<p>This is one insider’s perspective on the LOR process that should be interesting to many would-be grad students.</p>
<p>[Jobs</a>, News and Views for All of Higher Education - Inside Higher Ed :: The Real Meanings of Letters of Recommendation](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/01/08/doane]Jobs”>http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/01/08/doane)</p>
<p>It would be more interesting to read the various professors’ reactions.</p>
<p>One point made in this article is absolutely on target: My reputation is on the line every time I write a letter of rec. My field is small enough that I know - personally - the faculty of the departments to whom I address my letters. I have relationships with these folks, and if a student were to fail to live up to my rec, my credibility would indeed be in question. This is why my letters are honest to a fault, and this is why I explicitly express my reluctance to write when my honesty would hurt a student’s chances of admission. Yet, I have been pressured (by students) to write even when I am hesitant. (“But I don’t have anyone else to aaaask!!”) </p>
<p>On the other side of things, as a DGS, I have seen the full spectrum of letters of rec. Boilerplate is easily spotted. Lack of enthusiasm can be detected in all sorts of ways. There is, in fact, an art to reading between the lines of these letters, and the professors who write them KNOW it, and drop the right hints. Here are some examples: </p>
<p>“With close guidance, she could do well…”
Translation: Left to her own devices, she’ll screw up.</p>
<p>“She has worked hard to improve her writing skills…”
Translation: Her writing still sucks.</p>
<p>“He is tremendously eager…”
Translation: He’s a pest.</p>
<p>“He is a free spirit…”
Translation: He can’t meet deadlines, or can’t be bothered to do the reading.</p>
<p>Advice to students:
When a professor hesitates, find another recommender.
ALWAYS waive your right to see the letter.
NEVER compose your own letter – if the professor asks you to do so, decline.
NEVER ask a TA to write. They don’t yet know HOW.</p>
<p>So, if a former HS teacher has asked a parent & student to write a letter about an application for an admin position, how would we avoid inadvertantly saying something in code which we don’t really mean??</p>
<p>I was just wondering how late is acceptable with references? One of mine was submitted a week after the deadline (on the net so it isn’t in the post). My other references, GRE, statements etc were all submitted well before the deadline and this was just an inadvertent mix up where the referee had attempted to submit and it had failed but they hadn’t noticed.</p>
<p>If a school wants you, they will bug you about the letters - I was contacted on the day decisions were being made (3 months after the deadline) at one school to inform me that they were interested in me but missing my letters. I had my recommenders fax them, and was admitted.</p>
<p>So a week late is not a big deal at all - I would not worry about it.</p>
<p>Some more interesting info from Prof X. I always enjoy reading your insider view on the admission process.</p>
<p>I’m curious about the relative significance of numerical values and contents. It seems likely that different professors would interpret the numerical scales very differently, and certain common formal factors such as “Academic Performance” are beyond ambiguous.</p>
<p>Prof. X:</p>
<p>Out of curiosity: Why shouldn’t a student write their own letter of recommendation if asked to do so? Is the concern experience with letter writing? The ability to sound both professional and honest?</p>
<p>somemom,
I assume you are not a professor writing for a prospective grad student, so in your case, just write from the heart - no worries. :)</p>
<p>british_student,
Grad programs ALWAYS provide leeway on deadlines for letters of rec, as porkypig stated. No worries for you either.</p>
<p>peli,
You are correct - numerical and/or scaled values can be very subjective. Admission committees mostly look for any “scores” that might be out of line with other aspects of the application, or contradicting “scores” provided by other recommenders.</p>
<p>jmleadpipe,
Thanks. I cracked myself up a bit with those examples. ;)</p>
<p>jquincyadams,
There is an art to LOR writing that professors learn over years and years of both reading and writing them. Students, by definition, have not had ANY opportunity to learn to master this art. In fact, despite innumerable opportunities to develop effective LOR writing skills, some professors never do.</p>
<p>Professor X,</p>
<p>Are you a contributor on [Rate</a> Your Students](<a href=“http://rateyourstudents.blogspot.com/]Rate”>http://rateyourstudents.blogspot.com/)? If so, is that a stock photo that’s been posterized or are you the one on the right (or the left)?</p>
<p>I invoke my fifth amendment rights on that question, snowcapk.</p>