Letters of Recommendation

To have a letter saved in your file

1. You fill out a waiver form.
2. You give the waiver to your letter writer with an envelope pre-addressed to the Resident Dean’s Office (bonus, if your recommender works at Harvard, they can put the envelope in campus mail without a stamp):

Office of the Allston Burr Resident Dean
Cabot House
Harvard University
60 Linnaean Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

or email the Academic Coordinator

1. You have the writer write the letter on letterhead and sign it, and they send it to the house WITH THE WAIVER
2. The academic coordinator puts the letter in your file and emails you when it is received, even if you graduated (assuming the waiver is filled out)!
3. You tell the academic coordinator to where you would like the letter sent. Let them know which letters you want sent and where they should be sent. Plan ahead: overnighting applications abroad makes me cranky. Very cranky.

Process Notes

• If you are applying to a normal graduate school, most departments/schools prefer to have the letter come directly from your recommender and it looks better to have the letters individualized to each program. There are all sorts of new forms, both online and not, that ask your recommenders questions and rankings, and Cabot cannot possibly fill these out. Find out ahead of time how this works best. You are, of course, welcome to have your recommender send Cabot a letter along with the other letters they are sending and the academic coordinator will let you know it is received. This may save you some nagging…or increase your nagging likelihood.
• If you are applying to med school Cabot needs your letters. Send all med letters to the academic coordinator with the waiver. Please read over the Cabot premedical advising page.
• If you are applying to fellowships, summer programs, law school, want a letter while you’re fresh in professor’s mind, or just want something in your file so you have proof that you are liked, feel free to send letters along. Again, make sure a general letter/sender is OK. The house office can send old letters back to your recommender for revisions if you need it updated or if you are applying to a different program.

You may contact the academic coordinator to find out what letters you have on file at any time. Due to the confidential nature of your letters, email is the best way to request this information.

Your student files remain in the house office for seven years after your social class graduates (so if you entered with the class of 2015 but graduate in 2016, you are forever 2015 to me). After that, you are archived in the college archives for the end of time. The House can order these archived folders from University Archives in two to three weeks. You will need to plan ahead…hopefully by the time you’re almost 30 you will be experts at that! :)