A question about UCSB application

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huyichen
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 7:28 pm

A question about UCSB application

Post by huyichen » Fri Nov 04, 2011 6:49 pm

So I am filling out the online application form for UCSB, however, there is a thing called "Letter Service" in the Letter of Recommendation section, I am not sure what that is about, if all my professors are submitting their recommendation letters online, for the question "Are you using a Letter Service for this letter?", should I choose yes or no?

astroprof
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 4:47 pm

Re: A question about UCSB application

Post by astroprof » Sat Nov 05, 2011 11:37 am

If your professors are submitting their own recommendations, then you should choose "no".
Some institutions provide a "letter service" whereby they collect letters of recommendation
for their students and submit them to the selected schools. This is usually in the context
of professional schools (medical school, law school), and result in very generic letters of
recommendation. The positive aspect is that the recommenders only have to write one
letter and do not have to worry about multiple deadlines; the applicant can also be confident
that all letters will arrive, as they are submitted by the third party. The negatives are, of
course, that the letters cannot be tailored to the specific institution, and cannot be modified
if the circumstances change during the course of the application process.



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