<p>I have been asked by one of my close friends to write a letter of recommendation on her behalf for Davidson College’s peer recommendation. Davidson states that they will keep the letter confidential. However, am I expected to keep the letter confidential? I don’t mind letting my friend see it, but is there some sort of ethics against letting her see it? For example, if all recs are supposed to be good, then why don’t teachers just show them to us?</p>
<p>you are not supposed to see your recs because it may be assumed then that you have influenced your teacher to write them in a specific way. teachers will not feel comfortable showing kids bad recs and may therefore make them good to please the student, despite it not being an accurate portrayal of the student.</p>
<p>you can show your friend the rec you wrote, however, technically you shouldn’t do so. anyway, it is a peer rec, it definitely won’t make or break your friend’s application, it will only further complement what they already know.</p>