Number of schools and Recommendations

[socaljournalist]

Hello all,

I have been stressing out about the number of graduate programs to which I'm applying (10) and asking recommenders to fill out the required forms. Is it unreasonable to expect them to be able to fill out 10 different recommendation forms? (I'm expecting them to use the same letter of recommendation for each school.) Do I need to cut down the list of schools to which I apply? Or ask 4-5 recommenders so no one person is overly burdened?

I think the reason I'm stressing is because my college thesis advisor has cautioned me in the past that she has "numerous" people who ask her for recommendations this time of year, so I need to use my university's dossier service for recommendations. But how can I use the dossier service if each school has a separate recommendation form they want the recommender to fill out and attach to the letter?

Please advise! Thank you!!

[dagger]

I too applied to 10 policy schools and used the same three individuals to write recommendations. The process was somewhat cumbersome. However, many schools now have a system where recommendations are completed entirely online. Individuals upload letters of recommendation and generally have to fill out some sort of survey ranking your skills on some ordinal scale.

I made sure to touch base with them several months in advance and provide them due time to complete the process. They loved hearing what schools I was getting into and I felt they didn't view it as a terrible burden.

[mcquistones]

Hello, I can relate as I am applying to a total of 9 different programs, and I'm also applying for fellowships at almost every school AND outside fellowships. I've used a group of 6 different references, but two professors have done most of the work. I've found that asking that the following has helped when asking recommenders:

1. Ask EARLY - give them at least 6 weeks, they'll probably get it done well before then.

2. Offer to help in any way you can - for one reference who is a busy middle school teacher, I actually re-typed a letter that she had previously written for me (she had lost the doc), tailored it to the school and gave it back to her in a hard copy to sign, and emailed the file in case she wanted to change it. In no way did I "doctor" it, but I saved her a lot of time.

3. If the school gives you the option, paper letters are sometimes less work (unless they have a form that entails more than the signature).

I always OFFER to make arrangements in case they prefer to send a paper copy of the letter, but in my experience everyone was fine with the online app.

4. Remember that those who agree to serve as references believe in you and your abilities, and although it's tedious, this can also be a fun part of their jobs. You're worth the effort:-)

Good luck!

[mcquistones]

As for your last question, I too am curious. Has anyone ever used a dossier service? How does it work in terms of schools who only accept online applications and fellowship applications? Any ideas, experiences?