hopeful_student Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hey guys, I am applying for medical school this summer and am in the process of gathering my references. One of my references is my current supervisor and is a genius however, she is relatively new to the country and isn't the greatest at writing. She let me look at the letter she wrote after she sent it in and I noticed quite a few spelling/grammar mistakes. The content is good though and I was wondering if it would reflect poorly on myself if there are some mistakes. Let me know your thoughts please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shikimate Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 I think it's not a big problem as long as she is a credible person and her credentials were clearly stated in the letter. I think most people understand some professors, TAs or instructors are not perfectly fluent in English. by the way, I thought those were confidential letters, and you are not suppose to look at them??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Chill, it will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeful_student Posted August 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Another possible problem is that I work at a huge corporation and it is against their policy to use their letterhead for personal recommendation letters. So it doesn't look all that official. She attached a note at the bottom to say that she can't use the letterhead. She also listed her position within the company and a lot of contact information but at first glance the letter doesn't look too professional. Do you think that may be a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Well, unless you have a better referee available, I'm not sure what you can do about it. I presume this is not your only letter, in any case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 by the way, I thought those were confidential letters, and you are not suppose to look at them??? welcome to the real world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Pretty sure one of my reference letters had a whole bunch of grammar and spelling mistakes in it. Not that I saw it, but it was from some who really can't write a sentence without any typos, so it's a safe bet (and English is this person's first and only language, too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Pretty sure one of my reference letters had a whole bunch of grammar and spelling mistakes in it. Not that I saw it, but it was from some who really can't write a sentence without any typos, so it's a safe bet (and English is this person's first and only language, too). Must have been a research professor? Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Must have been a research professor? Lol How did you ever guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FT4 Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 I would like to think that it shouldn't matter and in a perfect world it wouldn't, but you never know what the individuals reading letters are thinking. Unfortunately, compared side-by-side with a similar but grammatically correct letter, you might be at a disadvantage in the real world. If you spoke to the referee and offered your help I don't think they would be offended. Tell them you appreciate their work and understand that writing such an important letter is a tough job, and you are willing to help anyway you can. Basically, don't directly bring up the fact that their English is a bit subpar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnb88 Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Another possible problem is that I work at a huge corporation and it is against their policy to use their letterhead for personal recommendation letters. So it doesn't look all that official. She attached a note at the bottom to say that she can't use the letterhead. She also listed her position within the company and a lot of contact information but at first glance the letter doesn't look too professional. Do you think that may be a problem? I don't think it matters. One of my references is my supervisor/the head coach at the rink. The clubs "official" letter head is..... good ol' regular paper. Not everyone people will be getting a reference from will have their own personal letterhead, so I wouldn't worry. There's not much you can do about it anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Like others have said, I'd try not to worry about it. It's only 1 letter and schools make you send in 2 or 3 of them, so things balance out in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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