Letter of recommendation etiquette question

[mell260]

I'm in a rush to get a letter of rec sent to a school by a deadline. They only accept sealed envelopes, no fax.. So what is the best way to not make my old professor have to pay for postage? And also make sure it actually gets there:confused:

[elkpark]

Give your professor a pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelope, and make a point of being sure s/he is clear on the deadline.

Having written reference letters as a faculty member myself, we do understand the significance and take them seriously -- remember, we had to get references once, too; more than once, to get to where we are now. :)

[mell260]

Give your professor a pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelope, and make a point of being sure s/he is clear on the deadline.

Having written reference letters as a faculty member myself, we do understand the significance and take them seriously -- remember, we had to get references once, too; more than once, to get to where we are now. :)

Good advice:), I am living in a different state now so should I just put the pre-addressed/stamped envelope in another envelope and send it to him?

My only concern is I don't know his address, so I'll have to ask for that and then send it (taking a few days). Chances are he will just say don't worry I'll send it. Guess it's better to still make the offer though.

[elkpark]

You could certainly contact him and offer to send the stamped envelope -- that would be a nice gesture. Chances are he'll just tell you not to worry about it (I've certainly never begrudged a student or colleague a first class stamp if I needed to submit a written reference). :)

Frankly, he'll probably write the letter at work (if he's still teaching) and use the school's postage meter to mail it. That's what I've done when I was in a faculty position.