Recommendation letter

[GMATbong]

I can't really say there is absolutely NO ethical issue since this really depends on the person value system. I don't think it is fair to impose ones value system to another and just declare "its ok to do so".

[gmatdong]

Originally Posted by y u c k

There is absolutely NO ethical issue with you writing your own letter -- a lot of supervisors run this way. It's one thing if you write the letter and sign his name. It's another for him to read it, add or delete from it, and then sign his name, essentially agreeing and endorsing what you wrote. Is it how people looking for recommendations would prefer it being done? No, probably not. Is it unethical? No, absolutely not.The only way it is unethical is if you operate under the guise of not having access to your letter. If you claim you have not seen your letter nor read your letter of recommendation, that's obviously a false statement. Schools do not *require* you to sign anything that says you have not viewed your rec letters. You have to choose one or the other: either you do waive your right, or you don't. No one is holding a gun to your head requiring to give up your right to view them. If you have written your letter, or have seen it already, then you obviously should check the "I do not waive my right" box. Additionally, it's pretty weak to make a distinction between "recruitment" and "application purposes"; LoRs in each case are used to judge who deserves a limited opportunity, whether it be a job or a spot in a graduate degree program. There's little to no difference.

A very interesting perspective on the issue, y u c k

[freeriderwww]

Originally Posted by LORON

I have a question regarding recommendations. I have gotten the go-ahead from my manager to write the rec myself. He wants to use do it in letter form and NOT online. He is a very busy person, and so I would show it to him, and he will review it and make changes if necessary, and sign it. Then I put the letter in an envelop and send it. So my questions are:

1) Will schools accept a generic rec in letter format, send in via regular express mail and not email? Is it OK if we do NOT use the school's supplied form? Of course we will still try to make the letter as informative as possible, but might not match the exact questions on the form.

2) When the recs reach the school, will the school immediately sort it out and put it with the rest of my online app, or will there be downtime to find the recs and match them with my apps? I am trying to figure out, for example, if I sent in the recs by regular mail by date X, will they start reviewing by date X or will it be X + Y where Y is the time it takes to sort the recs. The rest of the apps will be submitted online so it will be there before the recs.

3) Does the manager have to sign the seal of the envelop? I mean, if I was already given permission by my recommenders to see the letter, isn't that kind of redundant?

4) Can the submitted rec be a copy? One of my recommenders is overseas and I think he wants to fax or PDF the rec to me.

I'm surprised you wrote this here .. I have personally verified that there are posters who are closely associated with adcoms, students from every top b-school in the country. It has also been rumored that some posters are admissions officers and professors who appears to answer "responsible" questions every now and then.

[wushu22]

Personally, I thinking writing your own recommendation letter is unethical unless you note somewhere in the letter that you wrote it. The goal of the essays is to hear the applicants viewpoint on themselves, and the goal of the letter of reference are to hear an external opinion. If you write them yourself, you are violating this objective. That is deception, plain and simple. Just imagine if you were on an adcom...would you think it is ethical?

And sure, other people are doing it, but that doesn't make it right. Never use the fact that a lot of supervisors do it this way justify it being done; I've rescinded requests for this recommendation for this exact reason. The bottom line is it's deceptive.