Foot in the door LOR

[deleted678432]

Is it too soon/unprofessional to get my foot in the door with some profs for LORs? I have two strong/moderate ones in the works... but I’m starting to panic about the third. I have a few professors that would maybe write some decent ones, but I think it’d be best to kinda send them an email now so they don’t forget me over the semester. If I don’t, then I run the risk of having to wait to find a prof this semester for my last one. Also, I have to find a thesis advisor this semester for my honors thesis, so this could be another way. What are y’alls thoughts on this? I just don’t want my strong GPA/DAT to be killed by only having two LORs and a bad, last minute science one.

P.s., my dentist LOR is covered


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[Life of Pablo]

Yes, asking them now is perfectly fine. I did research over the summer at a hospital and asked the physician I did research for for a LOR at the end of the summer (around 1 year before I’d be applying to dental school). He was completely open to writing it. I sent him an email 2 weeks before I needed it (with my resume) to remind him about it.

It’s best to ask when you’re most fresh in their minds.

 

[deleted678432]

Yes, asking them now is perfectly fine. I did research over the summer at a hospital and asked the physician I did research for for a LOR at the end of the summer (around 1 year before I’d be applying to dental school). He was completely open to writing it. I sent him an email 2 weeks before I needed it (with my resume) to remind him about it.

It’s best to ask when you’re most fresh in their minds.

Alright I’ll get to sending a couple emails around tomorrow just to put my name out there again, then I’ll set up a meeting here soon. Is there a template for an email/conversation that you structured your request around (I.e., how you asked them)


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[Life of Pablo]

Alright I’ll get to sending a couple emails around tomorrow just to put my name out there again, then I’ll set up a meeting here soon. Is there a template for an email/conversation that you structured your request around (I.e., how you asked them)


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I asked him in person. I said something along the lines of "If you think I've done a good job this past summer, I would really appreciate a LOR from you." If I were you, I'd go into the professor's office hours and ask him/her there. Just say how you're applying to dental school and were wondering if they felt comfortable writing you a LOR. If you don't feel comfortable asking in person, you can always email. I just thought the LOR was very important, so it was something that needed to be asked for in person.

 

[ChewyDrop]

The sooner the better tbh. Remember, professors are humans too.. they forget. Goodluck.

 

[Dogtreats]

When I emailed to ask professors, I always just said “Would you be willing to write me a favorable letter of recommendation?”. I think I found some kind of template online and made it my own so I’d google some if I was you!

 

[WaveRace]

I'd drop by office hours and explain that you are applying to dental school. Puts a face to a name, particularly if you are at a large undergrad.

Put some effort into obtaining the last LOR. If you think about it from their perspective, who would you write a better LOR for? Student A, who got an A in the class but never communicated with you outside of an email asking for the LOR? Or student B, who also got an A, but actually had an in-person conversation with you? I realize in your case it is late for this, but it's better to have the professor actually know you to write the letter. For instance, my science lor was from a professor I had two classes with. I made sure to perform well in both classes and occasionally talk to the professor. I worked in the lab next to his, so he brought up my research before class one day. People hype up talking to professors, but if you just act normal, all is good.

 

[deleted678432]

I'd drop by office hours and explain that you are applying to dental school. Puts a face to a name, particularly if you are at a large undergrad.

Put some effort into obtaining the last LOR. If you think about it from their perspective, who would you write a better LOR for? Student A, who got an A in the class but never communicated with you outside of an email asking for the LOR? Or student B, who also got an A, but actually had an in-person conversation with you? I realize in your case it is late for this, but it's better to have the professor actually know you to write the letter. For instance, my science lor was from a professor I had two classes with. I made sure to perform well in both classes and occasionally talk to the professor. I worked in the lab next to his, so he brought up my research before class one day. People hype up talking to professors, but if you just act normal, all is good.

One of my two I have been a UTA for the past year for, and the other I’ve gone to office hours 5 or 6 times and went ahead and asked him about the physics behind the physics forcep, which I think he really liked.

The two I’m considering for the third: one is an endocrinology professor that I was in an honors option for, so I had to present a PowerPoint to him about Addison’s Disease, and I met with him a couple times in office hours. The other is my microbiology lab prof who I talked with everyday in lab. I performed well in both classes. I’m not on the same level with these two as I am with my first two professors, so I’m kinda debating on if I should just ask for the LOR now so I’m fresh in their mind, or if I should risk it this semester with a new prof. The only thing is that I only have anatomy (which I hear everybody is itching to get a LOR from this professor) and pharmacology. I’m just not sure how to go about this last letter

EDIT: also- do y’all think it’d be appropriate for me to email “hey, I’m going to apply to dental school, blah blah blah, and I was wondering if I’d be able to set up a meeting with you to talk about potentially writing me a positive LOR”.
This would be for the professors that I don’t have classes with anymore and therefore don’t really know their office hour times this semester. For the first two, should I just drop the bomb on them in the middle of our weekly meetings, or should I email them the same type of thing?

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[caffeine jitters]

Does your university write committee letters? If so, I would recommend looking into that and telling the committee who you would like to write on your behalf. Many schools like committee letters more than individual letters. Also, an added benefit of the committee letter is that it allows you to add more letters separate from the committee letter.

 

[deleted678432]

Does your university write committee letters? If so, I would recommend looking into that and telling the committee who you would like to write on your behalf. Many schools like committee letters more than individual letters. Also, an added benefit of the committee letter is that it allows you to add more letters separate from the committee letter.

My school does not unfortunately


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[WaveRace]

One of my two I have been a UTA for the past year for, and the other I’ve gone to office hours 5 or 6 times and went ahead and asked him about the physics behind the physics forcep, which I think he really liked.

The two I’m considering for the third: one is an endocrinology professor that I was in an honors option for, so I had to present a PowerPoint to him about Addison’s Disease, and I met with him a couple times in office hours. The other is my microbiology lab prof who I talked with everyday in lab. I performed well in both classes. I’m not on the same level with these two as I am with my first two professors, so I’m kinda debating on if I should just ask for the LOR now so I’m fresh in their mind, or if I should risk it this semester with a new prof. The only thing is that I only have anatomy (which I hear everybody is itching to get a LOR from this professor) and pharmacology. I’m just not sure how to go about this last letter

EDIT: also- do y’all think it’d be appropriate for me to email “hey, I’m going to apply to dental school, blah blah blah, and I was wondering if I’d be able to set up a meeting with you to talk about potentially writing me a positive LOR”.
This would be for the professors that I don’t have classes with anymore and therefore don’t really know their office hour times this semester. For the first two, should I just drop the bomb on them in the middle of our weekly meetings, or should I email them the same type of thing?

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I think either the endo or the micro professor would be fine. They both seem to know your face, and I'm assuming you performed well in their courses. I'm still a big proponent of asking in person. I'll pm you a template from the email I used to ask for a letter from a professor of mine. Important to note that I first asked in person and just followed up with this a few months later! Good luck with the letters. Sounds like you're in a good place