Character Reference

[Prion]

Is it bad if my character reference only knew me for maybe about 2 months? She's my volunteer supervisor and the reason I picked her is because I think I impressed her with my work there and she's very supportive of me as well. Also I'm staying there after the summer so I think she'll appreciate the long term commitment.

 

I don't know if the length of time is an issue because I fear it might reduce the credibility of the letter since 2 months might be a short time compared to some of the character references I see around here going as long as 6 years IIRC:eek:

 

My 2 other refs are profs whom I did research with, and I think they will comment little bit on the personal side since I knew them both quite well.

 

Am I fine with this?

[DrManhattan]

Depends... Is it 2 months everyday? or once a week for 2 months? either way, it is still a bit short: the longer the person knows you, the better. They want to be able to talk about how you've improved over time as well, not just say "i have a feeling this guy is amazing".

[Prion]

Yes that's what I am worried about. Even though I think 2 months(well going to be 3 months by the time she writes the letter) is plenty of time to get to know somebody well, I just don't know how the admission people will look at it. Would they be skeptical that the person would know me so well and comment on me so confidently given such a short period of time? I don't want it to work AGAINST me, if you know what I mean.

 

I've known my other 2 referees for quite a long time(1.5 years+), I'm sure they could comment on my growth etc. However the problem is that we pretty much just chat all the time:p The reason I picked her because I felt she could comment on my characters that my other 2 referee can't or didn't have a chance to see, namely how I behave in front of patients. I want to put some emphasis on that during my essays and I thought she'd be the perfect person to comment on it.

[future_doc]

Length of time can be a factor when they assess the credibility, and therefore the value of, the LOR. The referee needs to explain why she feels qualified to assess you and this expnantion must be credibile and supported by a convincing story. Med school aside, I am aware of a highly credible LOR given for a student known only 3 months by a tutor who was qualified to assess both the academic capabilities of the student and character traits such as initiative, perseverence, reliability, critical thinking skills, problem solving, integrity. This LOR was accepted on its merits.