Can my recommender use Online Translator for the letter?Answered
Yes, I know it may sound very unreasonable. But I have no choice.
My counselor completed to write my LOR whose length is about one and half page of A4. It's in Korean. I searched for translation service. It costs 30$-100$. Since I have three more LORs to translate, but I don't have enough money to buy services, I sought reviews of 30$ service.
The reviews were bad. I think the result would be similar between the service and me doing it. And honestly, I even don't have enough money to use 30$ services, because my parents have no willingness to support my application process. Still, I don't have enough time to translate them let alone it's okay to do or not. So the last solution came up is actually letting the Google Translator (or some other things) do the translation, and I proofread the letters with my teachers.
Of course, if I end up doing this, I will explain this in Common App additional information. Can I do this? Or just... send the original letter untranslated?
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2 answers
Hi there @chrimp,
Different schools have different policies around letters of recommendation. In general, I've either seen that the letter needs to be written in English, or, if written in another language, needs to have a word-for-word translated version submitted with it. You can check out UPenn's policy as an example here:
That all being said, you are in a tough situation here, and I'm sorry you're going through this! You should definitely look into the policies at your prospective schools around this. If you still have questions for your admissions committee or feel you won't be able to fulfill the policy, you should definitely reach out to your schools resources for prospective applicants. This way, you can talk directly to admissions staff so they are aware of your situation and can help you work out a solution within your means.
I'm sorry that you had just bad translators!
Two things.
1. Since you looked at the letter, that kind of violated waiving your FERPA rights which many colleges require, so your writer may have to rewrite it for them to accept the letter.
2. If they will rewrite it, just submit it as is, and Common App will translate it for you. I assume they have people from the region that can understand Korean or translate themselves to take off your burden. Explain in the Add. Info that you weren't able to get it translated because you don't have the money, and they will understand.
Good luck to you!
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To be honest, I also had trouble with translations in the past. Sometimes it is very important to be precise, especially when it comes to idioms in the language. One day a good friend advised me to try russian transcription service. Since then, I mostly went to them because I am satisfied with both deadlines and friendly service and because they can do translations of media materials.