Old committee letter and letters of recommendation

[Guest hanhnolulu]

So my advisory committee letter and all of my recommendation letters are at least 1 year old. Do you guys think I should obtain all new letters. I paid a lot of money to get a committee letter from my school. My school is suggesting that I should pay another $250 to get a new committee letter because my committee letter is old and that's in my best interest. How important are letters of recommendation anyway? What should I do? I really can't afford anymore money just because the applications are costing me so much money already.

[Guest kellyl20]

How come it costs $250 to get a letter?

It sounds as if one must "buy" the letter. Surely it does not cost that much to write a letter. Is the letter valid if you have to buy it?

[Guest Dent08]

Paying $250 for someone to say something nice about you sounds a little strange.