I don't participate in class, but I do go to my prof's office hours... is it okay to ask for a LOR?

[doubledoctordoubletrouble]

I can be quite shy and so I am usually pretty quiet during class. However, I am one of the few students that talks to my professor outside of class about the material and I've been making appointments with him for office hours. Would it still be advisable to ask for a LOR at the end of the semester, or should I start trying to make my presence more known during class? Thoughts?

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[MrLogan13]

You're fine.

 

[Goro]

You'll need to ask this way: "Professor X, do you think you can write me a good LOR for my application to medical school?"

I can be quite shy and so I am usually pretty quiet during class. However, I am one of the few students that talks to my professor outside of class about the material and I've been making appointments with him for office hours. Would it still be advisable to ask for a LOR at the end of the semester, or should I start trying to make my presence more known during class? Thoughts?

 

[MrLogan13]

I would use "strong" instead of "good", but Goro is right.

 

[hoihaie]

Can you TA for him for this class in the future (provided that you do well)? If so, maybe ask him after you TA for him

 

[NickNaylor]

The information you provided and of itself isn't illuminating. I agree with @Goro's point and would also recommend that you offer to provide a CV, draft of your personal statement, and a chance to talk with him/her to talk about your interests and goals.

 

[tpha5256]

It definitely doesn't hurt to ask because the worse outcome is that he will say no. I would phrase your question as suggested by Goro. Also, if the professor agrees to write you a letter, you could always request a meeting with him so he can get to know you better.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Give professor your CV, personal statement, list of whatever else you've done during college, whatever it takes for him to know you on paper. Set up personal meeting with him so he can get to know you face to face even more. Ask if he can write you a STRONG letter (you MUST say STRONG) of recommendation. If he doesn't immediately say, "Yes, I can definitely write you a STRONG letter of recommendation," then move on. This is the standard advice given to everyone at my school.

 

[mehc012]

Give professor your CV, personal statement, list of whatever else you've done during college, whatever it takes for him to know you on paper. Set up personal meeting with him so he can get to know you face to face even more. Ask if he can write you a STRONG letter (you MUST say STRONG) of recommendation. If he doesn't immediately say, "Yes, I can definitely write you a STRONG letter of recommendation," then move on. This is the standard advice given to everyone at my school.

I've never understood the CV thing...they're not going to be writing about your grades and your ECs, but of what they know of you, right? How does a CV help with that?
Only one of my profs has asked for a CV (and that only the 2nd time she wrote a letter, because it had been a few years and she wanted the timeline of updates on paper); the others seemed uninterested when I offered.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

I've never understood the CV thing...they're not going to be writing about your grades and your ECs, but of what they know of you, right? How does a CV help with that?
Only one of my profs has asked for a CV (and that only the 2nd time she wrote a letter, because it had been a few years and she wanted the timeline of updates on paper); the others seemed uninterested when I offered.

I think CV/resume/list of activities is for reference. And possibly to confirm whatever they think they know about you.

 

[RedPhys]

I've never understood the CV thing...they're not going to be writing about your grades and your ECs, but of what they know of you, right? How does a CV help with that?
Only one of my profs has asked for a CV (and that only the 2nd time she wrote a letter, because it had been a few years and she wanted the timeline of updates on paper); the others seemed uninterested when I offered.

For real. I just consulted with the profs that were down to write a letter. Talked about what schools look for in the LORs (why I'm a good candidate for medicine, what capacity they know me, how to tie why their recommendation is meaningful with regards to someone who wants to enter medicine, etc.)

 

[mehc012]

For real. I just consulted with the profs that were down to write a letter. Talked about what schools look for in the LORs (why I'm a good candidate for medicine, what capacity they know me, how to tie why their recommendation is meaningful with regards to someone who wants to enter medicine, etc.)

