Letters of Rec-Letterhead

[sshashid87]

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Okay, my problem is with 2 professors who have since left my university...One of them is now at another college, and the other stopped teaching and is in business consulting. Now, they wrote letters for me last year, and I want to use them because they are very good, but I don't think they have them saved on university letterhead, and it being a year since they left, I don't know if they'll have any letterhead with them. Is it okay for them to print the letters on their new letterheads (college + business firm), or do I have to somehow figure out how to get them university letterhead? I know a lot of schools request that letters must be on official letterhead, so I'm a little worried, I don't want to throw away these two letters because of something trivial like this...thanks for any help!

 

[wingiv]

Okay, my problem is with 2 professors who have since left my university...One of them is now at another college, and the other stopped teaching and is in business consulting. Now, they wrote letters for me last year, and I want to use them because they are very good, but I don't think they have them saved on university letterhead, and it being a year since they left, I don't know if they'll have any letterhead with them. Is it okay for them to print the letters on their new letterheads (college + business firm), or do I have to somehow figure out how to get them university letterhead? I know a lot of schools request that letters must be on official letterhead, so I'm a little worried, I don't want to throw away these two letters because of something trivial like this...thanks for any help!

They need to be on letterhead.

 

[sshashid87]

But do they need to be on my university's letterhead? Or is it alright if they say, in the opening paragraph, that they taught me at X university, but use the letterhead from their new jobs? I've emailed a couple of medical schools, but nobody has gotten back to me yet...

 

[Tippyboat]

Have you contacted the writers and determined it was possible for them to use school letterhead?

If not, ask. It's much better to be on school letterhead in my opinion. Especially with the business one, try to get school letterhead if you're using it as a letter from a professor who taught you.

If they have told you it's impossible to get school letterhead, then they just have to make it as formal looking as possible and make sure to explain the context they know you in as clearly as possible.

 

[sshashid87]

I have emails out to both of them, but they haven't gotten back to me yet (it's only been a day). The business professor left May 2009, and the science professor left a month ago. Hopefully, the science professor kept some stationary, but I'm a bit unsure about the other one.

I know the letters state clearly where and when they taught me (confidential, but they let me see them anyway), so I know it won't be a problem in identifying the validity of the statements or anything, and they have told me they will make sure to put current phone numbers on there as well. If there's any doubt, they can be called or emailed...I guess I'll just wait for their reply and then figure out how to move forward from there...

 

[wingiv]

I would probably say that as long as it's on letterhead, it's fine. But I do remember a doctor giving me the letter to print on the letterhead of the hospital that she used to work at. So it might be best to get the original university's letterhead. I doubt though that it would make too much of a difference. They just want letterhead to make sure that it's legit.

 

[sshashid87]

Fair enough...I may ask my advisors at school if they would be able to get me a couple sheets of university letterhead...it may not be department letterhead, but I imagine that would be better than nothing. Chances are they won't want to give me actual letterhead, but maybe they can email a copy or something? Perhaps wishful thinking, but I'll see what happens...

 

[venacontracta]

Fair enough...I may ask my advisors at school if they would be able to get me a couple sheets of university letterhead...it may not be department letterhead, but I imagine that would be better than nothing. Chances are they won't want to give me actual letterhead, but maybe they can email a copy or something? Perhaps wishful thinking, but I'll see what happens...

Go to the secretary in the department that your letter writers used to work in, explain the situation, kiss some ass, and ask if they would be willing to print the letter on letterhead and mail it to the letter writer for a signature if you dropped off a stamped envelope and the letter writer emailed the letter to them.

I wouldn't bother for the one who works at another university now, I'd just have them put it on their new university's letterhead and as long as they explain that they used to work at your university and that's where they taught you, everything will be alright.

 

[BlameItOnTheOH]

I did a 1 year medical technology internship after college and had the director write me a letter... but she said that no letterhead exists for the program i did. is this okay? is letterhead only required from profs?