Dean's Letters
Waiver for Preparation of Dean's Letter (PDF): Fill out this form and return it to the Resident Dean's Office. Preparation of a dean's letter for a fellowship, medical school, or law school application will not begin until this form is received. A dean's letter is a composite letter (also called a House letter) that draws on individual letters of recommendation in your permanent folder. You will receive e-mail notification from the Assistant to the Resident Dean when application packets are completed and mailed.
For more information about the House's committees and their specific application procedures, visit their websites and direct all questions to the appropriate tutors: Mather Pre-Med, Mather Pre-Law, and Mather Fellowships.
Letters of Recommendation
Waiver for Individual Letter of Recommendation (PDF): Fill out this form completely (both the "Release" and "Waiver of Access" sections) and give it to your recommender. Instructions to the recommender are included at the bottom of the form. A completed Waiver for Individual Letter of Recommendation must accompany all letters sent to the House for storage in your permanent folder. Copies of a letter of recommendation will not be sent out from your permanent folder unless this completed form is filed with it.
Storing General Letters: Keeping general letters of recommendation on file in perpetuity is a valuable service provided by the College. You can ask a professor, teaching fellow, supervisor, or mentor for such a recommendation at any time. You are strongly advised to ask for letters before potential recommenders forget details or anecdotes that could make their letters more effective. These letters can be written for general purposes and stored in your permanent folder. In the future, these letters can serve you in many ways: they can be distributed on their own for a particular application; they can be a resource for fellowships, pre-medical, or pre-law tutors, who draw on these letters when preparing composite dean's letters (see below); and, upon request, they can be sent back to recommenders to be tailored for a specific application.
Distributing Letters on File:Copies of letters can be sent by post or fax to institutions that you designate, but they cannot be given to you under any circumstances if you waived your right to see them. (See the Assistant to the Resident Dean about options when an application requires that all materials be mailed together.) Current students should give the Assistant to the Resident Dean stamped and addressed envelopes along with a note indicating the letters to be copied and mailed or faxed. Alumni should e-mail the Assistant to the Resident Dean to indicate recommendations to be copied and mailed or faxed. Plan in advance for the distribution of letters of recommendation because last- minute requests will be fulfilled only when time permits.
Letters Written for Specific Purposes: You do not need to have all letters of recommendation sent to the House for storage in your permanent folder. A recommender can simply send a letter directly to an institution or give one to you to include in an application packet. If, however, someone is already writing a letter for you, then you should take advantage of the opportunity to have that letter in your permanent folder so you do not need to bother the recommender for a copy in the future. Give the recommender a waiver form and ask him/her to generalize the letter or send it as-is to be stored in your permanent folder.
Due Dates: Waiver forms allow you to specify due dates for letters. When the due date arrives, contact the Assistant to the Resident Dean to confirm receipt of the letter. If the letter has not arrived, follow up with the recommender. Always give recommenders ample time to write letters. If you are requesting a letter for a time-sensitive application, write in a date that comes before the letter is actually needed; this will leave time to sort out any complications before your application is late. If you are requesting a general letter, write in a date that is approximately one month away.