<p>I am assuming most prospective graduate students apply to multiple grad schools. When doing such a thing, do you ask for multiple letters of recommendation from the same person? Does one make several copies of the letters? I think you get the gyst of my question.</p>
<p>They write one letter and submit it to many schools. They might change it a bit if they have connections to the school or whatever, depending on how nice they are I suppose. But I know my LOR writers just submitted the same letter to all the schools I applied. I used 3.</p>
<p>I had three different LORs for my list of schools (from the profesors at harvard). I do not know what that means…I did not bother asking them.</p>
<p>The recommenders take a letter of recommendation that they wrote for a previous tech/undergrad, change the names and gender specific pronouns and upload it to each schools admissions website. You don’t need different recommenders for each school, that would be silly.</p>
<p>I meant the letters were different (length and also the contents) not the writers. I have no idea why there were different.</p>
<p>When you apply to graduate schools, you first determine which professors you’d like to ask for letters. </p>
<p>Then you get together a CV, a list of the classes you’ve taken with each, grades earned in those classes (a graded research paper from a class you’ve taken with each professor would be wonderful if you’re in the humanities), a list of the schools to which you’ll be applying, and, ideally, a statement of purpose and a writing sample.</p>
<p>Then you visit each professor and ask if s/he would be able to write a strong letter for you. If they agree, give them all the stuff listed above.</p>
<p>In some cases, the graduate schools will want letters sent on letterhead via the US Mail. In those cases, provide the professors with due dates and addresses. The professors will send the letters themselves. They will not give them to you.</p>
<p>In other cases (this is becoming the norm), the graduate schools will want letters submitted via an online system. In those cases, provide the professors with due dates. The universities will send emails and links directly to the professors.</p>
<p>You should not handle the letters at all.</p>
<p>one additional point. If mailed letters are required, do provide pre-stamped envelopes addressed to each of the graduate programs. </p>
<p>And in contrast, to what Belevitt indicated, a strong LOR is very specific to you. To help a professor write a strong (and not generic) LOR, do just as prof X suggests. Prepare a package for each prof, always with at least a brief statement of why you wish to apply to graduate school. In this packet, do provide a brief summary of your relationship to the prof. For example, you worked in their lab from year X to Year Y on such and such a project with post-doc Z.</p>