Has your LOR writer forgotten to write you a LOR?

[bozz]

Has this happened to anyone? Do you have faith that your professor won't lose your file/forget?

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[blahwhatever]

Yep. One of my professors didn't even write the letter. I would say remind them about two times, three times max. If they still don't do it, then you should probably forget about them. However, make sure you give them a lot of time to write. Because it may just be because they're really busy, and reminding them too soon would result in you wasting a reminder! Might as well save it till you're really sure that they may have forgotten.

 

[bozz]

So perhaps by the end of May - a reminder would be in order... how can you word the email without sounding pushy haha

 

[MilkmanAl]

I had to cajole one of my writers into getting hers in. She's the type that gets an email and acknowledges the message but doesn't respond to let you know that she got the message. She's also extremely forgetful, so it was hard for me to tell when she'd just not responded and when she plain forgot. Another professor didn't get his rec in until October 24 (how useful!), but he was a backup writer for me, anyway. I bet his rec was crap since I didn't do so hot in his class, so it's for the best.

 

[iA-MD2013]

It's kind of hard to send out a reminder without seeming pushy and pissing off the profs...I'm planning on sending out a friendly reminder 2-3 weeks after having asked them, just saying please don't forget me and thank you. If that works, great! Otherwise, I'll keep doing this until I get the letter. I know this is going to be stressful and one of them will probably give me a lot of trouble, but what can you do! Just do what you have to to get your letter.

 

[copperfrog09]

I have nightmares about this sometimes.. It seems to be about the only thing I don't have control over in getting my applications in early (besides AMCAS verification). I made sure to ask Profs who were familiar with med school applications and understood the urgency, and I also am asking 1 extra person so that I will have a backup letter, since one of my letters is from a notoriously scatterbrained and busy physician and I don't have faith in his timeliness!

 

[3 little birds]

If you're getting a letter from a professor, remember that there are few of them and many of us. Give them time and be courteous. Also, if they don't have the time to get around to your letter, chances are they don't care enough about you to write a good one. I didn't mean for that to sound harsh

Get to know your profs so that they WANT to help you succeed. hey might end up approaching you themselves about letters. Don't just be that one kid who asked a question once in office hours.

 

[unsung]

Good thing about using Interfolio is you *know* when they've sent in the letter.

 

[russellfx]

i got a letter last summer from an MD and i handed into this office i guess that deals w letters of recommendation. i really hope its still on file.. i know its supposed to be for 5 years but i wonder if they ever act filed it away.. i should probably call and find out

 

[premedinpa]

Yes, give them a friendly reminder in the kindest way possible like, "Oh would it be a problem to have the letter by this date?" And not have the date be like the next day obviously but like a week later.

 

[wally47]

I was extra careful and it still happened to me. Asked for my letters Feb 1st. Long story short, my research instructor still hadn't written it and it had passed July 1st. Reminders(email and visits) 2X a week. That LOR was the only reason my app wasn't submitted as early as possible. Even still, turns out that his grad student wrote the thing. Why did I still submit the letter....It was the only way to validate my "research" experience.

 

[nick_carraway]

Just send them a thank you card around the time you told them to have it done. It'll remind them. If that doesn't work, send an actual reminder (email or other).

On a separate note, I like to include a postcard addressed to myself in the packet that I give to letter writers. The cover letter tells them to mail me the postcard when they mail their letter.

It's worked for everyone except one professor but the thank you card reminder cleared that issue up.

 

[da me ka don]

More like ignored me...and never wrote it!!

 

[apricotattack]

Ugh, I had a terrible time with my key letter writer, he is extremely busy and unorganized. I told him like 3 months in advance that I'd need one for my top choice secondary app, then kept giving updates on how my AMCAS app was doing. I was applying early decision so it was all very crucial, so when it was coming up to the due date and he still hadn't sent it, I called to remind him - thinking that I knew I wasn't the most important thing on his mind, so I just wanted to give him a friendly reminder. So, that was fine. Then a week later, still no letter and it's like 4 days until it's due, so I call again. This time he flips out at me, telling me it's not professional, I'm way out of line, etc. So I feel like **** and tell him I understood he was busy and I was just trying to help; he hangs up on me.

