Recommender says: Too Many Schools!

[Ideal Impulse]

I am applying to a Speech Language Pathology program, and I have two professors who are writing letters (well, filling out forms, really) for me. I also asked a long time volunteer supervisor to write the third; she said she'd love to. Only problem is: I'm applying to four schools, and she doesn't think she has to line to fill out four different forms. Each program has a unique form. I can't write/draft it for it either, since it's a form and not a letter.

What do these forms really look like? Is it essentially information she can cop and paste?

If not, and it really does require more work on her end, what would you recommend I do in this situation? I'd hate to lose her as a reference, since she's seen me work with the population I want to work with for so many years.

[adaptations]

Wow - I am shocked. I'm applying to 15 schools (for a second time) and none of my recommenders complained at all, and instead encouraged me to apply to that many programs. From what I have seen, the forms can typically be filled out in 5 minutes and it takes another 5-10 to submit it (if your not already familiar with the websites). I've seen experienced faculty submit letters at the rate of one every 3-4 minutes (obviously they are submitted the same letter to multiple schools).

If she really doesn't think she has the time, then I would get another person to submit your LOR and forms. I view it as a bad sign if someone doesn't think you are worth spending the time to write and submit 4 LORs and forms (I'm sure she doesn't mean it that way, but it's not exactly enthusiastic support to tell you that it's too much work).

[Ideal Impulse]

To be fair, she doesn't generally write LOR, and hasn't done many (if any) before. In addition, she is a social worker and very busy.

I don't think her nervousness about the letters reflects on her attitude toward me, and I really do have a great relationship with her. She seemed very apologetic when she told me this.

[modernity]

To be fair, she doesn't generally write LOR, and hasn't done many (if any) before. In addition, she is a social worker and very busy.

I don't think her nervousness about the letters reflects on her attitude toward me, and I really do have a great relationship with her. She seemed very apologetic when she told me this.

Social workers ARE busy... but they can make time if they want to. If she can't make the time, I would suggest finding someone else who can and will, otherwise she might not write the best letter/fill out the best forms possible.

If you're stuck with her - most forms aren't that hard to fill out and are very simplistic in nature...it's usually just writing a student, asking some form type questions "did this student stick out in your mind?" "would you recommend them for graduate school? Why are they a good candidate for graduate school?" Things like that.

[res2135]

4 schools is definitely not too many for SLP! I applied to 6, was waitlisted at ALL of them, and got into one. (Feel free to PM if you want)

[annieplease]

Tell her the forms are generally similar - they all have similar questions. And at the end of each form, there's a section for comments. She can just attach a letter at the end. These letters can be slightly tweaked for each school (just change the name of the addressee). It shouldn't take that much time. She doesn't even have to hand-write her comments.

[InquilineKea]

So if it takes around 10 minutes to fill out each form and then to submit it...

And i'm applying to 20 schools... (and I *have* to do this unless I pull a miracle out of my PGREs)

that's 200 minutes. That's a significant chunk out of the day of a very busy professor.

Edited March 22, 2011 by InquilineKea

[StellaHaiti2]

Wow, some are you are crazy. I applied to 5 schools because I eliminated the rest as not meeting enough of my interests. I was worried that 5 would be too much work for my letter writers, so I split it amongst 4 people. Letter Writer A: 5 Letter Writer B: 4 Letter Writer C: 4 Letter Writer D: 2

In some cases, I asked my letter writers what schools or cities they were most familiar with (I am transitioning fields) so they would feel more comfortable describing my fit with the school and community.

I think you should allow the opportunity for a LOR to express reservations about committing to a certain number of letters. I would think 20 might make them VERY ANGRY.

[gradschoolheaven]

Asking for 5-10 letters of recommendation for graduate school applications is not uncommon. Graduate admissions are competitive, particularly for doctorate programs, and you are entirely within your rights to apply to a range of schools. If your professor is complaining about completing forms, I can recommend two courses of action:

Option #1: Ask another professor for a recommendation letter

If the individual you approached is complaining about the amount of letters he or she has to write, you may be better served asking someone else. This kind of resistance could be a sign that the professor does not care enough about your future to put in the time and effort to get you into graduate school. You need strong recommendations so pick your references judiciously.

Option #2: Help your professor with his letters as much as possible

If you can't think of anyone better, then do your best to help your professor. You can write an outline of the letter of recommendation that he can use as a model, noting relevant facts and accomplishments. You can also print out all of the recommendation forms, pre-complete them as much as possible, and provide stamped and addressed envelopes to all of the schools that you are applying to. This will save your professor a great deal of time and it would be unreasonable for him to gripe about your applications at this point.

I hope this is helpful and good luck with your applications!

[souslespaves]

This is just a personal anecdote but I submitted all my letters of recommendation through Interfolio and didn't have my professors fill out the forms (I just had Interfolio send paper copies if the e-mail system required a form to be filled out), and this didn't seem to hurt me (I got into 8/9 schools I applied to).

[Neuronista]

I was in a very similar situation this year. I applied to 4 schools, and initially chose 3 people to do my LORs. Two of them were very supportive and even told me never hesitate to ask them to write/fill out more whenever I needed. These were my MS advisors. The third person was the PI in whose lab I currently work as a research assistant. He showed some kind of enthusiasm but would delay doing them week after the other, and I was really embarrassed having to keep reminding him. Therefore, I only asked him to do 2 out of 4 for me. For the rest two schools I found someone else (a prof. from MS). I think my application would have been stronger if an LOR from my current supervisor (who also happens to be my undergrad research project advisor as well!), were included. But I really didn't like the feeling of having to beg him to send those forms for me.

[blob192]

I was in a very similar situation this year. I applied to 4 schools, and initially chose 3 people to do my LORs. Two of them were very supportive and even told me never hesitate to ask them to write/fill out more whenever I needed. These were my MS advisors. The third person was the PI in whose lab I currently work as a research assistant. He showed some kind of enthusiasm but would delay doing them week after the other, and I was really embarrassed having to keep reminding him. Therefore, I only asked him to do 2 out of 4 for me. For the rest two schools I found someone else (a prof. from MS). I think my application would have been stronger if an LOR from my current supervisor (who also happens to be my undergrad research project advisor as well!), were included. But I really didn't like the feeling of having to beg him to send those forms for me.

Try Interfolio. I opened an account before I left school since I knew it'd be a few years before I could apply to grad school. Anyway, since the letter is stored at a 3rd party and it's directly sent by your writers. Most schools don't seem to have a problem with it. They charge a fee per letter per institution sent. Have your writers write a very strong yet general letter for whatever program your applying for. It won't have that special touch saying "Dear Brown Admissions" but, other than that I don't see an issue with it.

[Triple Tall Cappuccino]

Maybe have her fill out as many as she can (to your top schools) and have someone else fill out the others? I know that is not the best option, but it is what it is, no?