Rejected. Can I reuse LORs next year?

[waitinginvain?]

I was rejected this year, but am thinking about applying to different schools next year. I have two questions regading the LOR:

1. Can we use the same letters (updated, of course) to apply to a different school next year?

2. Who do we ask for our letters? The school or the letter writer?

One of my recommenders sent me the letter and also sent a copy to the school. The others sent the letters directly to the school, so I don't have access to them.

Thank you!

[Semester Photon]

I assume that you want to see what your recommenders wrote about you. You can usually ask either the letter writer or the school although some letter writers do not wish to share with you what they have written. As long as you didn't waive your right to do so, you should be able to get copies of your letters by requesting them from the school (after the letter writers have submitted them, of course.

[Rachel B]

Most schools will request that LORs be sent again by the writer even if they have the original on file. Also, some schools may request that letters not be over a year old, so you may want to double check their requirements and plan accordingly.

[Eigen]

And just to comment, you should have waived your right to see the letters, so you probably can't request them from the school anyway.

But Rachel is definitely correct in that you'll need to have the professors submit the letters to the new schools directly, so you'll need to ask them to write another/rewrite the letter for you.

And either way, they'd need to be re-written, since they'd need to reflect the new school you're applying to, something that only the professor who originally wrote them can do. I'm a bit confused on this from your post, since you mention in point one that they'd be updated, of course, but then ask whether you'd go to the school or the professor... And for them to be updated, you'd have to go to the professor.

[waitinginvain?]

"I'm a bit confused on this from your post, since you mention in point one that they'd be updated, of course, but then ask whether you'd go to the school or the professor... And for them to be updated, you'd have to go to the professor.

You're right; I'm not thinking straight. (Must be the rejection!) I guess I'll contact the professors and tell them I was rejected. See what they have to say about writing me new letters for the next round. Thank you everyone for the valuable advice.

[locsofgold]

I had a similar question. I got rejected from schools this year, but will be applying to different schools next year. I had my professors upload their letters to a dossier service (Interfoilo), so can I just send those letters next year? I doubt I will be doing anything that profound between now and december that would need to be updated. But is it bad form to send an old letter?

[TakeruK]

I had a similar question. I got rejected from schools this year, but will be applying to different schools next year. I had my professors upload their letters to a dossier service (Interfoilo), so can I just send those letters next year? I doubt I will be doing anything that profound between now and december that would need to be updated. But is it bad form to send an old letter?

Maybe your field is different, but I would think it's bad form (or at least not in your own best interests) to not use a letter that was tailored specifically to the school you are applying to (most of the content would likely be copied-and-pasted but I am pretty sure my LOR writers made a few small changes for each letter they sent). I'm not sure what a dossier service actually does, having not used one myself though. It sounds like the service allows for the prof to upload a letter once and then you can reuse it for as many schools as you want?

Even if your field does not generally have "personalized" reference letters, I think using a letter that is dated a year ago would raise some eyebrows, or at least draw attention to the fact that you did not get in anywhere last year and are trying again this year. I mean, you won't be able to hide it with a year gap in your record etc. but you probably want to have a clean slate with the new schools (after all, you might have had other reasons to take a gap year). Being cynical, the school that you are applying to might presume that you didn't get an updated letter because something changed between you and your LOR writer and he/she would not have as good things to say this time around. Maybe that's too cynical though!

So I don't think it would hurt to ask your profs for a new letter. If nothing new needs to be said, they could just change the date and re-upload. Although maybe you want to consider why you did not get into the schools you applied to -- sometimes, especially now that the admission decision rush is over, you might be able to ask the schools for feedback. Maybe it would be in your best interests to change some of your LOR writers if you think the LORs were (part of) the problem.

Remember that reference letters in academia are very different from reference letters in "real world" jobs. In the latter, the letter is mostly a formality, stating that yes you are a good person and a good worker and maybe highlighting some of your strengths. An academic LOR should not only boast your strengths in coursework and research (or research potential), but be able to compare you favourably.

It might also be useful to let your LOR writers know of the results and thank them for their time last year. Maybe they might have some helpful advice for the second time around as well! Good luck!

[locsofgold]

Yes, the service allows for the professor to upload a letter once and then you can reuse it for as many schools as you want. I would assume all my recommendation were strong. When I let one of my professors know I didn't get into any schools, she was really surprised because she had also recommended me personally to a possible advisor--but her suggestion was.. to retake the GRE (my scores were only average for the top schools I was applying to) and to focus more on Master's programs than Ph.d programs (or entertain the possibility of moving out of California and UC/CSU system which usually have between 5-10 spots each year in my field). I just don't know if the letters were dated other than mentioning the dates I attended my undergraduate school. If they were then I would ask them to upload the new letter, but the whole point of using the dossier service, as a professor recommended it to me, was so that I could hang on to old letters. (I lost my best recommendation that I received when the professor left the school after I graduated, started becoming a visiting professor at different schools every quarter, and then going abroad. Could never track her down.)

Guess I will just have to ask.