Lehigh

[hi]

Anyone else applying to Lehigh?  Four Letters of Rec bucking the standard trend of three?  Do they seriously expect us to get an extra letter together special for them?

[well...]

I have 4 people on my dissertation committee (I assume lots of people do). So it wasn't a big deal.

And it shouldn't be that hard to find one more faculty member at your department who likes you. Or is it?

[not the point]

i totally agree with the OP. sure, it's easy to FIND a fourth. but you are basically saying to the fourth writer 1) you are my 4th choice and 2) you are only writing this letter for one school. given the job market, people are applying broadly. why inconvenience everyone (most importantly, the letter writer) for this fourth review? will it really make a difference in hiring? even worse than the 'diversity statement', which at least only inconveniences the applicant.

[not the point followup]

it does look like you just need a 'list' of writers for the position so it's not as bad as i thought. presumably, they will only contact the 4th if you make the first few cuts.

[Letters]

I have five letter writers. I don't ask the same three people to write all my letters. I tailor the writers to the job. I think that's pretty normal.