Office of Career Services

ATTENTION! In order for your recommendation requests to be processed and mailed before the Christmas Holidays all information MUST BE RECEIVED in CAREER SERVICES no later than DECEMBER 9th 2009.

Career Services will maintain your letters of recommendation and send them out upon your request. This service may prove especially convenient for those applying to several schools with letters from multiple recommenders, or for those students and alumni who intend to apply in future years. Students and alumni who are interested in applying to any kind of graduate or professional school, as well as fellowships, scholarships, and special nominated internships should consider using this service. The Credential File Service is not intended for employment purposes, and therefore letters kept in your Credentials File will not be sent to employers.

Click here for information on Dean's Certification / College Questionnaire Forms (law school).

You may also want to read our advice on how to ask for letters of recommendation. 

Establish a Credentials File:

Submit letters to your File: 

1. Fill out a waiver form for each letter that will be collected. This form permits us to release copies of the letters written on your behalf. Complete the top section (your name, class year, degree, date, signature, and the name of your recommender) and check the box indicating that the recommendation is confidential. The box must be checked in order for your letters to be confidential. Please note that almost all schools require letters of recommendation be confidential.

2. Give the completed form to the recommender, who can either use the space provided ,or their letterhead to write the letter. In either case, the recommender must sign the waiver form before sending it to Career Services. All recommendation letters must be signed by the recommender.

3. Ask recommenders to send letters directly to Career Services. If the recommender is on campus, the letter can be sent through campus mail. If the writer is off campus provide him/her with a stamped envelope addressed to Career Services, Princeton University, 36 University Place, Suite 200, Princeton, NJ 08544. It is your responsibility to be sure your recommenders send their letters to Career Services on time to meet your application deadline. Please call our office to check the status of your file.

4. If a letter is received on your behalf without the waiver form, a notice will be sent to you. If we do not hear from you within 10 working days the letter will be returned to the writer.

Request mailing of letters from your File: 

1. Complete a Recommendation Request Form for each mailing. Sign and date each form, and return to Career Services with the corresponding stamped and addressed envelopes. You must also specify which letters are to be mailed directly to the schools and which are to be held for pickup at Career Services. Send in your request early. During the busy season (November - January), expect a turnaround of 10 business days from the date we receive your request until they are deposited in U.S. mail. Requests are processed in the order they are received, regardless of size.

2. Most graduate schools require an evaluation form in addition to the recommendation letters. If you are planning to have letters sent online, you must have all evaluation forms completed and signed by the recommender. If the evaluation form is not received with the recommendation then your request cannot be completed, which will cause a significant delay in the application process.

3. Some schools require applicants to include sealed letters of recommendation with the rest of their application materials. For these requests, please provide us with 10"x13" stamped, addressed envelopes. If the envelopes are not stamped they will be held here for pickup. If you are unsure about envelopes and postage, please call our office.

4. If you are living abroad, allow extra time for any mailed documents to reach Career Services. If you are unable to provide the necessary postage and envelopes because of your location, please make arrangements with someone to have these materials sent to our office.

5. If you plan to have your letters sent by Federal Express, you must provide us with valid credit card information including the card expiration date. You will be billed directly by Federal Express.

Fees: 

1. Your file will be maintained free of charge while you are a student at the University and for one year after graduation. Thereafter you will be billed a maintenance fee of $30 per year, or $75 for three years. Alumni who are opening a credentials file should include the appropriate maintenance fee with the completed registration form.

2. Letters to the first 10 schools you request per academic year will be processed free of charge. There is a charge of $5 for each additional school. You must include the additional charges with your request.

3. Please make all checks payable to Princeton University/Office of Career Services.

Maintain your File:

Confidentiality:

You have the legal right to choose whether your letters are confidential or not. If you wish them to be confidential, be sure to sign each recommendation form before giving it to each recommender and check the box next to the confidentiality statement. The contents of a confidential recommendation cannot be viewed or shared with the candidate. In the opinion of the Career Services staff, confidential recommendations are more credible in support of applications to academic programs.

Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free program, is required to open these forms online. These forms have been created so that you can fill them out using your computer before printing them out if you choose.