Referees

[BizMarkie]

So I'm about to start working on my application and I need to choose my referrees. I have 4 people I think would be good, and need to ask 3. 2 of them I worked with for 4 years, and the other 2 I've been working with for the past year. I think they would all give me good references, but I'm not sure which 3 to ask. I'm inclined to pick the 2 people I worked with for 4 years because the U of M recommends picking people who have known you for at least 2 years. That way only one of them will have known me for only 1 year. I've worked very closely with the people that have known me for 1 year, and they have more than enough experience with me to give a quality reference. I think I would really prefer to pick the 2 people I've worked with for 1 year because their opinion of me is more current. They have also been incredibly encouraging of my pursuit of medicine and I think they actually want to be the ones to give me references.

 

So, would it be ok if one of my referees has known me for 4 years and the other two have only known me for one year? Or should I ask the 2 people who have known me for 4 years and one of the people who have known me for 1 year? The website doesn't give much more advice on choosing referees other than having them know you for 2 years, no family, and that they are able to commit to writing the letter in January. Does anyone have any advice?

[hkmedic]

I think you're stressing too much over minutia. From the application bulletin:

 

"Letters of reference are solely used to verify the suitability of the applicant, and do not contribute to the applicant’s composite score for the Manitoba and Out-of-Province Applicant Pools."

 

Basically, reference letters are just to make sure you don't have any red flags. It sounds like you have solid referees lined up. Any of them would be fine.