<p>There’s a middle road, too.</p>
<p>It’s unreasonable, of course, to ask a teacher to write a specialized reference for every college on your list, or even to do a cut and paste so that a different college’s name appears in each copy of what are otherwise identical letters. </p>
<p>BUT … if you have a college that is especially important to you (e.g., it’s by far your first choice and/or you’re applying Early Decision), it may be appropriate to ask your teacher to customize this one reference, especially if he or she can add something that is truly significant (e.g., “I personally recommended Middlebury to Brianna because of the strong foreign language offerings”).</p>
<p>Similarly, if a teacher is an alum of one of your colleges or has some special ties to it, then a customized reference might be apt there, too (e.g., “Since my son graduated from Guilford last May, I am very familiar with the school and feel that it’s an ideal match for Henry.”)</p>
<p>But, ordinarily, it’s not reasonable to expect your teachers to tailor each letter to one college. Still, when asking for references, it’s a good idea to tell teachers where you plan to apply. In some cases, they may have links to one of your schools that you’re not aware of and may even ask to write a “special” letter, if they do.</p>