Length of LOR

[Prof]

If you’re writing a letter of recommendation for a student who is applying to graduate school, how long should the letter be?

I’ve heard a few people say that 1 page is adequate and easy for the selection committee to read, but I also don’t want to do the student a disservice by selling them short.

[Same Q]

Bump

[depends]

if I know the student really well, they were my advisee, worked on (a) projects with them, etc. it can be up to two pages; if that is not the case one page

[depends]

--if you have a big name in the field, you can probably place a student at a high caliber place by gushing about them for 4-5 pages (but so goes how much of this works from top to bottom).

--if not, being able to get healthily into the second page with personalized details is very valuable.