etbr Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Hello everybody, I asked this professor to write me a letter, but she's very busy with grant deadlines. But she's still very kind to agree to give me a reference. However, she wants me to write a draft first. I have a few questions: 1) has anyone been in this situation before? 2) is this a bad sign in anyway? 3) how would you write this letter? 4) should I not actually "draft" one but list in point form? Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 I have been in that situation....but I opted then to ask someone else. There is absolutely nothing wrong with providing the prof with activities and achievements you specifically want included but it would be hard for you to write a letter expressing your profs opinion of you! You really need to find someone who is willing to put some thought into your letter. I have seen some of the letters of reference that profs have written for me and I would have NEVER been able to write that about myself!! So my advice is to find a prof who will take the time to write you a letter. (but of course, provide an up to date CV, transcripts etc... anything that will give them something good to put in the letter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Yeah, I agree. I haven't applied for med school before, but I've had to use reference letters and I really would never have been able to say those things about myself. It's better to have it come from the other person's perspective, they see stuff that you'll never see in yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 There was a fairly lengthly discussion on this very topic last year at this time. You might want to have a look through the archives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachy Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 There was a fairly lengthly discussion on this very topic last year at this time. You might want to have a look through the archives.And, now that the search function works, it's actually possible to locate old threads! http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15465 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lth Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Hey, I was just in the exact same situation where a research supervisor of mine asked me to prepare a draft of the reference letter for him. He is a REALLY good guy, so I know it wasn't because he was being lazy or didn't want to put in the effort, it's just that he's really busy and has never really written a reference letter for med, so I guess he just wants to do it well. What I did was politely tell him that it's actually greatly frowned upon by med schools if I have anything to do with the letter (ie. read it afterwards, draft a copy, etc.), and instead what I did was provide him with guidelines as to how a reference letter for med usually works. I told him that one paragraph could discuss this, one paragraph could discuss that, etc. without actually telling him what to say about me. I agree with the above posters in that I think the referees will probably be able to provide points that I would never have been able to think of. Best of luck with your applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 And, now that the search function works, it's actually possible to locate old threads! Imagine that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarface Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Well if the med schools found out that you wrote your own reference letter, they won't be too pleased. . . but how will they find out? So the question is whether your conscience will allow it. Some people would consider it "cheating". Then again, it's not like the one reference letter you wrote for yourself will be the sole determiming factor of whether or not you get accepted. To answer your 4 questions 1) Nope, but I sure wish I will be if I do apply, I would love to be able to write my own reference letter! 2) I don't think it's a bad sign, if anything it's a good sign! 3) You know yourself far better than your prof does. You know your strengths and weaknesses. Needless to say, you should emphasize your strengths while hiding your weaknesses. A little exagerration and embellishment wouldn't hurt (just kidding) 4) Don't do point form. If you do, it will be more work for your prof . . . and reality is that all profs are busy and writing reference letters doesn't rank near the top on their list of priorities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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