Good, Bad, and Ugly LORs

[October]

When I began the process of choosing and applying to graduate schools, I came up with a list of potential people to write letters of recommendation and went through the process of deciding who I thought would be the best.

Despite this, it didn't turn out quite the way I was expecting as the letters ended up being a very mixed batch.

The first individual wrote a stellar letter highlighting all my strengths and experiences in the field. He is the lead professor and program chair at my undergraduate university in the field I want to pursue my graduate studies.

The second person wrote a mediocre, form type letter. While he did mention some specific strengths, most of it came off as generic at best. Even though he and I had an in depth discussion as to why I was pursuing graduate studies, and has known me since I started my undergraduate studies, he did not identify any of this in the LOR. He is a professor in an area related to my intended graduate studies field.

The third wrote a poor, inconsistent letter teeming with false information that far as I can tell he pulled out of nowhere. I'm still terribly perplexed by this one above all else. When I first asked him to write the LOR he acted very enthusiastic and insisted he always writes strong, positive letters (that comment should of been a sign). I had full faith in him until I read the letter after it was submitted. The first half of the letter praised me as an excellent student and graduate candidate like recommender #1, then ripped me apart in the second half, effectively contradicting all of his previous statements. The person who wrote this is my undergraduate academic advisor.

Additionally, #1 and #2 used the LOR format requested by graduate programs/universities where specified, whereas recommender 3 ignored any and all formatting requests upon submission.

This can't be good and certainly isn't providing a consistent picture between the first and third.

The degree programs I've applied to are not exceptionally stringent in their admissions, and have higher admissions percentages compared to others in the same field/degree, but I'm still worried how the admission committees are going to interpret this.

Aside of letters of recommendation, what I have left to rely on is a 3.6 GPA, decent GRE scores, and a strong SOP.

What the question in my mind boils down to is how bad is this going to affect my chances of getting in? Should all of the academic factors plus higher admission percentages help overcome this? Has anyone been in a situation like this before and what were your experiences/admissions results?

[Firled]

When I began the process of choosing and applying to graduate schools, I came up with a list of potential people to write letters of recommendation and went through the process of deciding who I thought would be the best.

Despite this, it didn't turn out quite the way I was expecting as the letters ended up being a very mixed batch.

The first individual wrote a stellar letter highlighting all my strengths and experiences in the field. He is the lead professor and program chair at my undergraduate university in the field I want to pursue my graduate studies.

The second person wrote a mediocre, form type letter. While he did mention some specific strengths, most of it came off as generic at best. Even though he and I had an in depth discussion as to why I was pursuing graduate studies, and has known me since I started my undergraduate studies, he did not identify any of this in the LOR. He is a professor in an area related to my intended graduate studies field.

The third wrote a poor, inconsistent letter teeming with false information that far as I can tell he pulled out of nowhere. I'm still terribly perplexed by this one above all else. When I first asked him to write the LOR he acted very enthusiastic and insisted he always writes strong, positive letters (that comment should of been a sign). I had full faith in him until I read the letter after it was submitted. The first half of the letter praised me as an excellent student and graduate candidate like recommender #1, then ripped me apart in the second half, effectively contradicting all of his previous statements. The person who wrote this is my undergraduate academic advisor.

Additionally, #1 and #2 used the LOR format requested by graduate programs/universities where specified, whereas recommender 3 ignored any and all formatting requests upon submission.

This can't be good and certainly isn't providing a consistent picture between the first and third.

The degree programs I've applied to are not exceptionally stringent in their admissions, and have higher admissions percentages compared to others in the same field/degree, but I'm still worried how the admission committees are going to interpret this.

Aside of letters of recommendation, what I have left to rely on is a 3.6 GPA, decent GRE scores, and a strong SOP.

What the question in my mind boils down to is how bad is this going to affect my chances of getting in? Should all of the academic factors plus higher admission percentages help overcome this? Has anyone been in a situation like this before and what were your experiences/admissions results?

Professors are busy and get asked to write dozens if not a hundred reference letters a year. You honestly expect them to spend hours devoting themselves to your particular letter? My suggestion would be to ask the professor if they would allow you to write the reference yourself or in future provide them with bulleted points that include what YOU want them to say. Plus, you cannot fault professors for writing what they feel are honest evaluations of your work. It would be an affront to their integrity to demand otherwise. Just wait a year until you get asked for reference letters from many students and you'll quickly change your attitude.

[anxiousapplicant]

Professors are busy and get asked to write dozens if not a hundred reference letters a year. You honestly expect them to spend hours devoting themselves to your particular letter? My suggestion would be to ask the professor if they would allow you to write the reference yourself or in future provide them with bulleted points that include what YOU want them to say. Plus, you cannot fault professors for writing what they feel are honest evaluations of your work. It would be an affront to their integrity to demand otherwise. Just wait a year until you get asked for reference letters from many students and you'll quickly change your attitude.

Um, isn't it an affront to integrity to lie in a letter, though...? Certainly none of my professors treated me the way the OP was treated. LOR's can be one of the most important pieces of an app. They give a professor's insight into a particular student in a way numbers and test scores don't, and they provide a counterbalance to the student's writings. So you can't just conclude, oh, professors are busy, leave them alone, because admissions committees don't know the particular frame of mind each professor had when writing, and when sloppy letters of one applicant get compared to the letters of a student whose professors took the time to do them justice, it won't help the first applicant.

[October]

Professors are busy and get asked to write dozens if not a hundred reference letters a year. You honestly expect them to spend hours devoting themselves to your particular letter? My suggestion would be to ask the professor if they would allow you to write the reference yourself or in future provide them with bulleted points that include what YOU want them to say. Plus, you cannot fault professors for writing what they feel are honest evaluations of your work. It would be an affront to their integrity to demand otherwise. Just wait a year until you get asked for reference letters from many students and you'll quickly change your attitude.

You're making several assumptions. First, the university I'm from is very small, secondly, the letter writers stated I was the only one they had to write recommendations for during that time frame so it wouldn't be an issue.

I gave each person the option to opt out of writing if they did not want to, and I made the request months before the deadline just so that they would have ample time if they desired write, or time to find a replacement if they felt they couldn't do it.

On top of that, if a professor point blank states they're going to write a good letter and then they not only write a bad letter but also false information, do you agree with that? Would you tell a good student if they asked for a recommendation that you accept, would write a strong letter, and then follow up by writing a letter which was poor and had fictional information (as in things that have no backing as they haven't and won't happen?)

My view is, should in the future a student ask for a letter of recommendation, if I don't believe I can write a positive letter in their favor, I will reject the request plain and simple. Further, I would never write a contradictory letter which makes one statement only shoot it down. What is the purpose in that approach? Lose your own credibility as a professor writing letters?

As for the topic, I was asking for impact and admissions perspectives, not for belittlement of my concerns.

[lily_]

My two cents: so long as the OP asked the professor to write him a positive letter of recommendation (sad that sometimes we have to qualify that huh?) then the professor should have done it. I'd assume that as the OP's undergraduate advisor he/she would be fairly familiar with the student's work and performance and thus be able to spend an afternoon writing positive things to say. At minimum, this person could have written a very standard formulaic response and have moved on.

If you are specific with your LOR writers and say "Would you be willing to write me a positive letter of recommendation" and the answer is no, then they should say no. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and can relate to your concerns. However, if you received a positive LOR from a well-known and trusted scholar in the field (who would likely hold a lot more weight than an undergraduate adviser) I would imagine it would out-weigh what the other person wrote.

And if your other stats are strong I'd relax a little bit. Best of luck!

Edited March 14, 2010 by lily_