writing a LOR for a friend

[bmedclinic]

Hello All-
I have a friend who wants to apply to a graduate program (not mine) in 3 years. One of his favorite graduate programs is at my current university and closely tied with mine (they take a few courses together, faculty all know each other, and I know many of the faculty in the program he's apply to as well).

In 2.5 years, I'll have my PhD from said university. I've known this guy for 9 years (friends in undergrad) so I cant write a letter for him, can I?

He hinted at it, and I didnt lead him on. That said, I do know him very well, and I know he is capable of achieving a lot. Further, the people on the admissions committee know me and I always hear they think very highly of me as well. I even work with one of them (a psychologist) on a day to day basis. So I guess on one hand, it could do him a lot of good if I wrote him a letter, but it could also be considered unethical. Help with the boundary is appreciated.

 

[HopefulStudent8]

If you're worried about it, couldn't you always voice your opinion to someone on the admissions committee rather than writing a formal letter? My guess is that since your friend sounds very competent, he/she will most likely have many research/clinical mentors or professors who are willing to attest to that.

 

[RejectClinical]

I agree with the above post. My friend applied to a program where the post doc at her work received his Ph.D. from that program. While she did have close working experience wit him, I believe she just had him put in a good word for her at the university and received letters of rec from others (ie boss, profs, etc).