Letter of Recommendation from Sophomore Year?

[coasterfan12]

Hi everyone,
I am currently a sophomore who has just finished taking a writing composition class with a professor that I have gotten to know very well. As a result, I am thinking of asking him for a LOR so that it can fulfill the non-science LOR requirement that many med schools have. However, I am planning on taking a gap year, which means that the letter would be 2.5 years old by the time I apply. As a result, would it still be worth it to get this LOR, even though it may be old, or should I just wait and ask my future professors in my junior and senior years instead?

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[ampersandwich]

I don’t think this would be a huge issue. I applied with a few old letters from employers (pre-SMP) which were approximately that old. (I did also have more recent letters too.)

Maybe what you should do is just ask for a letter now and store it online using a dossier service like Interfolio. You can decide later on whether or not you want to send it to med schools. The only downside is that you would have to pay for Interfolio throughout your gap years.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Hi everyone,
I am currently a sophomore who has just finished taking a writing composition class with a professor that I have gotten to know very well. As a result, I am thinking of asking him for a LOR so that it can fulfill the non-science LOR requirement that many med schools have. However, I am planning on taking a gap year, which means that the letter would be 2.5 years old by the time I apply. As a result, would it still be worth it to get this LOR, even though it may be old, or should I just wait and ask my future professors in my junior and senior years instead?

It shouldn't be an issue. Let the professor know that you would like to have a LOR in the future.

 

[dirtcobain]

The only downside is that you would have to pay for Interfolio throughout your gap years.

btw, you can store letters in Interfolio without paying! you just can't send em out until you do, but at least you'll only have to pay once still

 

[KnightDoc]

btw, you can store letters in Interfolio without paying! you just can't send em out until you do, but at least you'll only have to pay once still

This^^^^^. The letter won't be too old, and it's far better to get it now, while your experience with the prof is fresh, then to give him a heads-up that you'll be reaching out in a few years, as though he'll put it on his calendar and be counting the days!

This is exactly what Interfolio is for.