<p>One of my recommenders has told me to write the letter myself and that he'd review it then. I'm curious to know whether professors in the US do this as well. Is it rare/common?
At first I wasn't happy that he didn't want to write it himself, but now I think actually it's a very good opportunity! I can write about my characteristics that he probably hasn't noticed.. (I haven't done research with him)
Also I don't know how long it should be. 3 paragraphs maybe?
Thank you.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s rare, but I wouldn’t recommend taking him up on it. It suggests that he doesn’t know you as well as a recommender probably should. Do you have other people you could ask? LORs should be more than just someone with credentials saying you’re worth a chance, it should be personal. I think it would be challenging to try to recreate that if you write it yourself.</p>
<p>There are others I have asked, but I have to ask him too for a few letters, since most schools need 3 LORs, and some 4, and there aren’t 4 professors I have worked with.</p>
<p>It is perhaps more common than you might think. Some writers are looking to minimize time investment and figure it will be faster to work from a draft. Some writers feel insufficiently informed about you (and someone who has not done research with you might be well justified in this!) and want to see what YOU think you have accomplished.</p>
<p>I would give it your best shot and not worry too much about it - remember, the letter comes from the professor, not you, and he/she does NOT want to look like an idiot. It will be reviewed, revised, or rewritten in order to say what they want to say, the way they want to say it.</p>
<p>I think he both wants to minimize time investment and feels insufficiently informed about me (-:</p>