Good time to ask for letter of recommendation?

[silkwolf]

Just a quick background - senior about to graduate - a bit late in the game as a pre-med. Anyways, I need letters of recommendation, but was wondering if it is better to ask now, or if should I wait till after finals and graduation? I don't know if it's best to wait until the final grades come out, or if now is an especially busy time for professors. Would summer time be better to ask instead? Currently its around 2.5 weeks till finals.

Appreciate any advice.

Edit: I am not applying right away - taking gap year then applying

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[longhaul3]

Are you applying this year? If so better get on that now.

 

[silkwolf]

Are you applying this year? If so better get on that now.

Sorry, should've mentioned I'm not applying this year - I'm taking a gap year then applying.

 

[sullen-burger]

Sorry, should've mentioned I'm not applying this year - I'm taking a gap year then applying.

You can let potential LOR know after finals about your intentions to apply to med school. If you know you'll keep in touch with them through gap year, just ask them closer to your application date. If you know you won't be staying in touch, then maybe ask them for one around now, while they still remember you well enough.

Always remember for a letter from someone who knows you well, and then tactfully ask for a good letter of recommendation. They'll put more effort into it rather than just copy and paste your name into their LOR template.

Usually most people have current letters (post marked as having been written within the same year as the applicants application) but you could ask early on and they can just update the date later when you need them.

 

[Welshman]

Just ask now. Unless you plan on being in contact after graduation, Most of your grades should be in and if you're asking for a lor then you should be worried about bombkng the final. Plus it's much easier to ask when you know exactly when and where the profs office hours are for the semester

 

[rufflev]

As some of the previous posters mentioned, I would suggest asking your professors now so that they at least know that you need one and can set aside time to write one in advance. Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of people applying this cycle will begin to ask the professors during this time, so your professors might be swamped with a bunch of requests, along with administrative and course-related things - which is why I'd recommend maybe letting them know that you'll need the letter towards the end of summer/early fall and that they have time to do it.

Make sure you have your personal statement and resume/CV prepared!