PI asks me to write the letter of recommendation for myself..Help

[CrayonShinChan]

What do people usually do when the PI asks you to write a letter of rec for yourself and he will just revise it and sign it?

I am afraid if I write a letter that is very detailed and uses plenty of examples (which I was told it's what a good letter should be), it would appear too obvious that this letter, signed by the professor, was not written by a professor, because realistically the professor wouldn't really have many personal interactions other than talking about the research right?

How do people usually handle this situation? Any input would be appreciated! Thank you!

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[Naruhodo]

This, although uncomfortable, is not that unusual. For busy PIs with multiple undergrads requesting things of them it helps them keep track of who is who and also target the right kind of program (it can be hard to know what kind of a letter students need for MD-PhD, versus, MD only or PhD only, and a letter shouldn't sound like it was intended for a different admission committee). Try not to stress too much about it and do include as many project details as you can with what you think is a fair assessment of your contributions. The PI will likely edit, add, and delete as appropriate.

Yes, it may seem a little lazy on the PI's part (I remember feeling this way after I'd been free labor for a couple of years) but honestly this way at least you know you are going to get a detailed letter and not just something generic that won't be any use to programs. It probably won't be obvious that you wrote it, and even if somehow programs knew this I'm sure they also know that PIs request this and won't hold it against you. Also, it helps out some PIs for whom English is not a native language and so that spelling/ grammatical issues won't be a hindrance for the recommendation.

 

[SippyLord]

I felt a little uncomfortable when my PI told me to write my own letter, but I came to find out this is a pretty common practice. I mainly wrote about the specifics of how I contributed to the work then gave him a draft. He filled in the rest with a bunch of buzzwords and praise that I thought was pretty hyperbolic at the time, but I certainly wasn't going to complain. This ended up being a great combination, and during interviews, a few faculty members mentioned specific lines from that letter (in a good way).

I don't know what your PI is like, but for me, I think writing my own letter ended up being a huge advantage.

 

[benjamin94559]

I had a friend write a letter for me after I gave her a list of points I wanted covered;

I did it because 1. she is a better writer than me lol 2. make sure that it wouldn't seem super obvious that I wrote it

 

[Naruhodo]

I like the above suggestion (assuming you have a friend that fits the criteria). For Brown undergrad they used to have a letter option submitted by a "friend who knows you well". I always thought that was kind of sweet, and certainly a different perspective than you'd get from teachers.

 

[kepler16b]

I like the above suggestion (assuming you have a friend that fits the criteria). For Brown undergrad they used to have a letter option submitted by a "friend who knows you well". I always thought that was kind of sweet, and certainly a different perspective than you'd get from teachers.

This just made me remember that I did this for a friend in high school who was applying to Brown! Totally forgot about that.

Edit: I think it was actually Dartmouth

 

[dl2dp2]

There's a lot of credential inflation. This is now a common practice. If you don't do this now with hyperbolic remarks, generally it'll be a red flag. Old school PIs still write their letters, and people know about them, and if they really have strong remarks it's thought to be a marker. However, in these types of situations it's more useful for personal phone calls--and MDPhD apps (vs. faculty positions) are not at this kind of level.