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16 Apr 2011, 04:54
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey guys,
New to the forum here. Some of my recommenders are "recommending" for the first time and they are asking all these questions. Most of them I have answered but I was curious what your thoughts were on the length of how long these letters should be. I have one of my recommenders letters and it's about 3 paragraphs with 2 to 3 sentences each giving specific examples of how well I work in and around the office. When I read it, it's concise and general in a sense.
So, my question is for those who work in admissions or if anyone has heard any feedback about their letters that they've submitted - how long would you like your letters to be? How much depth do you like to see in these letters?
Thank you for your replies in advance!
New to the forum here. Some of my recommenders are "recommending" for the first time and they are asking all these questions. Most of them I have answered but I was curious what your thoughts were on the length of how long these letters should be. I have one of my recommenders letters and it's about 3 paragraphs with 2 to 3 sentences each giving specific examples of how well I work in and around the office. When I read it, it's concise and general in a sense.
So, my question is for those who work in admissions or if anyone has heard any feedback about their letters that they've submitted - how long would you like your letters to be? How much depth do you like to see in these letters?
Thank you for your replies in advance!
16 Apr 2011, 08:17
Kudos
Bookmarks
Most schools don't have word count requirements for the letters - it's usually a "use your best judgment."
Having said that, put yourself in the adcom's shoes. If you were an adcom, would you rather read a densely worded treatise that is long winded, or a letter that is concise? Remember that they're reading not just one, but two rec letters (and some schools require three). They're also reading 2,000 or so words worth of essays, in addition to the pages and pages of application forms. They're not spending an entire day drinking in your words (or the words of the recommender).
Have your recommender keep that in mind -- for them to be specific enough to give examples, but not so wordy and detailed that they lose the reader.
Having said that, put yourself in the adcom's shoes. If you were an adcom, would you rather read a densely worded treatise that is long winded, or a letter that is concise? Remember that they're reading not just one, but two rec letters (and some schools require three). They're also reading 2,000 or so words worth of essays, in addition to the pages and pages of application forms. They're not spending an entire day drinking in your words (or the words of the recommender).
Have your recommender keep that in mind -- for them to be specific enough to give examples, but not so wordy and detailed that they lose the reader.
16 Apr 2011, 13:35
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thank you for replying.
So I looked at my recommender's letter and it has 1,000 words on it. The school I'm trying to get into requires 3 letters and I'm supposed to write the next 2 and I don't plan on making those nearly as long. The last one was long because not only is that my current boss but she knows my personally as well. So she has both professional and personal things to share.
What do you think about that?
So I looked at my recommender's letter and it has 1,000 words on it. The school I'm trying to get into requires 3 letters and I'm supposed to write the next 2 and I don't plan on making those nearly as long. The last one was long because not only is that my current boss but she knows my personally as well. So she has both professional and personal things to share.
What do you think about that?
