The school I am applying to is asking for an optional recommendation letter and they told me they don't call the referee?

[Anonymous]

I find it weird because normally letters are confidential between the referee and the institution. The school wants me to submit the letter by myself as it was sent by my manager. It means I can read the letter and change it as I want. I asked them and they even told me they don't reach out to the referee as well. Do you think submitting a reference letter makes a difference as they seem not to take letters seriously?

[Oliverlogan263]

That is weird that the school wouldn't keep the reference letter confidential or contact the referee directly. Some red flags I see:

- If they don't actually verify the info with the referee, then the letter isn't really confirming anything about you - you could edit it to say anything.

- Most places want an unbiased opinion, so having you submit it yourself defeats the purpose of a reference check.

- Not contacting the referee at all means they can't establish that person is a real contact who can recommend you based on actual experience working with you.

Personally if it was me applying, I don't think I would submit a reference letter in this case. Without any way for the school to validate it, it doesn't seem like it would hold much weight in their decision. They're probably just checking a formality box by requesting it versus actually considering it.

Some other options could be to ask if an online recommendation portal is OK instead of a physical letter. Or ask if a video recommendation over Skype would work to validate the referee. But as is, I wouldn't trust the process or feel comfortable basically writing my own reference. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.