LORs by e-mail

[Strangefox]

All schools I am going to apply to have this system where you apply on-line and indicate who your recommenders will be and their e-mails. I was wondering if after I submit the on-line application they receive notifications immediately. Letters to them are sent automatically, right? I very much hope so...

[Bumblebee]

Yes, they receive an e-mail immediately giving them instructions on how to submit the letters. Once they submit their LORs, you will most probably receive an e-mail letting you know that Prof. X has submitted it.

When I applied I told my LORs writers to expect an e-mail from X institution so that they didn't delete it accidentally. It was really convenient and fast.

[adaptations]

They will automatically receive an email, but I still recommend keeping close tabs on who has submitted for you. It is easy for them to loose an email and then they just forget to do it. I had to resend notifications to a couple professors in the final weeks before letters were due.

[Sparky]

Also, if your school e-mail system is based on Gmail (or more to the point, if the profs writing your recs use an e-mail system based on Gmail):

if you are applying to two or more schools that use the same application software--e.g. ApplyYourself--be sure the profs know the requests for LORs will likely show up as ONE thread. They're from the same sender, with the same subject line, so Gmail threads them automatically.

At least, this happened with mine. There might be a way to disable it, though.

[fuzzylogician]

Usually recommenders are sent an email immediately. HOWEVER, some schools won't send out LOR notifications until after you submit you application (when I applied, Rutgers was one such school). When that happened, the website was pretty clear about it, but I'd still suggest you read the fine print to make sure it's not the case for any of your schools. In any case, I also suggest you be in touch with your recommenders following when you expect they should get their notifications, to make sure the in fact all did get all of them.

[Strangefox]

Thanks everybody for the information and advice!

[Strangefox]

Usually recommenders are sent an email immediately. HOWEVER, some schools won't send out LOR notifications until after you submit you application (when I applied, Rutgers was one such school). When that happened, the website was pretty clear about it, but I'd still suggest you read the fine print to make sure it's not the case for any of your schools. In any case, I also suggest you be in touch with your recommenders following when you expect they should get their notifications, to make sure the in fact all did get all of them.

Actually I thought that it always happens this way.

Do you mean that in some instances I can send out notifications (through on-line application software) without submitting the application itself?

[newms]

Actually I thought that it always happens this way.

Do you mean that in some instances I can send out notifications (through on-line application software) without submitting the application itself?

Yes, that's how it works for most places. Some places, however, require you to submit the application before the emails to the recommenders are sent out. You have to be aware of these places because you will need to submit your application to these places well before the deadline to give your recommenders ample time to submit their recommendations.

[Strangefox]

Yes, that's how it works for most places. Some places, however, require you to submit the application before the emails to the recommenders are sent out. You have to be aware of these places because you will need to submit your application to these places well before the deadline to give your recommenders ample time to submit their recommendations.

Nono, I mean, I thought all places require you to submit the application before the emails to the recommenders are sent out

[newms]

Nono, I mean, I thought all places require you to submit the application before the emails to the recommenders are sent out

Ok. I was saying that most places, at least those I've encountered, do not require you to submit the application before the emails are sent out. A few do though.

[fuzzylogician]

Ok. I was saying that most places, at least those I've encountered, do not require you to submit the application before the emails are sent out. A few do though.

This. In most cases (at least that I encountered), you fill in the recommenders' details and then they are sent a notification to upload their letter. This is independent of when you submit your part of the application. Some application software are flexible in that they allow you to choose when to send the recommenders this notification and also allow you to resend it in case a recommender loses their email. Other software will send out the notifications as soon as you enter the recommender's information -- which you should be aware of so no recommender accidentally gets notified that they should upload your letter before you have in fact had time to ask them to do so.

Edited September 13, 2010 by fuzzylogician

[snowballed]

Hi

Canadian citizen applying to UK graduate programs soon. It sounds like you guys do things much differently. We require referers to send a paper copy of the letter (signed and sealed) to the applicable uni.

Is it a standard practice in the UK for the form to be filled out electronically? Or are the referers prompted to upload a PDF/Doc?

thx