Reference Letter Clarification

[AnonymousApplicant]

Hey fellow UBC applicants, 

I was hoping someone could please clarify a question I have regarding the reference letters. For each reference writer, there is a form that they are supposed to fill out regarding the applicant's levels of performance, maturity, etc. At the end of the forum there is a section titled "comments," and then it reads:

"Please include general, additional comments below (required as these comments replace a reference letter and will greatly assist the selection committee in their deliberations). Please refer to the candidate using his/her initials only (max 3750 characters including spaces)." 

My interpretation is that your reference writers will write a letter (whatever length they choose to do so) and then these additional comments go in conjunction. But later, the committee will replace the full-length reference letter with these comments (almost as a summary) so that when they do the selection process, they can quickly review what your writers had said about you without rereading long documents. 

The reason I want to clarify this is so that I am not asking my reference writer for more work than they already have to. My other interpretation is that this comment (being 3750 characters long, which roughly translates to 1 spaced page) is the actual reference letter, and when they say it replaces a reference letter, they mean that this is what the committee is going to consider as the written letter. 

Thank you for your time and Happy New Years! 
 

[Neurophiliac]

Happy New Year!! 

Basically, the reference letter should go where that box is.  Just remember to remind your referee to refer to you by your initials in the letter, as per the instructions.

The way they word it is a bit confusing.  I’ve heard some people had their references write like a couple of sentences because they thought it was just an additional comments thing.  So, make sure your referee understands what goes there (my service referee had the exact same question, which I clarified for her).

[AnonymousApplicant]

1 hour ago, Neurophiliac said:

Happy New Year!! 

Basically, the reference letter should go where that box is.  Just remember to remind your referee to refer to you by your initials in the letter, as per the instructions.

The way they word it is a bit confusing.  I’ve heard some people had their references write like a couple of sentences because they thought it was just an additional comments thing.  So, make sure your referee understands what goes there (my service referee had the exact same question, which I clarified for her).

Thank you for clarifying, I truly appreciate it! =) 

[ATG4B]

Thanks for posting this (and for the clarification). I reached out to my references today to make sure they understood