Frustration

[icantthinkofausername95]

I'm sorry if I sound pathetic but I'm on the verge of tears. So my school gives a Letter of Evaluation to be sent to Medical School. In order to receive it we need to submit our application for it and a minimum of three recommendation letters by February 15. One of the letters MUST be from a science professor at our school. I submitted my application and have already received three recommendation letters. However, I still haven't received one from my science professor. I asked her last summer and she said she'd do it. I sent her an email with the details after she said she'd do it and never got a response. In November, I visited her in her office and asked if she received it and she said yes, she's just finishing others with earlier deadlines first, which was no problem for me. On January 25, my premed office still said they didn't receive anything, so I visited her in her office again and she said it's on her to-do list for February 1. It's February 2, and still nothing. I don't know what to do. At this point it's too late for me to ask any other science professor (Not to mention that my other science professors are either really rude or don't know me well). What do I do? PLEASE help

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[Yorick]

Relax. It's not February 15 yet. If you're really worried, apprise pre-med office of the situation and followup again with the professor early next week.

 

[SValley]

You could always draft a rough letter of recommendation for yourself, on behalf of the professor. Send the draft to the professor with another copy of your updated resume. In the email, you can state that you are aware she is extremely busy and you wanted to provide her with a rough template that she can feel free to edit as necessary. Remind her of the due date (id state a few days before February 15 to give yourself some wiggle room) and thank her immensely for agreeing to help you.

Remember, LORs are a time commitment & often very distracting for busy professors. While it's your top priority, it isn't for your professor. A little pushing may be necessary, even for the kindest/most punctual professors.

Try to take a breath and be optimistic! It's not personal!

 

[Nomtastic]

I would stop by your science professor's office again (like tomorrow) and assertively, but professionally indicate your urgency. I had a science professor at my school who was known for doing the same thing (she submitted several LORs late and claimed the career office was ok with this). Don't worry about being too pesky, if you don't bother her about it, there's a chance she may forget. So just do your due diligence and frequently reminder her of the deadline until 2/15.

 

[iluvbeingpremed]

In my experience also, a lot of these profs know the actual deadlines and will respect them! He/she probably knows it's the 15th and not 1st so don't worry too much. Also maybe explain the situation to your premed advisor.

 

[icantthinkofausername95]

Thank you all! You really made me feel better

 

[cantelopeavocado]

Could you ask anotehr professor for a backup letter? is there a class you've done well in? Perhaps explain the situation coherently and offer to meet your "backup prof" in office hours.

 

[OxToCA]

It would be a good idea to open up an online dossier for your letters of reference, such as interfolio. They're cheap and can save you in these situations, like it could have for me this week when I requested an LOR from someone that turned out to be re-enacting scenes from lord of the rings or something similar in New Zealand who didn't take his laptop; I guess that's what pharmaceutical company owners do when they get bored