advice for "reminders" for LOR's?

[eagle99]

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I'm wondering if anyone has advice for tactfully reminding your recommenders to write your LOR's. It's been about 5 weeks, and 2 of mine are still outstanding - last week I sent personal thank you's, thinking this would send the hint, but no response. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[bigbaubdi]

Five weeks really isn't a lot of time for a big shot professor, especially in the middle of the semester. For some folks, you might have to wait several months. For example, my Cell Bio professor had a large stack of papers of info for ppl she had to write recs for, so she took about 3 1/2 months to write mine.

Did you ask your profs if they would write your letter within 5 weeks or so?

 

[UCLAstudent]

If you didn't specify a date (which you should probably do in the future), then five weeks isn't very long. I have waited two to three months for some of my letters.

 

[eagle99]

Not specific dates (because they were all different), so I just requested as soon as possible.

 

[bigbaubdi]

Originally posted by eagle99
Not specific dates (because they were all different), so I just requested as soon as possible.

Here is one tactic - give the ppl who haven't written your rec letters a nice gift assuming that they have already written one for you. Hopefully, they will feel real guilty and write you a letter real quickly.

 

[jlee9531]

5 weeks?

i gave all my professors at least 6-9 months.

but that gift idea does work.

like a charm 😉

 

[woolie]

I emailed one of mine and politely inquired. Well, actually first I got the department work study student to ask him. I reminded him that there were rolling admissions and *ahem*, how much I appreciated his help, etc.

The rolling admissions thing seemed to help a bit.

If it's for a Committee Letter and you have a year or so, then definitely bank on the 3-9 month time frame. If it's for now, then definitely light a fire under their butt and let them know: rolling admissions means I am being left behind in the dust.