Short LOR???

[aldoushuxley]

A veterinarian that I work with and am very close with wrote me a LOR. He has written many before and has assisted numerous students in getting into vet school. He is our medical director and very well known throughout the veterinary community. I am applying to several PhD and MS microbiology/immunology programs. I was able to see his LOR and was disappointed that it was so short:

 

 

Aldoushuxley joined us nearly two years ago, and she has been a terrific addition to our practice working as a veterinary assistant. She learns quickly, shows good initiative and requires only a modest level of  supervision. She is hard working and has demonstrated far above average intelligence. Aldoushuxley possesses excellent interpersonal skills and has a pleasant personality. Her work ethic and intellectual aptitude make her an excellent candidate for post graduate studies.

 

I have 2 other letters that are longer and more in depth. Should I nix him from my LOR team and find someone new really quick? Or is this short and to the point where admission committees won't mind?

 

 

[thebigbang]

If he had at least included specific examples to support his claims, I would say keep it. There is not much meat in that LOR. When are your deadlines? If you are close to your deadlines and your other two letters are fine, I say just push forward. 

[Monochrome Spring]

If you have time, I would get a new LoR. That one is so generic and unspecific that it almost appears that your writer didn't really know you or that you didn't stand out in a crowd of other scientists.

 

If you don't have time, at least your other two letters are good.

[aldoushuxley]

First deadline is the 15th, but others are in January. Might have a professor that I can use instead. My other professor (that wrote one of my LOR's) said that my other two letters are good (including his), so one short one shouldn't hurt too bad, but if I am able, find a new recommender. I am really upset because me and the recommender who wrote the short LOR are good friends. We work well together and I feel like he didn't want to put any more effort into this. 

On another note, can recommenders see if you nix them from your list?  Will the school send them an email that their LOR is not needed any more?

[Monochrome Spring]

On another note, can recommenders see if you nix them from your list?  Will the school send them an email that their LOR is not needed any more?

 

I would ask the schools that, since it may vary on a case-by-case basis. You don't want to burn bridges, but you also don't want to hurt your app with a poor letter if you can get a better one to replace it. Good luck.

[Cpsych92]

I would get a new LOR. I was able to see 2 of mine and both were almost 2 pages and very detailed. I can only cross my fingers for the 3rd. Maybe he was just really busy and needed extra time? Did you provide him with your CV,resume, transcript and other items to aid him in his letter writing?

[aldoushuxley]

I did not because I know him so well and he knows me. He has a great reputation and has written many letters for admitted veterinary students (harder program than what I'm applying for). Everyone told me he was going to be a great recommender for my application. 

[aldoushuxley]

His personality may account for some of this; he is a quiet spoken, modest, brilliant man. He communicates with clients in a way that he can use as few words as possible and they love him for that. 

[TakeruK]

I was going to write that since this LOR writer is so well known in the vet community, then its short length shouldn't be a negative. Someone who is that famous/well known isn't going to risk their reputation endorsing a less than stellar applicant. However, I re-read your post and saw that you are actually applying to PhD programs in a different field! 

 

So, normally, I would say that while a detailed letter from a famous person is the ideal, a short and to the point letter from a famous person that you actually worked with may still be better than e.g. a detailed letter from someone who will just say "did well in class".

 

How did you see this letter? Did they show it to you? If so, and if they sound like they were expecting feedback, maybe explain that you were hoping for more details? Like Cpsych83 above said, maybe you can provide him with more details (CV etc.) if you didn't the first time around.

 

If you won't be able to discuss this with the LOR writer for whatever reason, I think it's only worth trying to get a new LOR if you can get one from someone else who has supervised your work. Even if your writer may not be well known in the field you are applying to, I think this short and detail-lacking letter from someone you worked closely with is still stronger than a longer detailed letter from someone you did not work with at all (e.g. a letter from a prof that says Student X took my classes for Y semesters and was a good student etc.... all that stuff is evident on your transcript). Also the context of the letter matters. The committee will still see that this letter writer is a medical director (from his signature) and your close supervisor for a long time (from your CV and SOP presumably). That will add more weight to the letter, in my opinion. 

 

So, with only the information given here, I would say that unless you have a another research supervisor lined up for a LOR, it's probably not worth it to make a last minute change of LOR writer. 

[aldoushuxley]

He's not famous, just well known. lol. I used to be interested in veterinary medicine but realized that I worked better in a lab rather than a client based setting because I am introverted. The letter was shown to me. I would feel like a twat asking him to redo it. I think you are right in regards to the context of the letter, though, so maybe I will just ride with it and hope that my SOP and other LOR's reveal enough regarding my work ethic. 

[aldoushuxley]

Also, he showed me the letter after it was submitted, so obviously not expecting feedback other than a thank you.