Finally comes the day the letter is due, a Friday. And his is not in. I am terrified about calling him again, so I don't. The weekend passes, no change of course. Then it's Monday, and it's a holiday (Labor day, actually). So of course it's not in then either. Tuesday rolls around and I am sick of waiting so I give him a call, figuring now I had the right to. He says, everyone knows that if something is due on a Friday before a 3-day weekend that the due date rolls over to Tuesday. I'm thinking, well then why didn't they just say it was due Tuesday? But whatever, he finally turned it in that day, a full 4 days after it was due, and a full like 4 months after I asked him. GRR!!!

The story does have a happy ending... although I did NOT get in early decision (thanks a lot, key prof) I did get into my #1 in the rolling phase, finally. But how frustrating!!!

 

[iA-MD2013]

Ugh, I had a terrible time with my key letter writer, he is extremely busy and unorganized. I told him like 3 months in advance that I'd need one for my top choice secondary app, then kept giving updates on how my AMCAS app was doing. I was applying early decision so it was all very crucial, so when it was coming up to the due date and he still hadn't sent it, I called to remind him - thinking that I knew I wasn't the most important thing on his mind, so I just wanted to give him a friendly reminder. So, that was fine. Then a week later, still no letter and it's like 4 days until it's due, so I call again. This time he flips out at me, telling me it's not professional, I'm way out of line, etc. So I feel like **** and tell him I understood he was busy and I was just trying to help; he hangs up on me.

Finally comes the day the letter is due, a Friday. And his is not in. I am terrified about calling him again, so I don't. The weekend passes, no change of course. Then it's Monday, and it's a holiday (Labor day, actually). So of course it's not in then either. Tuesday rolls around and I am sick of waiting so I give him a call, figuring now I had the right to. He says, everyone knows that if something is due on a Friday before a 3-day weekend that the due date rolls over to Tuesday. I'm thinking, well then why didn't they just say it was due Tuesday? But whatever, he finally turned it in that day, a full 4 days after it was due, and a full like 4 months after I asked him. GRR!!!

The story does have a happy ending... although I did NOT get in early decision (thanks a lot, key prof) I did get into my #1 in the rolling phase, finally. But how frustrating!!!

That's a sad and scary story.

 

[iampremed]

Yes. "Forgetting" to write LOR's may be an indication of their reluctance/lack of interest. But that's a whole lot better than getting bad eval. letters.

 

[scowdeva]

Scary story...I had one prof that I was pretty good friends with, it was a large class (500+) and she knew me by name and was very encouraging about med school. I had mentioned at the beginning of the semester that I was looking for another letter writer, since I wanted a science letter that was not from my major (she was developmental nutrition). She actually offered to write me a recommendation, we set a day to go over my resume...and then she vanished off the face of the earth. Her office was closed when I went for our meeting, she never responded to emails, and I don't think she teaches there anymore. Let's just say that left me scrambling to find another letter (which a biochem prof was willing to write, even though we weren't that tight and I only got a 3.0 in the class, but I was still top 25%).

Moral of the story- definitely get some backups in the works. The letters were the hardest thing for me to get together for my app. Especially if you go to a large university, this task is practically insurmountable when every single one of your courses has 400+ kids in it Even when teachers want to help, they sometimes vanish into that seventh dimension!

 

[Jolie South]

Moral of the story- definitely get some backups in the works. The letters were the hardest thing for me to get together for my app. Especially if you go to a large university, this task is practically insurmountable when every single one of your courses has 400+ kids in it Even when teachers want to help, they sometimes vanish into that seventh dimension!

for sure. . . if any of my letter writer's had said no, i would have been screwed since i'm not in school anymore. going back to a large undergrad to hunt down professors i had 3+ years ago would have been horrible.

 

[Vihsadas]

Alot of profs who will be writing you letters will welcome a few things to help them:

1) CV of your accomplishments outside of school
2) A Bullet point list of things that you'd like them to discuss about you

Some profs welcome number 2, and some do not. You should suggest it to them though, as it will make their life easier.