Regarding the importance of a letter of recommendation in your application, there are two schools of thought. Some believe that your standardized LOR makes it nearly impossible to assess a student’s capability, while others believe that LOR will be one of the most important documents in an application for this very reason. They believe that universities frequently review LORs to determine not just whether the student’s statements are true but also how the student is perceived by his or her seniors.
After all, it is the application’s only third-party endorsement.
The applicant has created all other paperwork by themselves.
The LOR thus plays an important role.
The student may have worked hard on a great statement of purpose and a well-crafted resume, but the absence of a convincing LOR may just ruin his or her chances of making the final cut. Nevertheless, students frequently forget this important document.
Here are some Common Mistakes to avoid:
Choosing the Wrong Recommender:
Before you even consider what qualities to discuss/highlight in your letters of recommendation, you must first analyse and decide who will be your recommenders. Your recommender should be someone who is familiar with your skills and is capable of convincingly presenting them to the Admission Committee. Selecting a recommender who is not familiar with you is the most serious mistake an applicant can make while drafting his or her LOR. An Assistant Professor who has taught you even one subject during your term may be a better recommendation than the College Principal who has only seen you participate in a few events at college. For further information, see How to Select Your Recommenders.
Not Giving Enough Time to the Recommender:
One of the biggest mistakes applicants make is rushing your recommender while still expecting recommender to write a great and convincing recommendation. Request your recommenders well in advance of your application timeline and keep reminding them after regular intervals. One month should be the very minimum amount of time you must allow for your recommenders. It would be unfair to your own application if you approached them at the last minute and forced them to write your recommendation letter without allowing them enough time to research and evaluate your candidature. Hurrying at the last minute will undoubtedly affect your recommendation and weaken your chances of being accepted to the university of your choice.
Not validating your candidature with examples:
When it comes to your application procedure, a LOR without examples or instances is of little value. A recommender who incessantly compliments the applicant in the letter of recommendation either doesn’t understand what a LOR means or is truly rushed for time.
In the case, the recommender is still unable to provide a strong LOR, defeating the entire purpose. Every time a recommender praises the candidate in the letter, there needs to be an example or incident to back it up. For instance, if the recommender says that, “ABC is one of the select students who have shown a penchant for application of theoretical concepts taught in the class.” Now, this one is so generic that it hardly contains any worth. The ideal thing for a recommender to do is to back up this statement with an explanation of a theoretical concept you actually put into practice in the lab or class. Also, the person making the recommendation should explain the findings of the study and what specifically impressed them about the instance.
More than anything, what a candidate must ensure is a genuine letter of recommendation. Never agree to provide your recommender with a standard format. Let your recommender share his/ her own perspective about your personality.
Missing out on your areas of improvement:
The Admission Committee becomes uncertain and sceptical when the LOR contains too many positive statements. Although no one is preventing you from praising your candidature, it’s important to know when to stop. Also, the Committee will not be pleased if you just highlight your personality’s favourable characteristics while overlooking the flaws. Thus, be sure to mention at least one of your weaknesses in the LOR, and don’t use the clichéd “ABC, being a perfectionist, ends up pressurizing himself as well as his team members.”
Using a Cold Dry Tone While Writing the LOR: Despite the fact that a LOR is a formal document, the recommender ought to be polite while putting it together. It’s always a good idea to start the LOR with the applicant’s complete name and then refer to them by their first name throughout the remainder of the document.