mattg Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hey guys, How long should a letter of reference be in general? One of my referees just emailed saying that her letter is a bit over 2 pages, asking me if she should cut it down... my guess would be around 1.5 pages is probably a good length LOR for med school... but maybe wrt letters written by a person who knows you well and is legitimately able to write that much about you (ie. as opposed to a prof you have done research for, etc), the longer the better?? --- obviously up until a point, in which the adcom would stop reading... is that point around 2 pages? Should I tell her to cut it down, or do some ppl have 2 - 2.5 page letters from people they've known for a while? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 So the LOR is a little long, if the referee is saying good things. let it be, there is no hard and fast rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 i thought one page was the "norm". there's no rule though cause osmas woulda said so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 obviously up until a point, in which the adcom would stop readingI'm not sure why you would think that there is a point in which the adcoms stop reading. I mean, if the LOR is getting out of hand (like 5 pages) I can see the adcoms getting tired of it. However, I think it's perfectly reasonable for a LOR to be approaching 3 pages. Like f_d said, if the referee is saying good things about you, I don't see any issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I'm not sure why you would think that there is a point in which the adcoms stop reading. I mean, if the LOR is getting out of hand (like 5 pages) I can see the adcoms getting tired of it. However, I think it's perfectly reasonable for a LOR to be approaching 3 pages. Like f_d said, if the referee is saying good things about you, I don't see any issue. really? 3 pages? Interesting. I told my referees one wicked page would be great. In the past I've had some that went over to 1.5 and i felt that was odd. Never thought 3 would be ok......something to think about i guess just gotto be careful it doesn't get dilutive. one not-so-important thing can have the effect its being stretched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 really? 3 pages? Interesting. I told my referees one wicked page would be great. In the past I've had some that went over to 1.5 and i felt that was odd. Never thought 3 would be ok......something to think about i guess just gotto be careful it doesn't get dilutive. one not-so-important thing can have the effect its being stretched. I say 3 because I work at a hospital and I've read letters that docs have written students for their carms app. The doc that I'm thinking of in particular wrote an amazing letter that was 3 pages. It was really powerful, yet still to the point. However, any longer than 3 pages and I would have been tired of the letters. I agree with your diluted comment though. Repetition & fluff are not your friends when it comes to writing a strong letters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I say 3 because I work at a hospital and I've read letters that docs have written students for their carms app. The doc that I'm thinking of in particular wrote an amazing letter that was 3 pages. It was really powerful, yet still to the point. However, any longer than 3 pages and I would have been tired of the letters. I agree with your diluted comment though. Repetition & fluff are not your friends when it comes to writing a strong letters. I've gotto think there's more to say about someone wrt to a Carms app but thats a generalization. Yeah in the end it depends on the letter writer. As much as I'd love a wicked 3 page letter, i think the main points could be sent across in 2 or less plus there's the CAF too. I just remember back when i was in the corporate world.....if someone handed me a resume that was longer than one page, unless they freakin were 1 in a million id throw it out immediately. Not saying its like this....but i guess my previous experiences still are in the back of my head where the longer the resume or LOR, the higher the bar is raised. Nothing could be worse than a longer letter that is boring. It's like shooting yourself twice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Well, the problem is what to leave out. If the referee has not already cut it down, I don't know that I would encourage the referee to chop it for fear of what may be left out. So long as the confidential assessment puts the applicant in the top 10%, the optionsl LOR is gravy and it does not really matter where the reader stops reading. Moreover, a quick scan of 3 pages is about 30 seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Well, the problem is what to leave out. If the referee has not already cut it down, I don't know that I would encourage the referee to chop it for fear of what may be left out. So long as the confidential assessment puts the applicant in the top 10%, the optionsl LOR is gravy and it does not really matter where the reader stops reading. Moreover, a quick scan of 3 pages is about 30 seconds. yeah my assumption was that the elaboration was prolly a bit much if its 3 pages (details of specific examples and all that). If your confident your referee knows what they are doing you're fine. If your referee is a rookie your prolly still fine but it could be more detailed than needed. Either way, its not a bad spot to be in. I'm actually now thinking of tellin mine to go over one page if they want. True about the quick scan.....didnt realize. Is the top 10% some kind of rule of thumb? its a beyatch when your masters program has 20 people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I don't know the rule of thumb to be honest, but putting you in the upper 50% is the kiss of death b/c it doen't say much about you as a competitive med applicant. Things being equal, i.e., we all have excellent grades, ECs, volunteering, decent MCAT, then I assume that the bare min. is top 20%. But b/c so many applicants are top notch, I think we need at least 10% to even be competitive and we should have some traits in the top 5%, etc. In reviewing Esaays for the last month, I have been humbled by the number of extraordinary candidates with tremendous and unique accomplishments. Yes, its a numbers game and a lottery where you are well advised to cast a wide net, and b/c of the caliber of the average candidate, and b/c there are more candidates than seats, those accepted really need to stand out from the rest of us. I think even more important than being assessed in the top 10% is luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I dont know the ruloe of thumb to be honest, vbut putting you in the upper 50% is the kiss of death b/c it doen't say much about you as a competitive med applicant. Things being equal, i.e., we all have excellent grades, ECs, volunteering, decent MCAT, then I assume that the bare min. is top 20%. But b/c so many applicants are top notch, I think we need at least 10% to even be competitive and we should have some traits in the top 5%, etc. In reviewing Esaays for the last month, I have humbled by the number of extraordinary candidates with tremendous and unique accomplishments. Yes, its a numbers game and a lottery where you are well advised to cast a wide net, and b/c of the caliber of the average candidate, and b/c there are more candidates than seats, those accepted really need to stand out from the rest of us. I think evenmoreimportant than being assessed in the top 10% is luck! all good points - thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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