OMSAS Referees - can they be a spouse or a friend?

[Ahimsa]

Hi all,

 

Do all three OMSAS referees have to be professional (i.e., professors, employers, etc) or can one of them be personal (e.g. a spouse or friend)?

 

Thanks!

 

A

[peachy]

Do all three OMSAS referees have to be professional (i.e., professors, employers, etc) or can one of them be personal (e.g. a spouse or friend)?

I don't think OMSAS itself cares what the references are, they're just going to forward them along to the universities to which you apply. However, having a family member or friend write a reference letter is going to be a big red flag on your application! Don't do it unless you're applying to a school that you know doesn't read the reference letters, if there are any such schools.

[Ahimsa]

But the OMSAS instructions state, "At least one referee should be a non-academic/character referee". Couldn't that person be a friend?

[mac_attack]

But the OMSAS instructions state, "At least one referee should be a non-academic/character referee". Couldn't that person be a friend?

 

I really think they're asking for someone who has some authority to write the letter. For instance, an employer, volunteer coordinator, doctor you shadowed. Basically they want a letter from someone who was not your prof or high school teacher.

It just becomes very hard to read a letter written by your best buddy and take it seriously. Everyone knowns you would choose someone who would have nothing but great things to say about you and it would become very apparent that you got a friend to write it. Also, you could basically just write your own amazing reference letter and hand it to your friend to submit.

 

If there are two candidates with very similar stats and it comes down to you having an amazing letter written by a buddy who has known you for 8 years; and another student with a very truthful letter written by an employer, I think the other candidate would come out on top.

 

I guess an ideal position would be to have a former employer who is also one of your closest friends write it for you.

[Madz25]

I'd say NO to using a spouse or friend. Your character referee can be your volunteer supervisor/boss etc. Someone outside of school in some sort of a 'professional' (I'm using the term loosely) setting.

[peachy]

I guess an ideal position would be to have a former employer who is also one of your closest friends write it for you.

I think that would not be at all ideal. Your refereees should never fall in the category of "closest friends". I don't think this is so much in the "if two applicants were the same except this..." category as it is in the "would raise serious suspicions about your application" category. Your referees should not be your friends or your family members, they should be people who can evaluate you objectively because you have worked (ideally, closely) with them in a professional setting.

 

Someone outside of school in some sort of a 'professional' (I'm using the term loosely) setting.

I don't think a non-academic character reference needs to be outside of school - they just need to be someone who has evaluated you in a non-schoolwork non-research setting. I used three professors for my referees, but one of them knew me only through my extracurricular activities, and that worked out fine for me.

[Ollie]

Just to reiterate DO NOT use friends, parents, friends of parents or anyone who remotely fits the description of friend or family as a reference. The letter will pretty much be disregarded!

[antisera]

I work very closely with somebody else in a school organization, of which he is the president. Would this be an okay reference, and if so, how do I fill out the 'Institution name' on the form?