Question about statement of purpose to letter writers

[anat&fizzy]

Hi all!

This may be a bit of a weird question, but I can't find an answer anywhere. It's recommended everywhere to change up your SOP in order to highlight your best unique fit at each school. My letter writers asked for a CV and a draft of my statement of purpose. Should I send each different SOP to my letter writers so they can see what I discuss about fitting to each school specifically? Should I send one SOP and just notes about specific fit at the other schools I'm applying to?

Thanks!

[timetobegin]

Choose the school you want the most, and send your LoR that statement. They don't need to tailor their letters as specifically as you - they just need to know, in general, what you're interested in and where you plan to go.

If your statements WIDELY vary (like you're applying to study faunal archaeology at one school, but human variation at another), then you might want to actually talk to your LoR about that.

[posi+ivity]

I agree with @timetobegin. You should also probably keep in mind that although professors are extremely busy people, and asking them to write a different (albeit just slightly) SOP for each application might be just a tad bit excessive. However, I understand your concern. Perhaps as a compromise, you can write them an email to explain very briefly what you want them to focus on in each application? They can probably change a sentence or even a paragraph in their letters depending on the amount of time they are willing to give.