Not Waiving right to review rec. = bad???

Question

Hey guys - though there was an earlier discussion on this, I wanted more opinions.

Does not waiving the right to examine a recommendation truly reflect badly in the application?

I did not waive my right - since there was an option I thought 'why not read what was being submitted by my recommender'. Reading the previous posts on the same topic now has me concerned.

I haven't been able to figure out how to read the submitted recs. anyway (I tried). Is there any way to change this option once the recs. have been sent to recommenders or once the recs. have been submitted by the recommenders? Thanks.

mbagal1 · Answer

Yes, I have always heard it is better to waive. In Apply Yourself, you can delete an existing recommender - so may be you can delete the recommender and add him/her again.

SV6 · Answer

Even i had the same issue

i thought i checked "Yes" for both recommendors but one recommendor after submitting the recommendation told me that the option was not waived. But other was waived. But once reco is submitted no way you can change the option. Even i am not able to see the recommendation but i should have double checked before i requested. Will adcom deny admission based on this?

terp26 · Answer

probably won't deny, but probably will have less credibility on the validity of your rec

rhyme · Answer

You guys are reading a bit too much into this, honestly. In general, I'd advise waive, but it isn't going to be a meaningful factor in your decision process. Forget about it and just move on.

riverripper · Answer

To me the biggest reason to waive is so you dont read what they said. If you see it and arent exactly happy with what they wrote it could sour a relationship.

perpetualmotion · Answer

At an info session at Boston University last week, this topic came up. The admissions rep strongly advised applicants to waive the right to view. Not so much because it could sour a relationship between the recommender and candidate, but if the university knows that the candidate has no access to the rec then it appears less biased, as the writer will have the freedom to write whatever they want without worrying that the candidate will see it.

refurb · Answer

From the post about BU, it looks like each school has their own opinion on it's importance.

If you read through the Columbia adcom thread on the bw forum, they explicitly state that they don't care one way or another.

RF

Tarmac · Answer

It would be naive for schools to use it as an evaluative factor.

The most anal applicants are going to go over it, question by question with their references, regardless of whether they check that box.

Not Waiving right to review rec. = bad???

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