How can I politely ask for a recommender to send out my rec ASAP?

[wood41]

I believe my recommenders have already written my recs (well it's likely), but I didn't give them a deadline and I kind of want them to send it out NOW... apparently my school;s file system hasn't received them yet. How can i politely ask them to?

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[Inuranic]

I would just say "Hey, I was just following up to make sure everything with the letter was set. Do you need anything from me?"

Hide it amongst small talk. Since I'm on really good terms with all my writers, when some started falling behind I'd pop by their office, make small talk, they'd know why I was really there and assure me they were getting things done. We'd laugh and go get coffee.

 

[doctortobe2012]

I believe my recommenders have already written my recs (well it's likely), but I didn't give them a deadline and I kind of want them to send it out NOW... apparently my school;s file system hasn't received them yet. How can i politely ask them to?

why didn't you give them a deadline!?!? send them a note saying that the school hasn't received your LOR yet. ask them to re-send it to the committee, or, if they would like, they can give it to you to submit to the committee.

 

[Inuranic]

MAJOR advice to next year's applicants:

Give your writers an insanely early deadline. I'm talking May 1st or something. I gave mine the "first of June" and I didn't get my last letter till the middle of July (and he had my CV/Interfolio cover sheet since the first week of April).

Lie to them. For the love of Christ, lie.

 

[doctortobe2012]

MAJOR advice to next year's applicants:

Give your writers an insanely early deadline. I'm talking May 1st or something. I gave mine the "first of June" and I didn't get my last letter till the middle of July (and he had my CV/Interfolio cover sheet since the first week of April).

Lie to them. For the love of Christ, lie.

it's not even a matter of lying. i gave my writers an early deadline with an explanation: i said that i wanted my LORs early, so I can send them out early (so that I that my file is completed early, and I can be a more competitive applicant). all were happy to oblige

 

[Inuranic]

I feel like telling them that gives a nice security cushion so they can fall behind and justify it by knowing we're not missing a deadline.

 

[doctortobe2012]

I feel like telling them that gives a nice security cushion so they can fall behind and justify it by knowing we're not missing a deadline.

definitely. and esp if you ask for them early they probably won't have many LORs to work on, so they can write a nice, lovely, long, supportive LOR for you!

 

[OCallag]

MAJOR advice to next year's applicants:

Give your writers an insanely early deadline. I'm talking May 1st or something. I gave mine the "first of June" and I didn't get my last letter till the middle of July (and he had my CV/Interfolio cover sheet since the first week of April).

Lie to them. For the love of Christ, lie.

I agree whole-heartedly. Hell, if you know who you're going to ask ahead of time, tell them JANUARY 1. Because UNDOUBTEDLY, ONE of those writers will take an unexpected/unmentioned/"gone crazy and need a break" vaction in the Bahamas and take an extra month to submit his/her letter. Ask early!!!1!

 

[physiclas87]

Do medical schools accept non-standardized recommendation forms or do they have specific forms? I want to ask my research advisor for a letter soon (I'm not applying this cycle).

Thanks!

 

[st0w]

or, if they would like, they can give it to you to submit to the committee.

Be careful.. Even if you don't read the letters, if they're in your possession you could potentially be accused of having had access to them after you had waived your rights. My undergrad committee wouldn't accept anything that was given to the student because of this.

 

[soundesign]

Decided to pull up this thread b/c it's the same things I'm wondering. I asked and gave my professor all the necessary forms months ago (like in March) and I've followed up with him by email before I left school for the summer (he wasn't teaching this semester but he's been out of his office for long stretches of time), but he still hasn't sent out my letter. I think I gave him enough lead time (maybe too much, he might've forgotten) to write the letter, but I know he's also been really busy this semester. I won't be able to meet with him this summer (just too far away), so how should I ask him to write/send in my letter ASAP (by email or phone)?

 

[BluePhoenix]

Decided to pull up this thread b/c it's the same things I'm wondering. I asked and gave my professor all the necessary forms months ago (like in March) and I've followed up with him by email before I left school for the summer (he wasn't teaching this semester but he's been out of his office for long stretches of time), but he still hasn't sent out my letter. I think I gave him enough lead time (maybe too much, he might've forgotten) to write the letter, but I know he's also been really busy this semester. I won't be able to meet with him this summer (just too far away), so how should I ask him to write/send in my letter ASAP (by email or phone)?

Depends on the prof. Most of mine are pretty cool about checking and answering email so I used email to ask my old professors for rec's. But if it's an older prof or one that tends not to check/reply to emails in any sort of timely fashion, it would probably be better to call them. Or...you could always send him a thank you card for writing a recommendation and hope that pushes him along a bit...you could include something about submitting your application in it as well...just to be sure he knows it's urgent.

 

[DreamyKid]

Decided to pull up this thread b/c it's the same things I'm wondering. I asked and gave my professor all the necessary forms months ago (like in March) and I've followed up with him by email before I left school for the summer (he wasn't teaching this semester but he's been out of his office for long stretches of time), but he still hasn't sent out my letter. I think I gave him enough lead time (maybe too much, he might've forgotten) to write the letter, but I know he's also been really busy this semester. I won't be able to meet with him this summer (just too far away), so how should I ask him to write/send in my letter ASAP (by email or phone)?

When you say forms, do you mean ones that are about waiving your rights? Or like your cv, etc?

Are there special forms each med school require (like check the box if the student is top 5%, etc)?

 

[soundesign]

When you say forms, do you mean ones that are about waiving your rights? Or like your cv, etc?

Are there special forms each med school require (like check the box if the student is top 5%, etc)?

My school doesn't have a committee so I have to give my teachers evaluation forms for the TMDSAS (Texas med schools only) app. And yes, they're like the "top 5% etc" forms.

 

[soundesign]

Alright, so my letter writer still hasn't sent anything. I tried emailing him about a week ago, and I still haven't gotten a reply back (as mentioned before, I also sent another email about a month earlier that he never replied to). I know he'll be teaching at the school this summer, so I think I'm going to call him up. But I need some advice as to how to ask politely. How can I work in needing that LoR sent out ASAP without sounding too pushy (and assuming he has received my previous emails, he'd know I was looking for him). I haven't had him as a teacher in awhile so we're not really close, so I don't think smalltalk over the phone is an option.

Arrgh, it's just getting really stressful b/c I haven't been able to get a hold of him like my other letter-writers.

 

[SirGecko]

I'd just say that you would really appreciate it if they'd send it in soon. Also, maybe you could phrase it not as a "get it in" request but as a "did you send it in yet" question. That could lead you in to them asking when you'd like it submitted by. (a little less pushy)

 

[Raryn]

I just told all of my professors that I would really appreciate having my LOR file complete by the end of June and if they could have it done by then, I would be quite thankful.

They all said they'd have it done before mid June, and I don't have any reason not to believe them.