Do professors have a limit as to how many copies they can make of LORs?

[gradstudent84]

I am planning on applying to grad schools for speech language pathology (SLP) and because the current school i'm going to for completing pre requisite classes has all of the students anxious about getting in (they keep telling us how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get admitted to schools in California), i have a list of schools I want to get into, which is 15. I know it's a lot, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

My question is, do teachers have a limit on how many copies they can give a student? I have my three professors picked out, but I'm wondering if it's too much of an inconvenience for them to make copies or submit electronically for 15 schools. I talked to the lady at the department desk who usually helps out with scantron purchase, paperwork, general FAQ but every response shes' been giving me so far has been extremely negative, and she said 15 is simply too much, and that usually students pick out 5 schools. We were encouraged by the department chairs that we should appy to as many as possible, and what she told me contradicts what we were told by chairs.

How many schools have everyone else picked out? I would think students applying to med school have more than 5 schools to apply to since it is extremely competitive.

Any comments would be appreciated!

[Strangefox]

Don't ask "the lady at the department desk", ask the professors! I think they know better They must understand perfectly well your desire to apply to as many schools as possible in your competitive field.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Strangefox

[newms]

Just ask the professors and make sure you give them a lot of time if you're going to be sending them 15 applications. Remember though, that they are not writing 15 letters from scratch, mostly they will be reusing the same letter at the different schools and maybe filling in different forms.

Edited October 4, 2010 by newms

[gradstudent84]

Just ask the professors and make sure you give them a lot of time if you're going to be sending them 15 applications. Remember though, that they are not writing 15 letters from scratch, mostly they will be reusing the same letter at the different schools and maybe filling in different forms.

Just now I narrowed down the list to 12..which is still a lot though, but less work than 15.

Yeah, I talked to one professor and he agreed to write one for me..I know they use the same layout but tweak it here and there to make it more "personal"

[DariaIRL]

As others have said, ask the profs themselves, give them lots of time, and try to make it as easy as possible (provide a folder w/ postage paid addressed envelops, a handout with each school you're applying to plus their application deadline, etc). Don't forget to write a short thank you note after the admissions season!

[adaptations]

Last time I applied, I applied to 16 schools and none of my recommenders had a problem with it. This time I am applying to 15. Yes, these are high numbers, but I also know of plenty of students who applied to 18-22 programs. As everyone noted, you should talk with your professors to make sure they are ok with it, and do everything you can to make the process easier for them.

[gradstudent84]

I visited a second professor earlier and because this is my first time having him as my teacher i thought it too soon to ask him for a letter..i did mention to him that i had a good feeling about the class and i'd like to ask him in the future since he is reading over my statement of purpose. he said there would be nothing to write as the quarter started a few weeks ago, and he doesn't really know me, but a good time to ask would be a couple months from now. I am planning on asking again early November, and I'm hoping it won't be too late because i have a lot of schools to consider.

but I do feel more at ease reading your replies...these days i've been hearing and seeing a lot of discouragement from the people at school and I felt that the doors were closing on me...and that response about 15 schools possibly being too much from someone was totally what put me down. For all of my academic life I've been put under a lot of pressure and to go through it again hasn't been any easier this time around.

Edited October 5, 2010 by gradstudent84

[Strangefox]

but I do feel more at ease reading your replies...these days i've been hearing and seeing a lot of discouragement from the people at school and I felt that the doors were closing on me...and that response about 15 schools possibly being too much from someone was totally what put me down. For all of my academic life I've been put under a lot of pressure and to go through it again hasn't been any easier this time around.

Don't let yourself get discouraged! It is those going on no matter what who finally win!

[hahahut]

If it makes you feel better, I am applying 11 schools. I was thinking like 20 at first. But cannot get that many to match my interests. So will just focus on these 11 for now. But I could add more later.

[gradstudent84]

Don't let yourself get discouraged! It is those going on no matter what who finally win!

thanks for the encouragement

[strokeofmidnight]

I am planning on applying to grad schools for speech language pathology (SLP) and because the current school i'm going to for completing pre requisite classes has all of the students anxious about getting in (they keep telling us how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get admitted to schools in California), i have a list of schools I want to get into, which is 15. I know it's a lot, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

You've been given lots of advice on the other questions, so I'll focus on the throwaway comments. Where did you hear that advice? I was also told that <i>repeatedly</i> as I was visiting programs as an admitted student last year (though the commentators were by no means unbiased). Professors and grad students in other program swore up and down that 1) professors are fleeing californian programs and 2) there's no funding. Since I was already enrolled in one Californian graduate program and was planning to transfer to another, I know the situation well enough (for my field, at least) to ignore the doomsday comments. I know first hand that neither rumors are true (at least for the program and school in question), but not everyone has the benefit of seeing their top choice school from the inside before they accept an offer. I can't speak for every school or every program in California, but my own program (and there are TONS of rumors circulating around my program) is in pretty decent financial shape. Graduate funding increased--and the class size is more or less along the same lines as in past years. So for my program, at least, it would not have been impossible to get in. I wouldn't overlook an entire state if it has strong programs that would be a good fit for you. You can always figure out the funding issues once you have offers and are in a good position to ask delicate questions. Until then, the rumors may or may not be at all accurate. Some of it (from my experience) were certainly willfully malicious.

[gradstudent84]

You've been given lots of advice on the other questions, so I'll focus on the throwaway comments. Where did you hear that advice? I was also told that <i>repeatedly</i> as I was visiting programs as an admitted student last year (though the commentators were by no means unbiased). Professors and grad students in other program swore up and down that 1) professors are fleeing californian programs and 2) there's no funding. Since I was already enrolled in one Californian graduate program and was planning to transfer to another, I know the situation well enough (for my field, at least) to ignore the doomsday comments. I know first hand that neither rumors are true (at least for the program and school in question), but not everyone has the benefit of seeing their top choice school from the inside before they accept an offer. I can't speak for every school or every program in California, but my own program (and there are TONS of rumors circulating around my program) is in pretty decent financial shape. Graduate funding increased--and the class size is more or less along the same lines as in past years. So for my program, at least, it would not have been impossible to get in. I wouldn't overlook an entire state if it has strong programs that would be a good fit for you. You can always figure out the funding issues once you have offers and are in a good position to ask delicate questions. Until then, the rumors may or may not be at all accurate. Some of it (from my experience) were certainly willfully malicious.

Are you in the field of SLP or audiology?I'm also curious as to know what program you're in. I've been hearing it from a department chair at my school where i'm taking pre requisites and I wouldn't be surprised if at my school the rumors were made to be malicious as well. I will definitely consider other states as well as funding once I get acceptance letters, but the department chair has been discouraging everyone from even dreaming about getting into california grad programs. He's been saying that unless you have a GPA of 4.0, it is next to impossible to get into california programs, which has all the students taking pre requisite courses fiercely competitive and panicked, as many of them do not have that elusive 4.0. He also made it clear that even private schools (loma linda and even redlands) only accept 5 (yes, FIVE) students per YEAR and all of them have GPAs within the median 3.8-4.0 range.