Boss Wrote a Very Long LOR Forum

[frankbooher]

Is there a page limit for LORs? My boss wrote me a LOR that's almost two pages single spaced, I'm wondering if that's too long. Is there actually a page limit for LORs? Thanks!

edit: it is a very detailed letter and he certainly spent a lot of time on it, and it's definitely a high quality letter, not a rambling sort of letter.

[thesybarite]

Ha ha - I hope not. Both mine are 2 pages, and one is a full, wordy, descriptive 2 pages. It's sort of something beyond your control I think - surely they can't hold it against you? I hope!

[frankbooher]

No way they'll hold it against us, but I'm more worried about they don't give it enough attention because of the long read.....

[thesybarite]

Yeah I wondered that too. But you know, mine's from a lawyer and I think sometimes it's a given that they waffle on just a tad...

[fugitivejammer]

i think ur concern is legit - 2 pages seems kinda long and i'd b afraid that admissions officers might not read it as carefully (unintentionally ofc) . if u can, i'd suggest trying to get ur recommender to simply consolidate it/make it a bit more concise, but if u can't do it or if it'll take to long, don't worry about it. Either way i don't think it'll help/hurt ur chances much seeing as admissions = gpa+lsat.

[whymeohgodno]

I wouldn't sweat it.

[ahduth]

Meh, I have one that's particularly long too, but for the schools where LORs really matter, I think that's probably a good thing.

[St.Remy]

i think ur concern is legit - 2 pages seems kinda long and i'd b afraid that admissions officers might not read it as carefully (unintentionally ofc) . if u can, i'd suggest trying to get ur recommender to simply consolidate it/make it a bit more concise, but if u can't do it or if it'll take to long, don't worry about it. Either way i don't think it'll help/hurt ur chances much seeing as admissions = gpa+lsat.

So you can spell out "consolidate" but you can't be bothered to spell out "you" or "your" eh? Considering that adcomms don't want students to see their LORs at all there is no logical way that they could hold a lengthy one against you.

[Aqualibrium]

Yeah I wondered that too. But you know, mine's from a lawyer and I think sometimes it's a given that they waffle on just a tad...

After legal writing and working a bit, you'll learn that good lawyers don't waffle in their writing. They write very simply, and are very economical with their words. It's difficult to understand, but you'll notice it in your own work during second year after you look back on some of the things you wrote first year.

[thesybarite]

Yeah I wondered that too. But you know, mine's from a lawyer and I think sometimes it's a given that they waffle on just a tad...

After legal writing and working a bit, you'll learn that good lawyers don't waffle in their writing. They write very simply, and are very economical with their words. It's difficult to understand, but you'll notice it in your own work during second year after you look back on some of the things you wrote first year.

That's certainly not been my experience from working in law, but my time hasn't been in the States so perhaps it's different. The whole process is wordy here - from folders of solicitor's briefs, to very lengthy opinions from barristers, and then even more long-winded, at best lyrical, judgments in court.

[mtrl]

According to Ivey, 2 pages is fine. More than that is trying. As other people have expressed, it will strengthen your application (assuming those 2 pages are all anecdotes about your brilliance).

[Fred_McGriff]

My recommender told me his was 4 pages including cover page and bibliography. What citation method is your recommender using?

[MrAdams]

Yeah I wondered that too. But you know, mine's from a lawyer and I think sometimes it's a given that they waffle on just a tad...

After legal writing and working a bit, you'll learn that good lawyers don't waffle in their writing. They write very simply, and are very economical with their words. It's difficult to understand, but you'll notice it in your own work during second year after you look back on some of the things you wrote first year.

That's certainly not been my experience from working in law, but my time hasn't been in the States so perhaps it's different. The whole process is wordy here - from folders of solicitor's briefs, to very lengthy opinions from barristers, and then even more long-winded, at best lyrical, judgments in court.

UK? In UK law schools we get punished with ludicrously small word counts and penalised for going over; we are literally trained to remove any 'waffling'. As far as my experience mooting, working in courts and in firms go, too-the-point concise letters are what are preferred and generally advocated by barristers/judges. Lords don't tend to waffle at all,... and when they do, its okay, because well,... they are Lords. Look at Lord Denning, he is famous purely for waffling on and on about nonsense because Lords are usually hard lined at discussing relevant issues.

[ahduth]

My recommender told me his was 4 pages including cover page and bibliography. What citation method is your recommender using?

It probably depends on how your love letters to him were published.

[thesybarite]

Yeah I wondered that too. But you know, mine's from a lawyer and I think sometimes it's a given that they waffle on just a tad...

After legal writing and working a bit, you'll learn that good lawyers don't waffle in their writing. They write very simply, and are very economical with their words. It's difficult to understand, but you'll notice it in your own work during second year after you look back on some of the things you wrote first year.

That's certainly not been my experience from working in law, but my time hasn't been in the States so perhaps it's different. The whole process is wordy here - from folders of solicitor's briefs, to very lengthy opinions from barristers, and then even more long-winded, at best lyrical, judgments in court.

UK? In UK law schools we get punished with ludicrously small word counts and penalised for going over; we are literally trained to remove any 'waffling'. As far as my experience mooting, working in courts and in firms go, too-the-point concise letters are what are preferred and generally advocated by barristers/judges. Lords don't tend to waffle at all,... and when they do, its okay, because well,... they are Lords. Look at Lord Denning, he is famous purely for waffling on and on about nonsense because Lords are usually hard lined at discussing relevant issues.

Australia/New Zealand. Guess I'll have to learn to trim it down a bit!

[Fred_McGriff]

My recommender told me his was 4 pages including cover page and bibliography. What citation method is your recommender using?

It probably depends on how your love letters to him were published.

Usually scrawled on stalls at rest rooms.