as an international student, I have teachers who aren’t familiar with the U.S. Application process. If a teacher asks me to write my own rec should I agree to this or must I insist that he write it ?
Is it ethical that I write my own rec ??
Do US students do this?
I see it is normal when applying to grad schools and some jobs but I am not sure about schools like H Y P and other U.S. Schools.
Please help
No, it is not allowed and constitutes fraud. Have the recs written in your language and get a certified translation. Submit both to the schools.
writing your own rec is not normal at any US college.
what I mean is writing your own rec and having the teacher endorse it (I personally do not agree with it but i just needed backing). So I must go ahead then and insist that y teacher write it?
It is perfectly legitimate to give a teacher talking points – things you think you do well, your strong points, etc. – but the letter itself should be written by the teacher.
As this is NOT the first time I’ve heard an international student pose this question, I’m wondering if HYPSM Admissions runs into this situation all the time and discounts LOR’s that seem to have been written by the student. After all, every individual has a unique “writing voice” and given that you will be submitting other examples of your writing in the form of essays, I imagine your “writing voice” will give you away.
As such, I would give your teacher “talking points” as @AboutTheSame suggested, and print out this website from MIT and give it to your teachers as a rubric to follow. Submitting your own LOR’s is playing with fire and you would be wise not to do it!
http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs.
@TomSrOfBoston This isn’t as rare as you might think. Many teachers will ask a student to provide a draft (or the complete LoR) and simply sign off on it.
It really is a disservice to the kid – whether the teacher is lazy or well-meaning. But it’s not rare.
Thank you for the helpful comments.
I managed to Convince my teacher to write it based on these comments.
OP: read this guide for teachers. It’s for MIT but the advice is pertinent to Yale and other schools:
http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs
Anecdotes, not generalities – will be what makes a difference. Good luck