How Long Should LORs Be?

[JustinG]

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I have 2 questions:

1. If doublespaced, how long should an LOR be from a bio prof that taught you one class?

What about for a PI that's worked with you for 1-2 years?

2. Also, if you want to include a publication does it matter if you're 1st, 2nd, or 5th author?

Thanks everyone!

 

[BlueElmo]

It should be about a page, IMO.

 

[MiniMoo]

Absolutely do not double space. It should be written in business letter format.

Half of my letters were 1 page and the other half went to about 2 pages. The longer letters were written by people who had known me for a significant amount of time.

 

[DocMcCoy]

👍 to both the above posts. I got to see most of my LORs before my profs sent them in. None of them were double spaced and the longest was a page and a half.

As far as the publication goes, it would look good no matter what author you are, but from what I have read on the forums first or second author carries a little more weight.