Freaking out about Health Committee Letter! Help?!

[Med1992]

Hey guys,

A professor I TA'd for and worked with (Microbiology) hasn't submitted my letter of recommendation to my school's Pre-Health Committee and the deadline for that is this Friday at 5 pm.

I need two letters in there, and I already have one, and I sent this professor literally everything he asked for (resume, personal statement, transcripts, etc.) and he said he'd write it for sure. This was the beginning of December.

Since then, I've emailed at least five times making sure he got the email form from the site my school uses and then reminding him (gently and asking if he needed anything else) of the upcoming deadline. He never responded, so now I'm freaking out.

I'm thinking if his letter isn't in there, I won't be able to use the committee packet recommendation that they write, and then I'll have to explain that to dental schools. And to be honest, I don't know how I can blame a professor for not sending in a recommendation for me not using it, and I'm pretty sure not having a committee letter sends up a red flag. Can anyone please help me out!? I really don't know what to do. From what I've heard, committee letters are crucial, and if I don't get this one, I'm so screwed all because of that damn professor...

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[Faux]

Your committee requirements are due now? Jeez, thats incredibly early.


Try to explain the situation to them (committee). I'd start looking for another professor too.

 

[Weakfart]

Yeah this is wicked early, mine aren't due till April. But have your professor email the committee and sometimes they'll give you a wave.

 

[Med1992]

I seriously can't... its two days away, and I can't think of anyone who would write a letter for me in that short amount of time.

The application to use the health professions committee services is due Jan 30, then they interview us in March & April and write the composite letter shortly after and send a whole packet to all the schools we apply to

Is it really that necessary though? Does it look bad? How can I explain what happened?

I should've just asked for one more recommendation, but two was the recommended amount and I asked it from two people who knew me pretty well (PI and a professor that taught me/I TA'd for)

 

[cacajuate]

Just dont send a committee recommendation. That'll give you a ton of time to get another recommendation.

 

[futuredoc2019dds]

Stop jumping to conclusions and TALK to your Pre-Health Committee. I was in a similar situation last year and they ended up giving me an extension. They just set deadlines to have students worry a bit and be on time. They usually understand when uncontrollable situations occur. When you go in to talk to them "TOMORROW" bring your emails with you that are time stamped to show them proof that you've been on top of your part and that the professor is not communicating back.

 

[ajj70]

I'd talk to the prof, not email, and see what is holding him up. If that doesn't help, talk to the committee. I'm assuming you have a good relationship with this prof and he normally is on the ball or you wouldn't have asked him.

 

[Med1992]

So guys...

I called the HPA office at my school today, basically asking if there was any way I could have an extension of some sorts because the professor still hadn't submitted the required recommendation letter to them, and they said its a pretty "hard fast" rule that all required letters have to be in by 5 pm today.

So I kind of just thought maybe I won't use the committee interview then, since no one else I spoke too could be able to write a letter for me that fast, and the professor was not responding to my four emails and phone calls to his office. I figured I was just done at this point and couldn't do anything...

Then, he emails me 15 minutes (I kid you not... 15 minutes) before the deadline, telling me he sent it in today. That's all he said, no apologies for ignoring me for a month or anything like that, and by that point, I'd already thought it was hopeless, especially because even now the site he was supposed to upload it to says 'not received' since it takes a day to process.

So he sent it in...

And I didn't finish my app to use the committee's services...

Does it look bad if I don't use the committee letter and just rely on using letters from science, non-science, dentist, and other community people? Because at this point, thats my only option.

I also kind of want to say something to that professor but I don't know... what do you all think?

 

[l4dygaga]

Dp you know the professor well? Does he know you well? Do you trust that he wrote a stellar recommendation? It seems like he really rushed it if he procrastinated till the last day. If I could find another more responsive and responsible prof to write a better letter, I would.

 

[rev_rend]

Does it look bad if I don't use the committee letter and just rely on using letters from science, non-science, dentist, and other community people? Because at this point, thats my only option.

I also kind of want to say something to that professor but I don't know... what do you all think?

I didn't use my school's committee letter service and I don't think it's been an issue for me at all. It didn't come up at an interview in January and I doubt it will at the one I have next week.

If you're going to say anything to the professor, leave it at "thank you." I've been in the position of having to write letters of recommendation and similar things on top of a busy schedule. If I'm given a deadline, I'll probably get it done right at it.

One of my professors submitted her letter two months after she said she would and really kind of at the last minute for my application. I know her well enough not to have been surprised and she still gets a huge thank you from me for taking the time to help me out.

 

[Faux]

can't tell the school that the professor handed it in last minute?

Either way, its not a big deal that if u have a committee letter or not.