How long to wait for a letter of rec?

[ScarletKnight62]

I asked a professor who I've worked for since May (in his lab) and am currently taking a class with for a letter of recommendation over a month ago. It's now been almost 6 weeks. He said he'd be more than happy to write me a very strong letter of recommendation but wanted to wait until our first test (which was a week later) so he could comment on my academics as well as my performance in the lab. I scored very well on the exam, and we just had another one which I also did well on.

I told him my deadlines were in January, but one school (my first choice) has rolling admissions and that they had the rest of my application and just needed my final letter of recommendation. I asked him to do it as soon as possible.

So, my question is how long is the norm (if there is one) to wait for a letter to be written? Is it rude for me to go ask him about this? Do I need to wait longer?

Thanks!

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[krisrox]

I asked a professor who I've worked for since May (in his lab) and am currently taking a class with for a letter of recommendation over a month ago. It's now been almost 6 weeks. He said he'd be more than happy to write me a very strong letter of recommendation but wanted to wait until our first test (which was a week later) so he could comment on my academics as well as my performance in the lab. I scored very well on the exam, and we just had another one which I also did well on.

I told him my deadlines were in January, but one school (my first choice) has rolling admissions and that they had the rest of my application and just needed my final letter of recommendation. I asked him to do it as soon as possible.

So, my question is how long is the norm (if there is one) to wait for a letter to be written? Is it rude for me to go ask him about this? Do I need to wait longer?

Thanks!

I would send him a polite reminder e-mail, ask him if he needed anything, and then set a deadline, say 3 weeks from now, for the letter. Be nice, though! He's probably busy.

 

[PrisonPsych]

I asked a professor who I've worked for since May (in his lab) and am currently taking a class with for a letter of recommendation over a month ago. It's now been almost 6 weeks. He said he'd be more than happy to write me a very strong letter of recommendation but wanted to wait until our first test (which was a week later) so he could comment on my academics as well as my performance in the lab. I scored very well on the exam, and we just had another one which I also did well on.

I told him my deadlines were in January, but one school (my first choice) has rolling admissions and that they had the rest of my application and just needed my final letter of recommendation. I asked him to do it as soon as possible.

So, my question is how long is the norm (if there is one) to wait for a letter to be written? Is it rude for me to go ask him about this? Do I need to wait longer?

Thanks!

It's a good idea when you ask them for the recommendation(s) to give the recommender a deadline for getting it done. Ideally this should be a month before your earliest actual deadline. E.g. my earliest deadline is 12/1, so I asked my recommenders to try to have them done by 11/1. I'll give them until 11/8 before I (gently) check in on them if they haven't been done by then.