Advice on how to approach this LOR?

[pharmalang]

Hello

I have all my LORs ready except for one. I have been meaning to ask this one professor since the beginning of Spring semester. She went on medical leave at the start of the semester and wasn’t back until finals week. When I heard she was back, I sent her an e-mail asking if I could meet with her. I have been home for summer for almost a month and still have not heard from her. If she responds, I am willing to drive back to school to meet with her.

My question is, would it be too impersonal to e-mail her to ask for a LOR explicitly, since she didn’t respond to me asking to come in? I feel as though she could write me a strong LOR because she knows me well, and I’ve taken two science courses with her (one upper division and one lower). I’d rather wait and see if she could write it than ask another professor.


Before I knew she was back, someone on SDN told me in another thread to wait it out a bit (a little over a month ago), should I keep waiting? I feel like I should make some moves at this point.


I’m going back to school soon to visit for a week. Should I wait and maybe pop into her office and see if she is there and if she isn’t, I’ll send the e-mail?

Any advice would be great! Thank you.

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[WednesdayBridge]

I would call her at this point rather than email her again. Since you have a good rapport with her you could explain the situation and that you would prefer an LOR from her rather than anyone else. But I would also offer that if she is too backlogged with work or it is not a good time, you understand.

I think stopping by her office would be good too if you can't reach her by email. I think you can better convey that you understand she is busy and has a lot going on and that you are asking for a favor by voice rather than email. Its also harder for someone to say no to your face than it is by email.

 

[358265]

I would call her at this point rather than email her again. Since you have a good rapport with her you could explain the situation and that you would prefer an LOR from her rather than anyone else. But I would also offer that if she is too backlogged with work or it is not a good time, you understand.

I think stopping by her office would be good too if you can't reach her by email. I think you can better convey that you understand she is busy and has a lot going on and that you are asking for a favor by voice rather than email. Its also harder for someone to say no to your face than it is by email.

Yeah. Give her a call. You've already tried e-mail. See if you can ask the department/office where she has been lately and track her down. It's best to ask for a LOR in person (as with any special and important requests in life). It shows your genuine sincerity, especially if you have to drive from city to city just to ask her. That's a humble feat by itself and will make her take you more seriously.