Having trouble getting LoR from my profs

[halmoni]

So I graduated late last year and unfortunately I was stupid enough to never ask for LoR's from my profs while I was in school. 1 science professor has agreed to write a letter for me, but I'm having difficulty finding another professor. I've probably emailed like 6 or 7 other profs and most have given me the silent treatment while 2 said no. 1 other prof I talked with is currently on sabbatical leave and she hasn't gotten back to me for the last 4 weeks.

I've gotten A's in pretty much all of my science classes (cgpa is 3.91 and my sgpa is just below a 4.0) but I was the student who never really went to office hours and I just did my work independently or asked my TA's for help. I went to a really big public school where most of my science classes had like 300-400 people. It kinda sucks that the one prof I really liked and TA'ed for said he couldn't write me a letter unless I had taken 4 classes with him.

I'm currently taking a gap year to buff up my clinical EC's, but what should I do in this case? Should I look into taking a class or something so I can get a letter? I know I sound a bit neurotic, but I'm feeling a bit desperate.

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[SpoiledMilk]

Does you school have a Health Professions Committee? If so, you could approach it, explain you are an alum and ask if they will be able to provide their services to you. I was able to do that with mine years after graduation.

You just got to do the leg work. Not just call, but show up in person during office hours with everything ready. Be personable, gracious, and explain to them your predicament. This will show them you have initiative.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Why did 2 of them say no?

 

[ClamChowderrr]

Use that desperation to drive you to go to your undergrad professor's office hours and ask. Most importantly, don't take the NOs personally.

 

[halmoni]

Does you school have a Health Professions Committee? If so, you could approach it, explain you are an alum and ask if they will be able to provide their services to you. I was able to do that with mine years after graduation.

You just got to do the leg work. Not just call, but show up in person during office hours with everything ready. Be personable, gracious, and explain to them your predicament. This will show them you have initiative.

No, we don't have a committee. I live about 3 hours away from my undergrad and I thought it might be creepy to randomly show up to class since I don't know their office hours, but I'd be more than willing to go and ask them in person.

Why did 2 of them say no?

1 said no because he didn't remember me. The other was my prof who I TA'ed for but he said he only writes letters for those who took 4 classes with him.

 

[HomeSkool]

The other was my prof who I TA'ed for but he said he only writes letters for those who took 4 classes with him.

That's got to be the biggest load of crap I've seen all day, and I've spent the whole evening in the general ORs. Unbelievable that he would have such a ridiculous requirement.

Have you tried calling the professors that haven't responded? Do you have friends on campus who could do some recon work for you and find out when those professors' office hours are so you can call when they're guaranteed to be there? How many e-mails have you sent to the ones that haven't responded? Did you have an undergrad academic advisor to whom you could reach out?

 

[SpoiledMilk]

No, we don't have a committee. I live about 3 hours away from my undergrad and I thought it might be creepy to randomly show up to class since I don't know their office hours, but I'd be more than willing to go and ask them in person.

Creepy is showing up at the front door of their home or just as they are coming out of the grocery store or the gym.

Showing up at the scheduled class and speaking to the professor before it starts or after class ends to ask them for their office hours or an appointment is not creepy...

 

[Brisks]

1 said no because he didn't remember me. The other was my prof who I TA'ed for but he said he only writes letters for those who took 4 classes with him.

You got an A in the class AND TA'ed for him another semester?! I would've expected for him to ask me if I needed a letter, sheesh! You definitely should have talked to him and others while you were still in undergrad, but now you would need to approach some in person and/or your pre-med/pre-health advisor!

 

[halmoni]

That's got to be the biggest load of crap I've seen all day, and I've spent the whole evening in the general ORs. Unbelievable that he would have such a ridiculous requirement.

Have you tried calling the professors that haven't responded? Do you have friends on campus who could do some recon work for you and find out when those professors' office hours are so you can call when they're guaranteed to be there? How many e-mails have you sent to the ones that haven't responded? Did you have an undergrad academic advisor to whom you could reach out?

I haven't thought of calling them yet. I'll definitely try that tomorrow. Sadly all of my friends have pretty much graduated as well. The class schedules are public though.

