Originally posted by Toejam
Does anyone have a recommendation on how to gently prod them into finishing it while avoiding pressuring them?
It truly depends on whether the letter writers are colleagues or superiors. If they are colleagues then call em up and tell it to them straight - that you need them sent in as soon as possible. Tell 'em that you appreciate it muchly and once done, yer out of their hair.
If the writers are superiors - say boss, or academic prof, then you have to call them or leave them some message to remind them - say that the school called and said that there was only one letter missing - theirs. Doesn't matter if it's really 2 or 3, make em understand that they are the last thing to make your application complete, and that you really feel that their letter is the one that's gonna clinch it for you.
Then to jog em along, recall a quick anecdote about them in your message. I took freshman chem - well, as a freshman, close to 8 years ago. The prof, thank god, was still alive, but he didn't know me from atom, so I recalled that when I was in his class, he used to give out bonus points if we caught him putting up wrong stuff on the blackboard. Told him it wasn't very often, but I was the contender for first place in pointing out errors when he did.
Yeah, my gunner days ... *hork* *spit*
Then make sure you check in once a week.
If they don't cough up a letter within a reasonable amount of time, then quietly arrange for someone else to write em. Last year I had a prof lined up to write me a letter - she just got some seat at Harvard and was all fired up to use Harvard stationary. She agreed to write my letter, then blew me off completely - no return emails or phone calls, no nothing.
I waited 3 friggin months before I gave up and got other letters lined up. By that time it was January. Don't wait as long as I did to ditch the dead weight and find someone else.
- Tae
