recommendation letters – BE CAREFUL 2

tinaxueMIT · 发表于 2010-7-31 01:25:41

Anyone reading my posts should know that I work in MIT’s admissions office.

It is not a secret that lots of students write their own recommendation letters. If you are writing your own recommendation letters you really need to be careful. ‘
2) DO NOT BE MODEST and/or CHOOSE THE RIGHT REFERENCE
If you ask for a reference, most professors will say yes – EVEN when they don’t really like you. I do not know why. This happens everywhere.
In cases like this, the professor will not put anything BAD in the letter…but the letter will still damage your application if it says nothing bad about you because we think
1)We expect students to get references from professors that really like them and think well of them. So if this is the best reference they can get…this is not a good student. I wonder what other professors think about them.
2)What does this professor really think?
Quotes from bad reference letters
“this student tries very hard to excel in his academics”
This is bad. The reason is because the professor points out how hard the student works. But the professor does not say that the student succeeds. So it is almost like a hidden slap in the face. The student works very hard but has not succeeded so the student is incompetent and incapable no matter how hard the student works. Automatically we start thinking that the student is not naturally intelligent. It is better to say something like “Through XXX’s hardwork, he successfully accomplished XXX, something that his peers were unable to accomplish”
“I have seen a lot of improvement”,
The reason this is bad is because there is still no reference as to the end result of the improvement. Also it makes us question how bad the student was before the improvement.

“XXX has a lot of ambition”
This is bad because it does not indicate that the professor thinks you will ever achieve your goals. It is better to write “XXX has the skills, intelligence and drive to succeed in a top tier graduate program”.

If you are writing your own reference, DO NOT write about your self like this. Be objective. Talk about the process with focus on the results.

For example, talk about a successful project, what you learned in the class, your final grade in the class, your participation, etc. Make sure to describe your projects in detail. If the detail is lacking, it makes us think that the professor has no IDEA what he is talking about – damaging the professor’s credibility.

Most importantly, do not be afraid to use praise.
For example, "XXX will be an asset to any institution"

"I expect to see great things from XXX in the future".
"I believe that XXX has the necessary qualities to excel in your program"
I can help you with editing and/or writing reference letters. Please contact me for a consult at tina_xue@hms.harvard.edu

tinaxueMIT · 发表于 2010-8-23 23:26:33

Yeah I totally agree. last year a lot of my customers used other agency before coming to me. But they were not satisfied and did not get ad or interviews. So finally, as a last ditch effort they came to me, and now they are all in MBA programs in the US. So it is very important to look at samples and costumer reviews before paying money to an editing service. The best thing would be to have the agency edit a paragraph before agreeing to anything. This way you can experience their work process and quality.

freewer · 发表于 2010-8-24 00:56:43

Thx for sharing.

alexinmusic · 发表于 2010-8-24 01:17:49

有道理啊。我当时貌似一封推荐信就败了。

recommendation letters – BE CAREFUL 2

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