Rec Letter

[jrhea]

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I am a double major for nutrition and poli sci and I served an internship with the Florida Legislature last year. Since I got school credit for this I asked the guy I worked for to write me a letter as my 1 non-science teacher. He told me to just write it myself bc he trusts I will do a better job, email it to him and he would sign it and put it on letter head. I'm not sure how I feel about this (if I should write it or insist that he write it)? Also... if I do write it... I'm not sure how to go about doing that. Is this a good opportunity or a terrible idea? Any suggestions?

 

[pharaoh88]

I am a double major for nutrition and poli sci and I served an internship with the Florida Legislature last year. Since I got school credit for this I asked the guy I worked for to write me a letter as my 1 non-science teacher. He told me to just write it myself bc he trusts I will do a better job, email it to him and he would sign it and put it on letter head. I'm not sure how I feel about this (if I should write it or insist that he write it)? Also... if I do write it... I'm not sure how to go about doing that. Is this a good opportunity or a terrible idea? Any suggestions?

Write it. This is a great opportunity to emphasize something that may be missing in your application or to attest to some humanistic/interpersonal skills that don't come through as obviously on your app. Draft it a few times, revise it, and email it to him for the sig. This is a good thing!

 

[Mattabet]

Yeah, people write their own letters of rec all the time. Just roll with it. Tell yourself it's just a draft to guide him and that he'll probably make a bunch of his own changes... most of the time he'll probably just sign it though 🙂

 

[NickNaylor]

This is a relatively common thing it seems. Use it to your advantage, but don't be blatantly biased. Your letter needs to sound like it came from a professional, not your best friend.