'm sending good letters? What did other people do when they got promised letters but then had a hard time getting the person to follow through because of their workload? Thanks.

M-

 

[jylu]

Originally posted by Magree:
•Hi:

I was wondering what people's experiences were with LORs. It seems like some people are enthusiastic supports but often they are busy and it is impossible to get them to really write you a letter - or they just write a quick half-ass job in the end. On the other hand some people who you might barely know will write long glowing letters (or so they say). I find this process very frustrating. My letters go to my school and I don't really get to see them. How do I know if I'm sending good letters? What did other people do when they got promised letters but then had a hard time getting the person to follow through because of their workload? Thanks.

M-•

Sounds like you didn't give your LOR writers sufficient time to grind out your letters. The rule of thumb, especially with surgeons, is to give your writer two months notice before your desired due date. Two weeks notice, although sufficient in the real world, often leads to half-assed letters.

As to determining if any of your letters are of any quality, assuming that you didn't sign a release preventing you from seeing the letter, you can always go to your Dean's office and read it.

 

[Soupbone]

"As to determining if any of your letters are of any quality, assuming that you didn't sign a release preventing you from seeing the letter, you can always go to your Dean's office and read it."

It was my understanding, if you did not sign the waiver of access to your recs.. prospective programs were made aware of that fact 😱 . It makes sense to me that programs would value candid letters more.

A 'safer' approach is to know the people in your Dean's office, and ask for 'insight' 😉 into the content of your letters. The people in your Dean's office should have your best interests and should be happy to help (that has been my experience at my school 🙂).


Happy Devil's Night 😡 ,

Soupbone

 

[Magree]

Hi:

Thanks for your replies. I did give a lot of time - over 4 months. How much should you "bug" people? I will ask the dean's assistant for some info. in regards to my letters - thanks.

Cheers,

M-

 

[AJM]

Originally posted by Magree:
•Hi:

Thanks for your replies. I did give a lot of time - over 4 months. How much should you "bug" people? I will ask the dean's assistant for some info. in regards to my letters - thanks.

Cheers,

M-•

Magree,
That's a really frustrating position you're in, and I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I had a similar thing happen with one of my letter-writers. He was taking forever to write my letter (more than 4 months). I ended up getting to know his secretary and discussed the rec letter issue with her. She asked me for a due date for him to get the rec done by. I gave her a date that was approximately 3 weeks away, and then I periodically checked in with her to see what the progress was on the letter (so I didn't have to bother the attending all the time). He ended up sending in the letter the very same day that I said I needed it by.

Some people are just like that -- they procrastinate on something, and will only finish it if there's an actual deadline. It doesn't matter if you give them 4 months notice or 2 days -- they'll still write the letter at the last minute. I suspect that your attending is like mine. You might want to politely tell him/her or the secretary that there is a deadline for it, so you can be sure it will be done.

 

[Magree]

Hi:

Thanks for that. Unfortunately this person is in another state (away rotation). However, I think giving a deadline is a good idea. Thanks for all the replies.

Cheers,

M-