I haven't sent out any follow up emails since I thought I would give them some time to respond...but I guess I shouldn't have waited so long. I asked our pre-health adviser and she said that I should probably just stick to emailing or calling since I don't live near school anymore.

You got an A in the class AND TA'ed for him another semester?! I would've expected for him to ask me if I needed a letter, sheesh! You definitely should have talked to him and others while you were still in undergrad, but now you would need to approach some in person and/or your pre-med/pre-health advisor!

Yeah I should have asked him about a letter before deciding to TA for him. He said he's trying to limit the amount of letters he has to write so I feel like this is a fairly recent policy he's implemented.

 

[HomeSkool]

I haven't thought of calling them yet. I'll definitely try that tomorrow.

I haven't sent out any follow up emails since I thought I would give them some time to respond...but I guess I shouldn't have waited so long.

Don't be afraid to be the squeaky wheel, my friend. What's the worst that could happen, they'd get annoyed and say no? Their failure to reply is a de facto "no" anyway! There is literally no downside whatsoever to bugging them until they respond.

He said he's trying to limit the amount of letters he has to write so I feel like this is a fairly recent policy he's implemented.

I thought that might be the reason, and it's the most arrogant, self-serving reason for him to decline. He should be absolutely ashamed of himself! It is his job to advise, instruct, and support his students. He isn't obligated to write a letter for any one student, sure, but it's totally inappropriate for him to institute a policy designed to make his life easier by screwing the vast majority of them! He didn't get where he is without letters of support from his mentors! Shame on him!

So here's what you do: call him and ask if you can write your own letter of recommendation, then send it to him for finalization and a signature.

And then make a special trip back there to put a flaming bag of dog poo on his doorstep. I'll even drive you.

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[PaulineStay]

getting LORs was the worse part of the whole process

 

[halmoni]

I thought that might be the reason, and it's the douchiest of the douchey douchetastic reasons for him to decline. He should be absolutely ashamed of himself! It is his job to advise, guide, and support his students. He isn't obligated to write a letter for any one student, sure, but it's totally inappropriate for him to institute a policy designed to make his life easier by screwing his own students! He didn't get where he is without letters of support from his mentors! Shame on him!

So here's what you do: call him and ask if you can write your own letter of recommendation, then send it to him for finalization and a signature.

And then make a special trip back there to put a flaming bag of dog poo on his doorstep. I'll even drive you.

LOL I totally wish I could give him a flaming bag of poo. I'll try asking him again about writing my own letter. His policy is pretty ridiculous though, it's already hard enough to sign up for a lot of the bio classes at my school.

 

[HomeSkool]

LOL I totally wish I could give him a flaming bag of poo. I'll try asking him again about writing my own letter. His policy is pretty ridiculous though, it's already hard enough to sign up for a lot of the bio classes at my school.

That's why he made the policy that way: he deliberately designed it to set a bar that's nearly impossible to clear because he'd rather think of his own ease than the careers of those he's being paid to mentor. Like I said, he doesn't owe any one student a letter, but he does owe them an LOR policy that's more responsible than "eff you, lolz." Because that's essentially what he said to you: "Screw you and your career, I can't be bothered." Totally unconscionable.

 

[ReapPremed]

I think you're going to drain yourself driving 3 hours to show up at a class and try to catch them. Try calling them first. You cannot be shy or passive about this. Emails are easy to blow off, a human voice in real time is not.

The one on sabbatical sounds promising. Also call the one you really like and explain your situation. Be honest. Remind him what you liked about his class and how you enjoyed TA'ing for him. if you don't want to sound like you're begging you can say, "well if you can't write me one do you have any suggestions? I've worked really hard and I am at a loss because I need these letters..."

Trying to get letters, especially from certain departments, can be really rough. I think its absolutely absurd that its such a roadblock. As a non-trad I had a seriously hard time getting letters from old professors that fit the mold schools wanted. I'm 90% sure the one from my PI, who teaches med students, said more about me anyway. If you do take an upper-level class solely to get the letter make sure it has a small class size, and bare in mind that as a non-matriculation some professors may feel less of an obligation to help you out.

Don't forget to look for one non-science letter as well.