Similarity between Essays and LOR

Question

Hi all,

My manager asked for my essays as he wanted to have a look at them before writing my recommendations. So I gave it to him, and now after submitting he told me that he borrowed a few pointers from it. How big of an issue is this ?? What will they college think about this? any ideas?

thanks in advance.

Admissionado · Answer

ravinikhil :

Can you be more specific about which points he copied? Some would be more concerning than others.

It might not be the WORST thing in the world. Alignment can be helpful as long as it doesn't look too canned. Please share more so we can properly advise.

Keep in mind, it's probably NOT a big deal, but it's always helpful to unpack the issue and assess the situation that way before panicking about something you can't control at this point too.

ravinikhil · Answer

So there was the section where I mentioned how I practised leadership and I based it on an event in the workplace. My manager has copied that part, added another point from his own that I don't know about, and sent the answer. The thing is if the gist was the same that was fine, but he has literally copy pasted that 3,4 lines from my essays which makes me worried. He himself told me the same.

Admissionado · Answer

ravinikhil :

Did you submit your application yet? If not, you could change yours in a way that creates enough separation between what he copied from yours and what you ultimately submit.

If you did, don't panic. It's actually very common for recommendation letters and essays to overlap on specific points, especially if they are about a candidate's proudest achievements.

If he copied and pasted the sentences verbatim (and it's been submitted), then there's not much you can do nor is there real reason to panic. The AdCom knows that recommenders are busy (and sometimes lazy) and that these things sometimes happen. It's not a false story nor did you/he do anything wrong. They just might not consider his recommendation letter to carry all that weight.

How was the other recommendation letter? Any sense for its relatively strength?

Lastly, if you are applying anywhere else, I might seek a different recommender. This person seems like he can't be trusted entirely even if it's intentions are benevolent.

ravinikhil · Answer

The application was already submitted and there was only one LOR required. So...
Although it's 3 lines in 1 question. I think there was a total of 4 ques, and the rest were all his words.

Admissionado · Answer

ravinikhil :

Alright, it should be fine. See our third point in the last post. Try not to dwell on it. These things happen all the time and they're not the type of matter that swings your candidacy in the negative. The AdCom looks at your profile at a holistic level!

Good luck,
Admissionado

ExpertsGlobal · Answer

Hello  ravinikhil ,

Hope this finds you well.

What is done is done; do not bother too much about it. Such errors may happen; it should not be a deal breaker if your profile actually has merit.

Good luck!

Similarity between Essays and LOR

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