Question about letters of recommendation for grad school confidentiality.

[Deep13]

The forms that the grad schools want my references to use has a box to check to see if I want them confidential or not. By confidential, it means I never get to see it. One school says "The Graduate School places no value on your decision in this matter," which presumably means they will not hold it against me if I say I want to see it after the admissions decision is made. (What it literally means is that they will not comply with my decision.)

Will my references--judges in whose court I have practiced and undergrad professors I have not seen in 20 years--be put off by a lack of confidentiality, or am I being an idiot for even considering letting someone talk about me behind my back on something so important. I am not so friendly with any of these folks that I cannot be sure of what they will say.

Opinions?

[fishwax]

1. one thing to think about is under what circumstances you'll need (or even want) to look at them

Usually, recommenders will mail their letter or upload it to a server without you seeing it, so even if you leave the box unchecked it doesn't mean you'll be able to keep a watchful eye on what they're saying while it matters. Actually seeing it later would require some effort. What reasons do you think you might have for eventually wanting to see it, and how important are those reasons? Is it just curiosity?

I think some people will feel less comfortable than others writing the letter if the box isn't checked. Some probably won't care. Others might think it unprofessional in some way. I would think it fairly unlikely that leaving the box unchecked would improve the recommendations that you get.

Edited to add: Good luck! :hi:

[Deep13]

5. I can't see it until after the committee decides...

...so that might make the issue immaterial. Of course if I were rejected and wanted to reapply later, it might be good to know which reference to leave out. It might also be good to have access to the letter if I need it in the future, but that reference has since retired or died.

[struggle4progress]

2. When I asked for grad school recommendations, I always made sure the people I was asking

knew that their letters would be confidential: told em, Look, I'd like to go to grad school, but the school needs your honest opinion to decide whether or not to admit me, and I want you to tell em what you really think

[SOteric]

3. I'm not sure I agree with your interpretation of the disclaimer.

Stating "The Graduate School places no value on your decision in this matter," to my mind suggests something like 'you get no brownie points for having the integrity to select confidentiality, nor the proactive business savvy to choose to view them and weed out potential problems for any future applications.'

[Deep13]

4. I'm sure that's what they really mean...

...but they could have worded it better.

[Deep13]

6. You all pretty much confirmed what I was thinking anyway.

I waived the look at 'em later option and stuffed the envelopes.

Thanks all.