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[wzwzwz]

Hoping some of the profs on here can chime in.

I did an MA in Country A and now live in Country B. I'm applying for a PhD in Country B and will be asking three former profs from grad & undergrad for letters. Two of the letter writers are in Country A and one is in Country C.

I know it's standard etiquette to include an addressed, stamped envelope when requesting letters. But does this generally still apply when you're asking from overseas? I can do it, but it's going to involve ordering stamps online from Countries A & C, having them sent over to me in Country B, and mailing forms and envelopes to my letter writers in Countries A & C.

Is it a big faux pas to ask my letter writers can address/stamp the envelopes themselves? I have no sense of the etiquette here.

[tinyzombie]

I also had a recommender in another country - he submitted his letter online, as did most of my same-country recommenders. More and more people these days prefer to dispense with paper and submit online. Can you go that route?

[wzwzwz]

I wish. No. Has to be on paper, with envelope flap signed by letter writer.

Retro eh.

[seniorscholar]

This is one of the situations for which an Interfolio dossier with letters of reference in it is ideal, provided that the department in Country B will accept such letters. e-mail the DGS or director of admissions and find out.

As a matter of fact, if I were Director of Graduate Studies again and someone asked that question, I'd ask for the contact information, look the person you name up online to make sure s/he is a legitimate faculty member with a doctorate, and ask the graduate secretary to e-mail that person a pdf of our reference form to be returned directly to her, after entering the information, as an attachment with the letter as a second attachment. (But our current DGS is less technologically aware than I am, and wouldn't think of it.) However, it's certainly worth an e-mailed question to a person whose name you discover online (the secretary in the graduate program might be best, if the name is listed on the department's website).

Otherwise, most departments in the US make it easy for faculty to send out reference letters and so forth through the university, and many have clerical workers smart enough to recognize when overseas postage is needed. You might therefore query gently if the references in country A and country C can do that easily after you've sent them the forms (that is, it would not be the same as asking them personally to buy the stamps, if that's what concerns you). I've also had former grad students who sent me forms and addressed mailing labels, understanding that I would use an envelope with the department's printed return address and logo, but could stick the label on rather than writing an address before I tossed the envelope in the "non-US addresses" box of our mailroom's outgoing mail shelf.

[helpful]

I would just ask the referees to mail their letters in as requested. Most of the time they just run it through their university's mail system anyways.

[the_hanged_man]

I would just ask the referees to mail their letters in as requested. Most of the time they just run it through their university's mail system anyways.

I was in the situation as the OP and did as helpful suggested. I offered to send them a pre-paid Fed-ex envelope but they just charged it to their school's account.

[wzwzwz]

Thanks all. Seems like it's not a huge deal to ask letter writers to cover postage (it'll be $1 or $2).

SeniorScholar, good suggestions. If I get into the program, I'll suggest they consider online reference letter submissions for future applicants, but for now I'll just mail pre-printed mailing labels to my referees and politely check that they (or their departments) don't mind paying overseas postage.

[peppergal]

You know, it's actually more hassle for me when students provide the stamped envelope than just the address label (or in fact just the address), since my university's mail people will not handle envelopes that have not been stamped by the university itself.  This means that anything with a non-university stamp has to go to a post office or a mailbox, which is quite a trek for me, instead of in my department's mail bin.  YMMV.

[wzwzwz]

Thanks to all who responded. Problem solved, I shall proceed apace.