THE MFA BLOG: Two or Three Letters of Recommendation

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Two or Three Letters of Recommendation

I had a quick question about letters of recommendation. Several of my schools want three letters, and a few others want two. Would it hurt to get letters for all the programs from all three writers, or should I just send the schools that want two letters two?

Thanks!

Zombie without Coffee

---------------

ZwC, I'd go ahead and send the three to all the programs.

1. It can't hurt, assuming you've asked recommenders who'll say nice things about you.

2. Letters get lost in the mail, and much more frequently: Recommenders say that they'll write them, and then they sometimes forget.

It's always a good idea by the way to send a friendly reminder as the deadline nears. Rock on.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Students, by Tom Kealey (with essays by Seth Abramson, Erika Dreifus, Adam Johnson, and Ed Schwarzschild) is available from Continuum Publishing. The Handbook offers an overview of the graduate writing experience, profiles and rankings of more than fifty creative writing programs, advice about the application process, and insight into making the best choice of programs. There is a comprehensive list of all graduate writing programs, both in and outside the United States, a list of helpful sources on and off-line, and interviews with teachers and students, including George Saunders, Aimee Bender, Geoffrey Wolff, and Tracy K. Smith.