write my own LOR? Forum

[swtlilsoni]

My employer was going to write me a LOR but he told me to write one and he will go over it and approve/sign it. Should I do this?
I have one really awesome LOR from a prof I had twice. And one average LOR (I have no idea how good it is) from a prof I had once. He thought I was smart and asked good questions but I had a bad attendance record. So I was thinking about sending my employer's LOR in rather than the second prof LOR. I have been with the employer for a little less than a year. Should I send both professors in, or write one for my employer?

[moneybagsphd]

Give him no more than the bullet points of what you want the LOR to cover. If he's unwilling to write the letter himself, withdraw your request.

[S-IV]

Give him no more than the bullet points of what you want the LOR to cover. If he's unwilling to write the letter himself, withdraw your request.

This. I'm nearly positive that the idea of writing your own is against LSAC policy as well.

[NomNom]

TLS has clearly stated that admissions officers say they can tell if someone writes their own LOR because it mimics the writing style of your PS/addendums and doesn't effectively capture the POV.

It's aleso unethical IMO.

[20130312]

TLS has clearly stated that admissions officers say they can tell if someone writes their own LOR because it mimics the writing style of your PS/addendums and doesn't effectively capture the POV.

It's aleso unethical IMO.

Funny, I wrote both of mine and have gotten accepted to every school I've heard back from so far. Though, my recommenders assured me that they changed the LORs substantially.

[bracton]

If it's against LSAC policy, you shouldn't.

However, if LSAC says nothing about it, then I don't see why you shouldn't. All of the professors whom I have asked for LORs at law school have asked me either to write, or to draft, it. And I don't think that those professors were any less or more "ethical" than any other professors. If that's accepted practice in a law school, I don't see any difference for getting into law school.

[yngblkgifted]

Fuck the unethical part, it just makes for a shitty recommendation. If someone is too royal to take out 30 mins to an hour to write a letter, they aren't the type of person you want to use as a LOR anyway. Obviously, they aren't super impressed by you or invested in your success. I understand professors asking for a rough outline with bullet points, but writing the whole thing and having them sign it is ridiculous. It's basically them saying that you are not worth their time. I've had people ask me to do this, and I always kindly revoke the offer. OP, find someone else.

[NomNom]

TLS has clearly stated that admissions officers say they can tell if someone writes their own LOR because it mimics the writing style of your PS/addendums and doesn't effectively capture the POV.

It's aleso unethical IMO.

Funny, I wrote both of mine and have gotten accepted to every school I've heard back from so far. Though, my recommenders assured me that they changed the LORs substantially.

If they changed it substantially, then its not the same as writing a letter and having someone sign it...different situation.