Writing myself a letter of rec

[longhorn]

Hey guys,

One of my recommenders asked me to write the body of the letter myself and said she would add in personla details and such. I am excited at the fact I can make myslef look really good, but I also don't know if this is ethical( it also feels strange). Do I write two pages on what a good person I am or keep it to the point? Any one with previous experiences please speak up.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Trek]

I wouldn't do it. It sounds too good and they call him up, you're up **** creek. Just tell him you don't feel comfortable doing it and give him any info he needs to write one. Can't go wrong that way. --Trek

 

[Trek]

Oh yeah....turn all the "him"s into "her"s in that last post! --Trek

 

[Dr. MAXY]

Wow, Given That chance, I wouldn't feel comfortable writing it. I think you should go with what Trek said.

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

Usually professors would do if they do not know you well.

 

[longhorn]

This lady is actually a volunteer coordinator who i have worked with for the last 3 years, not a techer. She knows me very very well, but has little experience writing letters let alone letters to med school. She asked me to write up things I would like her to say and she would go over them and add/take out stuff at her discretion. But I guess from the posts that this is strange and nota good idea.

 

[jonquille]

Try posting this in the allo section or the post-grad section. I've heard that this OFTEN happens -- esp. as you get higher in education. Didn't happen to me...but I've certainly heard of it.

 

[autumnchai]

If the woman only wants ideas of what to include, this wouldn't be so out of the ordinary. Most letter-writers want to see a CV/resume to include things you have done. Encourage the woman to talk not only about what you did, but HOW you did it...ie what you did that was different than anybody else doing the same thing. Personality characteristics with supporting examples are just as important as the actions themselves, it seems.

 

[BushBaby]

My supervisor told me to do this about three weeks ago and I wrote it up, he read it and signed it. Don't write anything false. Just make it decent....if she feels like taking anything out or adding anything to it she will do that when she reads it.

I never had a professor who would let me write my own rec letter, but the supervisor a place I once volunteered had me write my own. Some people aren't just experienced with writing letters of rec...and you wouldn't want her to write a letter that doesn't capture your character.

 

[Mr. H]

I normally agree with many of the posters, but not in this matter. YOu are given here an excellent opportunity not man people get. You get to really reflect on yourself as a person and truly write down what kind of person you are. IMO you should not pass this up, your coordinator is going to look it over and make sure everything is correct in her opinion, so I don't see the ethical. YOu would be a FOOL to pass this up.

One more thing, as cool as it is, these letters really dont' mean much. Its the sad, sad truth, but in the AC COMM's sight, it is only the Professor's and Dr.'s that really carry any weight, this is from personal experience with Ad COMM member's.
In any case I wish you luck.

 

[longhorn]

I have to disagree with you that only Docs and Profs count for the adcom. I think if someone knows you very well and can write you a good letter you will get in. And I DO think this is true for top schools as well. However, you must supplement your application with other letters from more experienced people. In my case I have 3 profs, 3 docs, and a volunteer coordinator who will prolly write the most significant and telling information about myself( It has to do with the volunteer activity). Just my opinion though, I could be wrong.

 

[Dr/\/\om]

One of my professors asked me to do something similar to this.

I sent him a bulleted list of what he would/should know about my qualifications. He incorporated them into his letter. By doing it this way, I didn't write the letter, but I did *remind* him of things I felt were important.

 

[Bevo]

i had to do the same thing. I wrote a cover letter, a list of my stengths and weaknesses, and a recommendation letter. Im looking for another letter of recommendation hopefully cause Im not so sure about this one.


It was hard to write it.

 

[conure]

Write it!

I just wrote a 'draft' for my supervisor that I worked with for 4 years. It is a great opportunity to shape the letter the way you want. Depending on the reccommender use your judgement in how much you craft it. Take specific experiences and accomplishments at your job and use them to backup claims about yourself.

I also looked at accepted.com they have a very good page of ten tips for writting LORs. It will help get you started.

 

[ckent]

This is actually pretty common in the medical profession (if the writer likes you and is too busy to write it him or herself). Just be sure to make yourself shine, now isn't the time to be modest. Check out the recommendations at accepted.com for tips for writing letters of rec too.

 

[Cydney Foote]

Being asked to write your own letter of recommendation is very, very common. It usually happens when the recommender is busy but wants to ensure that they give you a good recommendation -- I think you start out with the advantage of knowing that they do have your best interests at heart.

Some things you'll want to include are:

* how long the recommender has known you, and in what capacity

* the most outstanding qualities about you, and first-hand examples of each of these of which the recommender is aware

* how the recommender would compare you against other students (employees, etc.) they have worked with

This is an excellent opportunity for you to write something that coincides with your other essays and highlights your abilities. But it is not the time to be modest or self-effacing. Don't go overboard -- write the truth (or else your recommender will end up having to redo it) but write it well!

 

[drewskovitch]

there was actually another thread on this...
http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13915

i don't think it's sooo strange...

 

[Bmblee888]

I wrote my own letter of rec for one professor. I kept it short and sweet. It wasn't too difficult. I'm sure writing your own rec occurs very often. I tried not to exaggerate too much about myself. I was positive and truthful. I tried not to say anything that he wouldn't have said about me. Then I showed the letter to the professor, he approved it, and I sent it off. Be sure to end the letter of rec with something like, "I highly recommend -your name- to any medical program."

 

[CoffeeCat]

I recently wrote my own letter of rec and actually enjoyed it. This person was the only non-professor person I had asked and likely didn't have much of an idea about the med school admissions process. So I was able to focus on the weak spots of my app and really drive home the personal aspect over the academic (which I had already gotten). I think it's a great opportunity not to be taken lightly. And you end up with a letter you KNOW says what you'd like it to say. It's a win-win

 

[holler79]

WRITE THE LETTER! I had worked with one of my professors for 2 years in her lab and she told me to write it and she'd sign it. She did this because she knew how hard I worked and also knew me well as a person. This supervisor is giving you this special opportunity because s/he wants the best for you. I don't think it's unethical but in the end you have to be comfortable with it.

BTW...I think this is more common than people may think>>people just don't talk about it!! Good luck with whatever you choose