LOR ediquette

[Sœur d'une Étoile]

I need some advice!

 

I applied to a Grad school program and was not accepted. This year I am re-applying to that program and I am also appling to two other great programs so that I have options if I do not get into my first choice.

 

The problem is, the programs are all very competitive and closly related. So I have some great potential referees (2-3 profs, a work supervisor and a volunteer supervisor), but I would like to ask each of them to write letters for all of the programs I am applying to and I am woried that it would be too much to ask for someone to write three LORs and that I might be missing the oppertunity the get great letters for each program if I don't ask.

 

Thoughts?

 

I am also wondering if I should ask my old refereer to re-write their references for the program I am re-applying to or if I should just re-use their previous letters (the program allows this). I have raised my GPA and have gained some work expereince since their last letters - would it be rude to ask them for new letters?

 

Thanks so much for any input!

Edited October 25, 2013 by 2014 Appy

[Physwimic]

As far as asking for 3 letters from a single writer, I think that is fine.  A large part of their letter will probably be generic, with maybe a few sections that are tailored to the specific program.  I was told by a prof when I applied that the hard part (ie time consuming) is writing that generic part.  The program specific part is normally pretty easy.

As for whether to get new letters from the same person, I'd let them make the decision.  Approach them about getting a letter and let them know what has changed.  Personally, I would then ask them if they would write you a letter and leave it at that.  Most people will have your old letter saved and will probably make some minor changes and send it off again.  If you give them the option to just reuse right off the bat, the lazy LOR writer is very likely to just say "Sure."  And then all of your work to improve your application over the last year will be lost.  If anybody gives you trouble about not having time, ask them then if it is ok to reuse their letter from last year.

[lilgreycells]

Definitely agree with Physwimic. People will often apply to 5+ institutions and letter writers know this. So they'll have a generic letter and then make tweaks to make it match to each institution. That's why I found it helpful to send them an overview document along with my packet for the LOR that had the institution name, program name, who I wanted to work with (more applicable for doc programs) and any specific information I thought might be pertinent for that institution. That way the letter writers have an easy way to start the tweaks for each letter.

[TakeruK]

I made sure my overview document for my LOR writers was only 1 page, so they didn't have to read through tons and tons of things. At the top of that one-page summary, I put my GPAs, my GRE scores, and a 2-3 sentence description of my research interest as I would describe in my application. Then, for all 8 of the schools I applied to, I listed the department name/address, the deadline date, and the names of the profs I was interested in. The list was sorted by due date for their convenience. It's fairly normal for a student to apply to 8-10 programs in the US, in my field. Additional schools do not add that much more work, because it only takes a few minutes to customize each LOR for each school (i.e. change a few words here and there). Some application systems send you an email when your prof uploads their LOR, and I saw that most of my profs uploaded a whole bunch of them within minutes of each other. Although they might have written them all out beforehand, I think it's more likely that they will just change the school name at the top. They also said they would do this when I asked if they were okay with 8 letters.

Edited October 26, 2013 by TakeruK

[Sœur d'une Étoile]

As far as asking for 3 letters from a single writer, I think that is fine.  A large part of their letter will probably be generic, with maybe a few sections that are tailored to the specific program.  I was told by a prof when I applied that the hard part (ie time consuming) is writing that generic part.  The program specific part is normally pretty easy.

As for whether to get new letters from the same person, I'd let them make the decision.  Approach them about getting a letter and let them know what has changed.  Personally, I would then ask them if they would write you a letter and leave it at that.  Most people will have your old letter saved and will probably make some minor changes and send it off again.  If you give them the option to just reuse right off the bat, the lazy LOR writer is very likely to just say "Sure."  And then all of your work to improve your application over the last year will be lost.  If anybody gives you trouble about not having time, ask them then if it is ok to reuse their letter from last year.

 

Thanks Physwimic,

 

That is very helpful advice! I like the idea of just asking the prof for a new letter and asking to reuse the old one after seeing what she decides.

[Sœur d'une Étoile]

Definitely agree with Physwimic. People will often apply to 5+ institutions and letter writers know this. So they'll have a generic letter and then make tweaks to make it match to each institution. That's why I found it helpful to send them an overview document along with my packet for the LOR that had the institution name, program name, who I wanted to work with (more applicable for doc programs) and any specific information I thought might be pertinent for that institution. That way the letter writers have an easy way to start the tweaks for each letter.

Wow, I didn't relaize that others applied to so many institutions. I guess it makes sense since grad school is getting more and more competitive. Thanks for the advice on sending an overview document. I hadn't thought of that! It makes perfect sense though and I'm sure it makes it easier for profs to know what to write about and this stratagy could prevent letters that don't address specific info that the instition needs to know.  Thanks lilgreycells

[Sœur d'une Étoile]

I made sure my overview document for my LOR writers was only 1 page, so they didn't have to read through tons and tons of things. At the top of that one-page summary, I put my GPAs, my GRE scores, and a 2-3 sentence description of my research interest as I would describe in my application. Then, for all 8 of the schools I applied to, I listed the department name/address, the deadline date, and the names of the profs I was interested in. The list was sorted by due date for their convenience. It's fairly normal for a student to apply to 8-10 programs in the US, in my field. Additional schools do not add that much more work, because it only takes a few minutes to customize each LOR for each school (i.e. change a few words here and there). Some application systems send you an email when your prof uploads their LOR, and I saw that most of my profs uploaded a whole bunch of them within minutes of each other. Although they might have written them all out beforehand, I think it's more likely that they will just change the school name at the top. They also said they would do this when I asked if they were okay with 8 letters.

 

Wow, I am blown away by the replies! Thanks Takeruk, I like the idea of keeping the overview brief and concise. It can be so overwhelmening trying to figure this all out, but now I feel a lot better about approaching my referees. You guys are my heros!