What to send with a LoR request?

[doeordie]

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I'm about to send an Interfolio link to one of my LoR writers, who knows me fairly well. Should I send any supplementary material? Like a resume, personal statement, etc.? Or is that not strictly necessary?

 

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When I talked to the professors who wrote my letters, I gave them all my resume. My professors also knew me fairly well, but giving them a resume gives you the opportunity to highlight what you want them to talk about. Also, they may be writing multiple letters for students at the moment, so a resume could help him/her stay organized and be more efficient.

 

[DuckDS]

I'm about to send an Interfolio link to one of my LoR writers, who knows me fairly well. Should I send any supplementary material? Like a resume, personal statement, etc.? Or is that not strictly necessary?

Have the writers interacted with you in the extracurricular activities on your resume? If your interaction was only in the classroom or academics-related, then they can only comment on their interactions with you as a student/TA/etc. In other words, if you put on your resume that you volunteered at a food bank, your professor has no basis to discuss that in their letter; they likely only know how you are in the classroom. When I asked my professors for recommendations, they explicitly stated that they did not want to see my resume since they could not comment on them. Other sections of your application will talk about your activities/volunteer/work/etc, there is no need for your writers to address them. On the other hand, I think sending your personal statement to your writers might be good, especially if you have not discussed with them your motivation for wanting to pursue dentistry.

 

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I sent a box of choclates