tournesol Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 I'm planning on applying to Mac this year and I'm trying to decide who to use for my references. I have one person in mind who could potentially be a strong reference, but I hesitate to ask her because she spends pretty much all of January-April every year travelling to remote areas and is rarely accessible by a consistent phone number. So I guess what I'm wondering is, does anyone know if McMaster actually contacts references by telephone? What would they do in the event that a reference can't be reached by phone? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackowl Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 When submitting your LORs, you will have to provide email as well as phone number for each reference. I assume if the admissions office needs to contact your reference for whatever reason, they'd try several contact methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarvish Posted June 15, 2014 Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 I submitted one of my references with only an e-mail and no phone number and no one contacted me about it being a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tournesol Posted June 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2014 Thank you both, very reassuring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygella Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I dont think Mac even looks at the references, does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarvish Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I dont think Mac even looks at the references, does it? Wendy said they did and just use it as a red flag. As long as your reference letter doesn't say "No, I would absolutely not trust Sarvish to become a doctor.", you should be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackowl Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Wendy said they did and just use it as a red flag. As long as your reference letter doesn't say "No, I would absolutely not trust Sarvish to become a doctor.", you should be OK. Isn't it illegal(?) or somehow wrong for references to say that kind of stuff about you? Granted, this is all hearsay from friends, but I remember there being something against saying, "no, I wouldn't trust applicant x" outright? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygella Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Isn't it illegal(?) or somehow wrong for references to say that kind of stuff about you? Granted, this is all hearsay from friends, but I remember there being something against saying, "no, I wouldn't trust applicant x" outright? Lol isn't that one of the main points of a reference? To check if other people trust the applicant. I don't think it would be illegal, it's just the person's assessment of the applicant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikillreid Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 ^ +1. It's definitely not illegal. In fact, the courts tend to judge in favor of protecting the integrity of all peer evaluation processes and their materials, at the expense of whatever individual feels they were wrongly described. Reference letters are supposed to be kept in confidence for this very reason... to protect the integrity of their contents, with the overall goal of [more] objectively evaluating a candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarvish Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Isn't it illegal(?) or somehow wrong for references to say that kind of stuff about you? Granted, this is all hearsay from friends, but I remember there being something against saying, "no, I wouldn't trust applicant x" outright? I've heard something similar about when applying to jobs. I don't know if it's not allowed or just heavily frowned upon but your old boss isn't supposed to complain about you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindpalace Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I think it is "frowned upon" in the sense that someone should just decline being a reference if they really don't think they can provide a good or well-informed opinion. However, it is true that the point is to get a real idea of what each candidate is like. I know one girl who was using an old boss as a reference for work applications and couldn't get any job even though she was getting interviews that she felt went well... she kept asking for feedback and eventually one of the people who interviewed her told her it was because her reference said she was awful and would not be a good worker at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyphon_asl Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 definitely happened to me as well. I had a less than positive relatinonship with my old boss, but the work was on my resume . My next interviewer demanded to contact her before hiring me. In the end, I never heard back from the employer so I assumed it wasn't a good reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakercyclist Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 I recently had a high school intern working for me who was very dedicated but rather terrible at the work he was supposed to be doing. He needed a reference letter as part of his co-op program, so all I did was list the dates he'd worked and the projects he completed. If he ever asks for another kind of reference I would probably tell him to look elsewhere first. Folks must hold a lot of grudges if they can't be open about providing a bad reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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