<p>For those of you who are familiar with science-related internships. Does the intern customarily receive a recommendation letter of some type from the director at the end? Or does the student just wait until an occasion arises (like applying for an award) when he needs a recommendation, and then he asks the internship director for a rec that particular instance (case-by-case basis).</p>
<p>I'm hoping it is the first, because that would be a lot more convenient.</p>
<p>AFAIK, LORs have to be asked for. (At least that was D1 and D2’s experiences.) </p>
<p>You could have your student ask for LOR, then request the writer keep a draft copy. When your student needs the LOR for something specific later on, he can contact the internship director, send a current vitae and ask the director to write a updated version of the LOR.</p>
<p>Good LORs are tailored to fit a specific purpose–in support of an award, for admission to grad school, for admission to med school, in support of a job application, etc --and will emphasize different things.</p>
<p>Also not sure how well a generic LOR with a 3 year old date will be perceived…</p>
<p>When I was still in the lab, I mentored several interns and wrote MANY LORs. As WoWMom suggests, they were all tailored to specific circumstancs (i.e., grad school) and then to specific schools. Never once did I just hand out a generic recommendation at the end of the summer (and never once was I asked for one.)</p>
<p>I was still getting requests for recs for years and years after an intern left the lab.</p>
<p>Thank you, WayOutWestMom & scout59. This is unfamiliar territory for me and I appreciate the words of experience.</p>