Letter of Recommendation Help

[PT Hopeful2]

I completed a course with a professor this past Fall semester whom I know I want to ask for a letter of recommendation, and I would like to do so soon while I am still fresh on her mind. However, I do not plan on applying to PT school for another two years. What do I do with the letter in the mean time? Just have her print it out and give it to me? Upload it to PTCAS now? (I haven't end started a PTCAS application yet and don't know if it's even possible to upload letters of recommendation.) Any help would be appreciated.

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[optimism44]

They have to fill out a reference form from PTCAS, it can't be a regular letter. References in PTCAS also do NOT transfer from one cycle to the next. Every time you apply you need to ask your reference again to fill out the form from PTCAS. So I would just maintain the relationship with the professor possibly? Or just ask if in two years you could use he/she as a reference for PT schools.

 

[otherwise]

I asked a professor about 2 years before I applied, she wrote the letter then just saved it for me (she would not give me the letter personally). That way you will still be fresh in their mind, but then maintain the relationship to update the letter as needed.
It was easy for me because she was a professor in my major, I ended up taking 4 more classes with her.

 

[OH-IO]

Talk to your professor and explain that you don't need the letter for two more years and see what she would prefer to do. She might prefer to write it now and have a saved file of it for later, or just wait all together if you will be remaining in contact over the next year or so.

 

[FruitNinja]

As a current professor who writes a lot of recommendation letters, here are my 2 cents:
- Let her know now (pref. in person) that you plan to apply to a DPT program in two years and that you would like her to write you a letter.
- Ask her what you can do to make her letter stronger. It is impossible to write a strong LOR when all you know about a student is how well they did in one class. I ask students to e-mail me a brief description of their career goals (Why PT?), as well as specific examples of things I think might be important to the admissions committee (leadership experience, eg). My strongest letters have been for students I have had in multiple classes, that assisted me with my research, and/or that served as unofficial TAs or graders in my classes. If you can't do this, then keep in contact with her, maybe once a semester. It is nice when students stop by office hours for a face-to-face chat, but e-mail updates are also helpful because I can save them and reference them later, when I write my letter.
- Send a (polite) reminder about 2-3 weeks before you want your LOR in PTCAS. Professors are notorious for getting LORs in late.
- Consider a written thank you note (via e-mail) that mentions some specific things you enjoyed about her class, or examples of how her teaching was effective. We sometimes use these notes when applying for promotion or tenure.
- Some professors might ask you to write the letter yourself, and sent it to them to submit. Try to avoid this, as it might be obvious to the admissions committee if you write your own letter.

Good luck!

 

[starrsgirl]

As a current professor who writes a lot of recommendation letters, here are my 2 cents:
- Let her know now (pref. in person) that you plan to apply to a DPT program in two years and that you would like her to write you a letter.
- Ask her what you can do to make her letter stronger. It is impossible to write a strong LOR when all you know about a student is how well they did in one class. I ask students to e-mail me a brief description of their career goals (Why PT?), as well as specific examples of things I think might be important to the admissions committee (leadership experience, eg). My strongest letters have been for students I have had in multiple classes, that assisted me with my research, and/or that served as unofficial TAs or graders in my classes. If you can't do this, then keep in contact with her, maybe once a semester. It is nice when students stop by office hours for a face-to-face chat, but e-mail updates are also helpful because I can save them and reference them later, when I write my letter.
- Send a (polite) reminder about 2-3 weeks before you want your LOR in PTCAS. Professors are notorious for getting LORs in late.
- Consider a written thank you note (via e-mail) that mentions some specific things you enjoyed about her class, or examples of how her teaching was effective. We sometimes use these notes when applying for promotion or tenure.
- Some professors might ask you to write the letter yourself, and sent it to them to submit. Try to avoid this, as it might be obvious to the admissions committee if you write your own letter.

Good luck!

I can't like this post enough!!! You (the student) can do a lot to beef up your references. Professors/employers welcome more information about you. Maybe they don't remember that one time you did that awesome project or had that special interest....but you do....so remind them and be specific about it. I always included a rough outline of some ideas for them. They can use them or not...but at least they have plenty of direct material that tied to PT and painted a great personal picture of me.

 

[redrose424]

I completed a course with a professor this past Fall semester whom I know I want to ask for a letter of recommendation, and I would like to do so soon while I am still fresh on her mind. However, I do not plan on applying to PT school for another two years. What do I do with the letter in the mean time? Just have her print it out and give it to me? Upload it to PTCAS now? (I haven't end started a PTCAS application yet and don't know if it's even possible to upload letters of recommendation.) Any help would be appreciated.

I had to ask a couple of professors for recommendations after I decided on PT school (so about a year later) when my major is unrelated. Since I decided suddenly on the career change and went for it, I didn't have the opportunity to notify professors of this during my class time with them. In order to ask them for the reference I sent them an email a couple of months before I needed the reference with a couple of components:

1) I reminded them of which class they were my professor in and which term and year I had them in.
2) I commented on one aspect of the class that I really enjoyed.
3) I told them the grade I received in the class and also something I did well in their class (for example, one professor assigned a large research paper at the end so I mentioned my dedication to writing a good paper).
4) I told them my new career goals since it was unrelated to my major and why I changed career goals.

Then in downloadable attachments I added: a curriculum vitae, my personal statement that I wrote for PTCAS, and directions for the letter of recommendation for PTCAS. I added that if they did not feel comfortable writing me a FAVORABLE letter then I would understand but that I would be willing to meet and chat if they needed/wanted more information.

One professor replied happily to help and the other wanted to meet for more information. Both worked out well when you're in a pinch, but obviously this isn't optimal.