multiple letters of rec

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irockhard
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:40 pm

multiple letters of rec

Post by irockhard » Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:59 am

if you apply to a lot of schools (say 10+) and each of the schools has its own form for letter of recommendation, isn't it a huge hassle to ask your professors to write 10+ separate letters?

pd
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:11 pm

Re: multiple letters of rec

Post by pd » Sun Dec 21, 2008 1:10 am

Well, most professors will just use the same one but change the school name and what not. I asked about this too since I'm applying to over 10 schools. They didn't have a problem with it, and some said they even applied to 12. But, it'll probably be courteous to ask first, and really try to whittle it down to < 10 if at all possible.

admissionprof
Posts: 369
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:50 pm

Re: multiple letters of rec

Post by admissionprof » Sun Dec 21, 2008 7:40 pm

I write lots of letters. Postdocs often apply to 50-100 places, then you write one letter, using a mail-merge program, and the applicant does everything but the letter.
For prospective grad students, it isn't a big deal these days since most of them are online. I don't even change the school name--but use a form letter (dear committee:)---and sometimes add a note if I know someone at the school. It takes me about 3 minutes per recommendation (once the letter is written), so a few more doesn't really matter.



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