Rec Letters

[OpticDean]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey,

Can some one please clue me in on recommendation letters? How does it work? Does the letter get sealed and mailed to me by the recommender? Am I allowed to look at it and decide if I want to use it? Please let me know how this works. Thanks

Dean

 

[lovilla]

I think it depends on the school you apply to. Some schools require that the person writting the letter for you send it directly to them in a sealed envelope with their signature across the back. Other schools want you to collect the letters and send them all at once.

Some of the letter of recommendation forms I've seen allow you to keep or waive your right to see the letter of recommendation. I think you can't see it though until after it's been submitted (not sure though).

 

[Monkeyguts]

My school had their own evaluation form that I gave to my recommenders with a SASE, and they sent in that form to the school. I did have to sign something at the top of it that waived any right I had to see the recommendation, but I didn't care too much about that. Just check with the schools your applying to.

 

[neonam11]

At the UC's, they have their own forms that they ask the recommenders to fill out. Although it is alright to use your school's letter service, they much prefer that the recommenders use the forms the pharmcy schools provided because the admission committes want certain questions answered that might not be included in the forms your school uses to evaluate you. On the forms, there are check boxes where you can either waive your right to have access to the recommendation letters or not. There is only one catch: if you got accepted and did not waive your right, then you get to see the letters. If you were denied admission, it does not matter whether you waived your right for access to the recommendation letters or not because you won't be able to see them either way. Also, since there are lots of materials coming into the admission office, the UC's prefer that you collect all three letter of recommendations and send them in along with the required fee and forms to avoid materials being misplaced or lost. By the way all three letters are supposed to be sealed and signed by the recommenders.
If you are pretty close with the person you are asking a letter of recommendation from, sometimes he/she will offer you an opportunity to read the letter, so you can add details that he/she might have missed before it is sealed. However, it's always a good idea to have a CV along with a coverletter when you submitt the necessary forms to the recommender. By doing this, you are showing to the recommender you are serious about your career choice and have thought out about what you did in the past that will make you a good applicant for pharmacy school. Also, some recommenders, especially if they are instructors, might have dozens of students asking them for letters of recommendations. By having a coverletter, which clearly states why you want to pursue pharmacy and what you hope to accomplish, and CV, you give the recommenders more material to work with, which, hopefully, in the end will paint a more detailed picture of who you are and what others think about you and your work to the admission committee.

 

[Triangulation]

If you can, schedule a meeting with the recommender where you can really display why you want to enter the field. I'm not trying to freak people out bc it's not life/death, but prepare for that meeting like it's an interview. Have your thoughts prepared and really knock their socks off, even if you know them well. That thirty minutes can do a lot for your letter. You want your LOR to have superlatives and details. Your personal statemts and your LOR are your opportunities to make you an individual you have to make the most of that.

Once again, don't freak out about what I'm going to say (applying to pharm school shouldn't keep you up at night) but you don't just want a positive letter, you want a letter that makes you an individual. This doesn't pertain to pharm school but it illustrates what I'm trying to say: A bunch of my friends are grad students at ucsf, the candidate selection committee has files of old LOR categorized by professor who wrote them for the applicant and they'll actually compare your letter to letters the same guy wrote for other applicants bc some profs always right ridiculously positive letters.

You want your letter to showcase your talents and characteristics like anything else.

I told one of my letter writers exactly what I wanted him to highlight. I actually didn't land up using that letter, but I liked having it.

 

[chunkyb]

Make sure that when you talk with your recommender ask them if whether based on what they know of you, thay can they write a "STRONG letter of recommendation" on your behalf.
If they cannot, it would be unethical for them to agree to write you one when you could have asked somebody else to do the job.

A few years ago, I was working as admin. assistant to a graduate program and looked at some of the rec. letters for the applicants. I was shocked that one professor actually wrote, "Mary Sue was an average student in my class of 1000 students. Since I do not know her, other than the fact that she achieved an average grade in my course, I am surprised she asked me to write a letter on her behalf". I guess that's pretty bottom of the barrel and mean, but I guess it's a lesson that you must distinguish between just "a letter" and a strong one.

 

[ucdbiochem]

beside asking for a great letter of rec, you can always ask your recommender if you can have a copy of it. it would be nice to see what kinda things that they say about you before you turn in the letter of rec.
like the previous post, Mary Sue could have avoided that sorry letter of rec if she knew what's on the letter.