Lol, my prof knows more about med school apps than I do, probably...she's super invested in helping her students do well. Ever since I decided to go for it, I've sat down with her once a year (which is saying a lot since I moved thousands of miles away from the school) and had a long talk about where I'm at and how to move forward. I didn't even try to tell her what they like, since she probably knows better than I do
My other prof apparently always likes to write his LORs immediately after class ends so he doesn't forget you. I waited only a short bit to ask him, but by then he just said "I knew you'd need one and I wanted to write one for you so it's already done, just tell me when you need it."

 

[RedPhys]

Lol, my prof knows more about med school apps than I do, probably...she's super invested in helping her students do well. Ever since I decided to go for it, I've sat down with her once a year (which is saying a lot since I moved thousands of miles away from the school) and had a long talk about where I'm at and how to move forward. I didn't even try to tell her what they like, since she probably knows better than I do
My other prof apparently always likes to write his LORs immediately after class ends so he doesn't forget you. I waited only a short bit to ask him, but by then he just said "I knew you'd need one and I wanted to write one for you so it's already done, just tell me when you need it."

Mine were one guy who had never had a premed (he was in materials science, kind of removed from your typical premed environment, and straight up asked me "So, how should the letter be formulated, what should I mention?"), and another was a foreign language teacher with only four years as a professor, so she was pretty new to the whole writing a LoR in general.
Sounds like you had professors that were well prepared already.

 

[DokterMom]

Since you've been meeting with the prof regularly, you may want to flat-out tell him/her that you're uncomfortable speaking out in class, which is why you don't participate and come to office hours instead. But do at least show that you're visibly engaged during class - eye-contact, nod, notes, facial expressions. Trying to ignite a class discussion in a room of non-participators is no fun.

 

[NickNaylor]

I've never understood the CV thing...they're not going to be writing about your grades and your ECs, but of what they know of you, right? How does a CV help with that?
Only one of my profs has asked for a CV (and that only the 2nd time she wrote a letter, because it had been a few years and she wanted the timeline of updates on paper); the others seemed uninterested when I offered.

It's to get a general sense of what you're about and things you might be interested in. Some writers also might include those things in their letters. I frequently see LORs that mention activities and then point to that involvement as meaning something desirable. I'm skeptical that most of the writers were aware the applicants were actually doing those things.

 

[mehc012]

It's to get a general sense of what you're about and things you might be interested in. Some writers also might include those things in their letters. I frequently see LORs that mention activities and then point to that involvement as meaning something desirable. I'm skeptical that most of the writers were aware the applicants were actually doing those things.

See, that's my issue...my ECs and whatnot are already IN my app. I neither need nor want my prof to write about those things. If a prof includes those things in their letter, in my mind they didn't have enough to write about when recommending me based on their own interactions...which is the entire point of LORs. If they're throwing in a bunch of activities they didn't know about ahead of time, odds are I should not have asked them for their rec. I don't understand why it's such a 'default' thing to give them.

 

[NickNaylor]

See, that's my issue...my ECs and whatnot are already IN my app. I neither need nor want my prof to write about those things. If a prof includes those things in their letter, in my mind they didn't have enough to write about when recommending me based on their own interactions...which is the entire point of LORs. If they're throwing in a bunch of activities they didn't know about ahead of time, odds are I should not have asked them for their rec. I don't understand why it's such a 'default' thing to give them.

Because letter writers aren't stupid, and for better or worse that kind of thing generally adds value to a letter.

 

[mehc012]

Because letter writers aren't stupid, and for better or worse that kind of thing generally adds value to a letter.

Despite reactions such as your own?

I'm skeptical that most of the writers were aware the applicants were actually doing those things.

To me, something coming across like that is pure filler.

 

[NickNaylor]

Despite reactions such as your own?

To me, something coming across like that is pure filler.

That's fine, and I'm sure that most of it is filler, but again, good LORs are able to portray these things in a positive light and put together a cohesive, positive picture of an applicant. I've seen more LORs I can count from professors that only know the applicant in an academic context, and while they're positive letters, a single paragraph leaves much to be desired. I skip through the fluff of really long letters, a letter that's a page long and paints a great, overall portrait on an applicant that includes ECs as well as the specific context in which that writer knows the applicant is just about the best you can do.