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Expert replies
by timothy322 » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:28 am
Stacy/Lisa,

I was hoping you can answer this question for me:

I am applying to 5 schools for the first round (Columbia, Yale, Berkeley, MIT, Penn).

These schools ask for two recommendations, but each school has their own specific set of questions. Furthermore, they also seem to follow the "Short answer" format rather than a "letter" format. My concern is that my recommenders don't have the time to answer these questions one by one.

Question: If they just write a letter that covers as much of the questions addressed in the questions, and use the same letter for all schools, will that hurt my application? And, do you know roughly what % applications have these "generic letters" that don't follow the instructions given in the application?

Thank you,
Timothy
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Source: — Ask Stacy Blackman |

by Lisa Anderson » Fri Sep 04, 2009 6:14 pm
Dear Timothy,

Your recommenders could do that and you won't necessarily be penalized for their actions. However, I think this approach does have some risk to it. First, the schools might question your judgment in selecting these folks if they can't be supportive enough to follow the instructions on the form. Second, the schools might not place as much value on the recommendation which could end up hurting you to some degree. How big of a risk is this approach? It is debatable and probably relatively small as generic letters are common and can be effective. I think as long as the letter does address the questions the school is asking, then you will be fine.

Good luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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