Didn't get to know any of my professors during my undergrad years...

[growingpains]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I finished my undergrad at UCSD a year ago and didn't get to know any of my professors during my four years there. Yes, I was an idiot. At this point, I feel like my best option for getting academic letters of recommendation is to take another quarter or semester of bio classes somewhere and get to know the professors there.

Will it be better if I were to take these classes at UCSD again (and receive letters from UCSD professors) as opposed to another institution (e.g. Berkeley, UCLA, or a community college) since it's my alma mater? Taking these classes at a community college would be much more affordable, but I'm afraid these letters won't hold nearly as much weight, since I should have gotten letters from my undergrad professors. Also, will letters from "concurrent enrollment" course professors be weighed heavier than those from extension course professors?

Thanks for your input.

 

[Law2Doc]

I finished my undergrad at UCSD a year ago and didn't get to know any of my professors during my four years there. Yes, I was an idiot. At this point, I feel like my best option for getting academic letters of recommendation is to take another quarter or semester of bio classes somewhere and get to know the professors there.

Will it be better if I were to take these classes at UCSD again (and receive letters from UCSD professors) as opposed to another institution (e.g. Berkeley, UCLA, or a community college) since it's my alma mater? Taking these classes at a community college would be much more affordable, but I'm afraid these letters won't hold nearly as much weight, since I should have gotten letters from my undergrad professors. Also, will letters from "concurrent enrollment" course professors be weighed heavier than those from extension course professors?

Thanks for your input.

Yes you can take more courses and use those to attend office hours and get LORs. No, you don't want to get all your LORs from community college if you are only one year out of undergrad -- it looks funny.

 

[prolixity29]

I finished my undergrad at UCSD a year ago and didn't get to know any of my professors during my four years there. Yes, I was an idiot. At this point, I feel like my best option for getting academic letters of recommendation is to take another quarter or semester of bio classes somewhere and get to know the professors there.

Will it be better if I were to take these classes at UCSD again (and receive letters from UCSD professors) as opposed to another institution (e.g. Berkeley, UCLA, or a community college) since it's my alma mater? Taking these classes at a community college would be much more affordable, but I'm afraid these letters won't hold nearly as much weight, since I should have gotten letters from my undergrad professors. Also, will letters from "concurrent enrollment" course professors be weighed heavier than those from extension course professors?

Thanks for your input.

I would take them at UCSD if I were you. I graduated from college 5 years ago and people still tell me that it's important to have undergrad LOR. Plus, you get to live in San Diego.

 

[growingpains]

Thanks for the advice guys. Returning to UCSD does seem to make the most sense; I'm just concerned about actually being able to get into their classes through concurrent enrollment, considering how popular biology is there.