LORs from profs who have already written LORs about you

[InquilineKea]

How does it usually work out in the end?

There's one possible caveat: they may already consider it "done" and be tempted to procrastinate a bit more (I know that I have a nasty tendency to procrastinate when I start very early actually - I often learn things far ahead of time, but then put it aside and stop caring until the last minute).

Or they might also be reluctant to mention certain types of changes.

On the other hand, of course, it can be a good thing too, since there's less of a "mental barrier" to start.

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Of course, you might be able to gauge how good they were based on your original outcomes (I was able to get into a graduate-level summer program as an undergrad), but I have a feeling that the program was less competitive this year than it usually was

Edited September 4, 2011 by InquilineKea

[fuzzylogician]

A flaky professor will be flaky regardless of whether or not she's written a LOR for you before. A dependable professor will likewise be dependable. I doubt that there's any correlation between whether or not you'll encounter difficulties with a certain prof. and whether or not she has written you a letter before. The vast majority of LORs get written and submitted in the end, but some people occasionally have trouble; some have catastrophic consequences but most eventually get solved.

In general it should be easier for a prof. who has already written you a letter to write an updated one, as opposed to writing a new one from scratch. Regardless, a lot of profs will write the letter last-minute, because (1) they know they can get away with being a little bit late (which you, as an applicant, cannot), and (2) they are busy with other things and they write letters in one batch close to when the letters are due.

Edited September 5, 2011 by fuzzylogician