General Question

bezdomnaya's avatar

How long should you give a referee to write a reference letter?

Asked by bezdomnaya (1440points) August 25th, 2009

What length of time should you have between the time the referee agrees to write a reference letter and the due date of the reference letter?

I am sending out packets of information (i.e. personal statement, instructions, resume, etc.) to my referees for a scholarship application tomorrow morning.

It turns out that I have to get these letters in by Sept. 21st (instead of Oct. 19th, which is the national deadline, not the internal deadline). Do you think this is enough time, or am I being kind of a jerk with the time constraint? To clarify, this means that the letters would have to arrive at the office by that date, not be sent out.

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3 Answers

nikipedia's avatar

I think that’s plenty of time. I’d say the minimum is two weeks, but in my experience, most recommenders don’t turn things in until the day before the deadline anyway, so I wouldn’t feel too guilty asking for an expedited order.

nikipedia (28077points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
marinelife's avatar

I agree with nik. When I do those letters, two weeks is ample. Do not be afraid to ride herd on them. Check in after a couple of weeks unless they have sent you a copy or a not saying it is sent in.

marinelife (62485points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
EmpressPixie's avatar

Two weeks is the traditional allotment here. Any less is considered poorly done and your writers might refuse to do it, but if you give them at least two weeks, they should be happy. This much time? They won’t know what to do with themselves. So keep on them! Check in every so often to make sure they haven’t forgotten you.

If you ask them now, I would remind them two weeks before the deadline.

EmpressPixie (14760points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…

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