Anon1221 Posted August 9, 2018 Report Share Posted August 9, 2018 Hi, I'm a bit confused regarding LORs for U of C vs U of A and U of T. According to U of C's manual they would like each of the 3 referees to speak to a different set of attributes. While for U of A and U of T, I understand its just 3 generic LORs? In that case, would the referees have to produce 2 different letters (one for U of C, and one for the other 2 schools) or would the letters made for U of C suffice for the other 2 schools as they combine to speak to a comprehensive list of attributes? I figure its a lot to ask the referees to produce 2 sets of LORs but would really appreciate advice from past applicants on how they dealt with this? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theevilsloth Posted August 9, 2018 Report Share Posted August 9, 2018 University of Alberta doesn't use reference letters though? I think they just ask for for 2 references which they can call? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eudaimonia Posted August 10, 2018 Report Share Posted August 10, 2018 I don't know about UofC, but I'll explain for the other two. For UofT, they would like to see those 4 clusters mentioned across your letters. This means if all 3 references speak about all 4, it's fine, or if ref1 speaks about cluster 1, ref2 for cluster 2, ref3 for cluster 3+4, this would also satisfy the requirement. So if you went with the last example you could use those same letters for UofC, but I wouldn't recommend that if you want to have the best possible letters for UofT (first example would be better). UofA asks that your references answer if they think you'd be a good doctor, with some other prompts along those lines. The reason I can't remember those other questions is because I asked my references to use the same letter they wrote for UofT, which didn't specifically talk about those questions. Yet I still received an interview so I don't think the LORs are as important at UofA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a7x Posted August 10, 2018 Report Share Posted August 10, 2018 LOR at U of A is pass/fail as are most schools in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon1221 Posted August 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 On 8/9/2018 at 4:38 PM, Eudaimonia said: I don't know about UofC, but I'll explain for the other two. For UofT, they would like to see those 4 clusters mentioned across your letters. This means if all 3 references speak about all 4, it's fine, or if ref1 speaks about cluster 1, ref2 for cluster 2, ref3 for cluster 3+4, this would also satisfy the requirement. So if you went with the last example you could use those same letters for UofC, but I wouldn't recommend that if you want to have the best possible letters for UofT (first example would be better). UofA asks that your references answer if they think you'd be a good doctor, with some other prompts along those lines. The reason I can't remember those other questions is because I asked my references to use the same letter they wrote for UofT, which didn't specifically talk about those questions. Yet I still received an interview so I don't think the LORs are as important at UofA With regards to the first example, if a referee could speak strongly about 2-3/4 clusters and only tangentially about the remaining 1-2/4 clusters just based on the nature of the respective activity would that make the letters seem "weaker" overall? Conversely would the second example produce 3 "stronger" letters individually? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eudaimonia Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 2 hours ago, Anon1221 said: With regards to the first example, if a referee could speak strongly about 2-3/4 clusters and only tangentially about the remaining 1-2/4 clusters just based on the nature of the respective activity would that make the letters seem "weaker" overall? Conversely would the second example produce 3 "stronger" letters individually? UofT just wants to make sure you strongly possess the qualities, whatever way they can glean from your 3 letters as a whole. How that is distributed in terms of depth/breadth for each letter is highly variable. Sorry, I meant that the second example would only be weaker because I think any reference can at least attempt to speak about all 4 clusters, regardless of how well. In this way, at least every reference tried to cover all 4 clusters and you don't have a situation where everyone forgot about a cluster, or that the only person who wrote about cluster x didn't illustrate it very nicely. This is how I would play it safe with UofT, but I don't know how strict UofC is about their letters for you to do some compromising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon1221 Posted August 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 2 hours ago, Eudaimonia said: UofT just wants to make sure you strongly possess the qualities, whatever way they can glean from your 3 letters as a whole. How that is distributed in terms of depth/breadth for each letter is highly variable. Sorry, I meant that the second example would only be weaker because I think any reference can at least attempt to speak about all 4 clusters, regardless of how well. In this way, at least every reference tried to cover all 4 clusters and you don't have a situation where everyone forgot about a cluster, or that the only person who wrote about cluster x didn't illustrate it very nicely. This is how I would play it safe with UofT, but I don't know how strict UofC is about their letters for you to do some compromising Thanks for the clarification! I agree with the approach now given that reasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon1221 Posted August 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Just one last question I have is, if one of the 3 letters is from a professor that I have done/currently am doing research(was not course based) with during would that count as an academic reference? Or would an academic reference only be someone I have taken a graded course with? Im asking because I feel this person would know me better than a random professor I took a class with. Thanks for the help so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon1221 Posted August 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2018 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-D- Posted August 14, 2018 Report Share Posted August 14, 2018 On 8/11/2018 at 7:21 PM, Anon1221 said: Just one last question I have is, if one of the 3 letters is from a professor that I have done/currently am doing research(was not course based) with during would that count as an academic reference? Or would an academic reference only be someone I have taken a graded course with? Im asking because I feel this person would know me better than a random professor I took a class with. Thanks for the help so far! None of my references were professors I took courses with. A few professors I've chatted with have told me that these kinds of reference letters (e.g. "so-and-so took my course, participated in class often, and got an A+") tend to be weak, unless you have worked with the professor beyond just having taken their course. It's not a bad idea to send your transcript to the professor you are doing research with. If they know you well, many professors/referees will be comfortable commenting on your academic achievements that they've seen on your transcripts even if they never taught you any of the courses. And yes, I would consider your prof an academic reference either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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