Getting Good LORs

[DenaliView]

Anyone have any advice on how to build good rapports with Profs to get detailed/thorough LOR's. So far all of bio classes are made up of 150+ students and even when I make it to my profs office hours to discuss questions I have it always seems to be pretty short and sweet, to the point. What could this prof write about me: She consistently showed up to my office hours and asked many knowledgeable questions...that good I guess but not great any advice?

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[WinterLights]

Anyone have any advice on how to build good rapports with Profs to get detailed/thorough LOR's. So far all of bio classes are made up of 150+ students and even when I make it to my profs office hours to discuss questions I have it always seems to be pretty short and sweet, to the point. What could this prof write about me: She consistently showed up to my office hours and asked many knowledgeable questions...that good I guess but not great any advice?

Its not easy to get an amazing letter from a science professor unless you really spend time with them in the lab or work with them on a research project of some sort.

 

[gopher22]

Can you take an upper-level class or journal club with a smaller class size and more discussion?

 

[StayingSteady]

yeah, work in a lab with them, or get close to them somehow. In those super-huge 150+ student classes, it's really hard to get close to the prof. Now if you get the highest grade out of like 300 students, then it might not be a bad idea to ask for one, but otherwise, focus on profs you've spent time with.

Also, I'm an engineering major, and for one of the science recs, could it be from an engineering prof? I've taken a good amount of engineering classes and have gotten to know a few of my profs, and I've taken a lot less BCPM classes than bio/chem major pre-meds, so my access to straight-up science profs has been lacking. So is engineering okay?

 

[Raryn]

Yeah, engineering should be fine. No one can argue that you guys are a social science.

Hell, psychology would probably be fine even, and they make everything up

 

[stixx]

Is there any way to get around the 2 science prof requirements that so many schools have? For those of us that aren't eng/science majors and only took the prerequisites it's kind of impossible to get a job working in a lab. I'm applying this cycle and I'm thinking I'll have to randomly e-mail all of my profs (600+ people classes, maybe attended OH once) even though I have amazing letters from my humanities professors. The letters otherwise will probably be: "Stixx apparently had one of the highest raw grades in the class. Never heard of her. I felt bad enough about her situation so I wrote a letter anyway."

 

[schismal]

For those of us that aren't eng/science majors and only took the prerequisites it's kind of impossible to get a job working in a lab.

You'd be surprised. I walked into my lab as a freshman with only one semester of Gen Bio under my belt.

If you're concerned that your professor doesn't know you well enough to write a strong LOR, then just sit down and talk to him. Go grab lunch. Discuss your goals, listen to any advice that is offered, and generally give him a crash course in your personality. It still probably won't end up being a glowing letter, but at least the professor will have more than a GPA to reference. I did this for one of my letter writers, since I hadn't been in a class with him for a year, and I think it gave him a much clearer view. Plus, you should never underestimate the intangibles of face-to-face interaction.

 

[Lukkie]

hopefully, if they dont know you well enough, they will either:

A. ask for a CV
B. ask you to write the letter, submit to them, and they will sign it, put it on the letterhead, etc.