Say it isnt so! A Useless reference?!

[okora]

wow...well thanks...mate

[snugalicious]

I was lucky in that I applied through UCAS as an individual, so my university tutor had to send me the reference to attach myself. I found it really useful to read it - obviously you have some idea of your own strengths and weaknesses, but like someone else has already mentioned, it's always good to get another perspective.

There's no harm in (tactfully) asking to read your reference when your form tutor or whoever has written it. If it is too generic or you're not happy with what they've said, you may also be able to approach a different teacher and ask them to write it. Unless they have an entire form of references to write for themselves, they'll often be happy (& sometimes flattered) to be asked. If I'd been applying straight from school I would've asked my old geography teacher, as she'd taught me in all 7 years of my high school & 6th form career and knew me far far better than the form tutor I'd had for one year and never been formally taught by. It's a logical argument and it's your future at stake, so if you're not sure they're going to paint the best possible picture of you, ask someone else!

[hoonosewot88]

I would say its certainly advisable to read you're reference. After all, its about you and it could play a significant part in your chances.
When i asked my university tutor to write my reference i wrote up a list of stuff i would like her to mention (punctuality, personality, work ethic etc). I didn't ask her to put good things in, i just told her what was looked for in a reference so she knew what to do (she'd never written one before).

I also mentioned a few things to her which i hadnt had space for in my PS, and asked that she mention them in the ref statement.
THen when she had written it, i read it through and it was great, but with a couple of minor grammatical errors and a couple of points that weren't clarified. I mentioned these to her and she agreed and subsequently changed them.

I got a cracking personal statement out of it and as far as im aware she didn't think any less of me for being involved with it, i think she actually appreciated my help.

Whilst it would certainly be wrong to try and influence the statement so as to make the writer exaggerate how good you are, i don't consider requests for certain content to be a bad thing.

[rosa999]

just to add...
when i applied last year i was confident that my tutor had written me a good reference, he knew me quite well, had taught me and wrote good academic reports. in saying that my feedback from leeds showed that it was academic and reference where i lost out (it was one category) and i'm sure it wasn't academic as i was predicted AAA... who knows, its all such pot luck if the person reading your application likes the style or is in a bad mood! xxx

[BeanOfJelly]

I like my tutor, and I think she prob portrayed me quite well... Problem is I'd only known her since the beginning of term when she wrote the reference and there's false stuff in it. She got my GCSE results slightly wrong (hoping this isn't important as they're correct in the form) and wrote what I had gained from my Psycho cw, despite the fact that I had dropped the subject, and never did any coursework. I got a whole report from Psychology in fact, a little lame considering my tutor would have been my Psychology teacher, so apparently hadn't noticed I wasn't in any of her classes.
Never mind...

(Its not all her fault, she has to write over 40 references and is new to teaching sixth form)

[Special-R]

I got to read my reference, and I think everyone should get to read theirs - they might ask about it at the interview.
My head of sixth form had trouble writing mine, since he had to explain my situation, but I think he did well. Except for advertising the school in the opening lines...

Imagine somewhere on the internet, there's a forum where tutors get advice to write references. That would be kinda cool.

[SupraSpinatous]

why would you be asked about your reference at interview?

[Special-R]

If one thing is said in your reference, and another thing in your personal statement, then they might ask you to clarify it. For instance, if the reference said that you volunteered somewhere, and you didn't really.
Also, if your referee mentioned any specific skills in your reference, the interviewers might want to test those skills while questioning you.

That probably won't be the case, but I like to prepare for these things

[rosa999]

they can't ask you about your reference, they expect that you haven't read it. they might 'test' you on stuff you said in your personal statement but it would be unreasonable to expect you to know what your reference said. don't worry about it!

[Clairey_Fairy]

Originally Posted by okora

I'd just read a post on another forum of a physics student who had read his reference and was complaining that it was very general "he is a hard worker, punctual..." standard reference. He'd said it was so generalised it didnt even mention the course he was applying for. He was worried that this "bad" reference could be detrimental for him. It really sounded as if his referee had just written a template reference for the whole of the college and inserted name in the blank space provided.

Whether he was allowed to read his reference or not, I do not know, as i'm sure a lot of people including myself havent layed eyes on ours...but it got me thinking, whilst i thought it was slightly rude of him to read his reference, just how much weight does go on references in the medical application process? does anybody know?

In the mean time, we'll just have to give our referees the benefit of the doubt and trust that they have done us some justice.

Sorry if somebody has mentioned this already as I havent read the whole thread, but do you know under the data protection act (according to my law student sister) you have a right to view any ref written about you and they have to show you if you request to see it. Jus a note if any applicants were worried bout their refs.