General What to do... letter writer used wrong name AND university

[TheBoneDoctah]

Hi there,

I was just made aware by another employee of the place where I volunteer that she saw the LOR that was written for me and that my name was only mentioned once at the top. Throughout the rest of the letter, another person's name is written. It also says I graduated from a university I did not go to.

What should I do? Thanks to anyone that answers I am panicking right now and figuring out how to bring this up to her. My letters have been sent to all my schools already.

Thanks in advance.

1. Make sure that they aren't pulling your leg.

2. I would bring this up to her on the spot. I don't know if this is the "right" thing to do, but this is your career we are dealing with.

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[tantacles]

She showed me the letter on her desk so I have seen it. I am thinking the same thing, I am leaning towards coming back tomorrow when she's here and talking with her about it. I just have to figure out now what to do now that it's been sent to 40 programs.

Sounds like there's little you can do. I would just wait, and if you get interviews and it's brought up, try to have a sense of humor and humility about it. my canned answer would be: "I'm sure Professor X writes a lot of recommendations as from what I've seen he wants everyone to succeed, so I completely understand the mistake!"

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Since this is a workplace related letter, FERPA in my opinion actually doesn't apply, so the element of confidentiality is a little different. Regardless did your colleague point out the problem? It's a bit unfair to tell you that your letter misidentified you.

As it stands there is little else you can do. A good admissions office might contact your reference and ask to clarify the identity but that would be out of your hands.

 

[Goro]

This happens more commonly than you think.