<p>dilemma- applying as a transfer student and I have a "brilliant" professor who I want to write one of my letters of rec. she knows me better than my other profs and knows my ambition/other character traits. so I asked her to type something up. she complied. and my god if it doesnt look like something an autistic 4th grader wrote after sucking down too many the night before.... the grammar/ punctuation is incorrect and the content isnt stellar. why would i even consider using this garbage? shes a pHd/ Associate at Teachers College and a (God only knows how) contributor to the Times and to that paper up in Hartford.... does their title (especially being a columbia faculty) pull more weight then their actually letter? should I tell her I give her a C- and want a revision by next week? or should I just dump her and get another prof with no ties to columbia? wow.... i thought teacher's was a halfway decent grad school.</p>
<p>It is a decent school.
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so I asked her to type something up. she complied.
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<p>And therein, I think, lies the problem. Was she particularly excited to write you a letter? Did you make clear that it's a recommendation letter for Columbia and that it would have a major impact on your application. Did you thank her for spending the time and effort? From what it sounds like, you didn't do these things and to comply with your half-hearted request, she wrote you a half-hearted letter.</p>
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does their title (especially being a columbia faculty) pull more weight then their actually letter?
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<p>No, definitely not</p>
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should I tell her I give her a C- and want a revision by next week?
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<p>Hey, we can all get frustrated but your attitude towards this isn't going to get you a better letter. I get the impression that you feel entitled to this letter, which is NOT the case. Beg her, buy her flowers, chocolates, whatever. She's a busy person and she has so many things that are more important that writing a letter of recommendation. </p>
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or should I just dump her and get another prof with no ties to columbia?
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<p>If you truly believe that she knows you best then she's your best bet. How did you get the letter anyways? If she just emailed it to you then it's possible that she wants your feedback on the letter and if there's anything missing that you'd like her to talk about. It's up to you to correct her grammar and spelling. </p>
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i thought teacher's was a halfway decent grad school.
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It is</p>
<p>ha, ok so maybe I could remove some of the sarcastic lingo from my post. of course i didnt demand a letter from her nor did i beg. I asked kindly via email- i also have her cell and home address. ive never considered her a prof, hell ive had coffee with her while discussing things like my adolescent promiscuity before. trust me she KNOWS me and likes me- gave me A+ in the 2 classes i took of hers. Im just dumbfounded how a Times contributor and a Teachers PHd cant compose a decent letter of rec for someone she has "cherisched" for over 2 years. makes me think that some of the most intelligent people are also truly the most neurotic. oh and trust me she has time- she responds to my email within 3 minutes everytime...</p>
<p>So how did she send you back her recommendation letter?</p>
<p>email... just sent me a draft of what she came up with</p>
<p>Dude, if it's a draft in an email then chill out. </p>
<p>More likely that not, she's letting you know how the rec is panning out so far and is giving you an opportunity to tell her if there's anything else you'd like her to mention. Is there any specific problem with the content?</p>
<p>ok obviously im not going to post the damn thing on here but whether its a predraft she did while sitting on the pot or a final copy ready to be submitted, it <strong><em>ing sucks. theres nothing to be chilled about when the professor whos a faculty member at the school youre trying to transfer to cant write an eloquent letter. she was always a bit looney in class but this just makes me wonder if i should go with someone else. the real question at hand and the reason for this thread in the first place is not to B</em></strong> about her writing style but to inquire whether or not the adcom will overlook such horrendous writing from one of their own....</p>
<p>Is the letter itself good? Does it make a strong case for you as a transfer? Does it provide concrete examples of good personal traits that would help you transfer? </p>
<p>You said in the original post that the content isn't stellar so I assume that the answer to my questions is going to be no. If that's the case, then feel free to ask somebody else but you're risking having an ever crappier letter that unlike this one, which says something decent about you poorly, might say nothing at all about you very well. Personally, I'd take the former.</p>
<p>Then again, it certainly doesn't hurt to ask.</p>
<p>I'm still confused as to why your letter sucks. As far as I can tell, it's lacks "eloquence" whatever that means and has some spelling and grammar mistakes. Those can all be fixed. If it's a content problem then again, ask to meet with her. Thank her for her time and tell her how much you appreciate her effort. Then, tell her that you feel like there are some things she forgot to mention that you really think would help you and kindly ask if she could include those as well. Sometimes your letter writers are clueless and you need to do some of the gruntwork to get an outstanding rec.</p>