<p>I requested a letter of recommendation letter from my professor but she is asking me to write my own letter so she can revise it. I understand it is common but I really have no idea how I should go about it.</p>
<p>I feel very bad writing about myself especially when the letter have to showcase my own strengths to the admission committee. I cant even bear to think about writing blah blah how good I am blah in the letter without blushing bright red. How should I go about it? Has anyone encountered this before?</p>
<p>yes, I had to do this last year for a LOR and I understand your dilemma because its a very awkward situation. What I did was I tried to remember all the compliments that professor had given me or comments about my work that she made. I then worked those into a letter, basically repeating any positive comments she said about me. This way, everything I wrote was true and I didn’t have to worry about bragging about myself…its still a little awkward but not as bad</p>
<p>If you feel guilty about this practice (and you shouldn’t) stick to objective descriptions eg. this individual has learned several new techniques such as western blotting, pcr, ihc and contributed to the following publications while in my lab. He has been a part of these projects while here. This individual would make an excellent graduate student at your institution because they are able to learn quickly, think critically and blah blah blah. It’s your time to shine.</p>
<p>I consider it as a red flag that this professor doesn’t know you well enough to write one herself or is too busy to care about your graduate school aspirations.</p>
<p>ticklemepink - it’s not necessarily a red flag. One of my letters came from a superior with whom I had worked personally and daily for 2 years - literally thousands of hours of collaboration, he picked me to be his mentee (a big deal - I got paid for 6 months just to follow him around and learn what he did), he even got me my funding for my doctoral program. And he asked me to write my own letter.</p>
<p>Mostly this has to do with making sure that the writer knows everything possible about you, even the small stuff that they might have forgotten. Plus it helps to show what your perceptions were as well as your goals. No one expects it to be well written, or even accurate - since no one can accurately judge themselves.</p>
<p>Is there another person who knows you well, such as a graduate student or postdoc, who would help you write the first draft? As a senior graduate student, I often help undergraduates and technicians in my lab write their drafts, and I am happy to write in the superlatives that they feel uncomfortable using.</p>
<p>One thing you will probably come to realize as you progress through academic life is that you can’t be shy about promoting your strengths when it comes to opportunities like applications. Try to read the letter through the eyes of the admissions committee, and don’t worry about writing things that make you feel embarrassed.</p>
<p>As Professor of Department of __<strong><em>, I had the pleasure of accepting Mr </em></strong> for a research internship in my laboratory at ______ . </p>
<p>___ is a 2nd year student who have approached me personally to seek additional research experience shortly after completing his internship at _______.</p>
<p>Although his school does not require him to engage in laboratory work in the 2nd year, his strong interest and high motivation levels spurred him on for further laboratory experience.
His project of focus was targeted towards _<strong><em>. The project was very demanding as he had to master a diverse variety of laboratory skills in a short notice. Assigned under a highly experienced senior research scientist, they had to work out strategies and methods for this project. Although facing much difficulties in the beginning, they managed to produce results on the correlation </em></strong> and this subsequently led to a co-authored publication. His level of enthusiasm and dedication kept him going despite having to juggle the tiring schedule of doing internship and school classes.</p>
<p>Other than that, he has worked very well with other personnels in the laboratory and regularly seeks to learn from the laboratory officers, PhD students and postdoc.</p>
<p>____ has impressed me with his tenacity, skill, initiative and dedication toward his work in the laboratory. I highly recommend ___ for future graduate studies or employment opportunities and he will be an asset to whatever program he has applied for.</p>
<p>Please feel free to contact me if you require further information.</p>
<p>My own advisor asked me to do this. He certainly cared because it ultimately led to me getting off his budget. He reviewed the letter afterward, of course, but writing a skeleton would have been a waste of his time.</p>