Letter of Recommendation Timing

[excalibur86]

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I have a quick question about timing regarding a PI letter of recommendation.

I just graduated and I'll be starting work in a lab full time on July 1st in my "year off". I'm also applying to med school and plan on submitting my AMCAS in 1 week. I really like the research I'm doing and the PI is very nice, so I'm hoping to impress him and ask for a letter of rec.

Question: When would be the best time to ask for my letter of rec? Would the end of August be too late? I want it to be submitted early enough to be considered for interviews, but not too early that the PI doesn't know me well enough.

 

[bonsaitree1]

I have a quick question about timing regarding a PI letter of recommendation.

I just graduated and I'll be starting work in a lab full time on July 1st in my "year off". I'm also applying to med school and plan on submitting my AMCAS in 1 week. I really like the research I'm doing and the PI is very nice, so I'm hoping to impress him and ask for a letter of rec.

Question: When would be the best time to ask for my letter of rec? Would the end of August be too late? I want it to be submitted early enough to be considered for interviews, but not too early that the PI doesn't know me well enough.

Hmm, here's what I would do. Do you have any other previous research letters that you can submit in the meantime while getting to know your current PI better?

I would submit your current PI's letter as an update later on to each school, so it looks like you have been doing something during the current year and will build on to your post-interview file. Or you could submit it even though you've submitted your secondaries and have it added to your file for interview consideration.

End of August is OK, even going into September is better because the PI might find that you're hurrying him to write a letter for you since you've only been in contact for a short period of time.

Hope things work out!

 

[excalibur86]

Thanks reflex. I'm actually sending in recs from 2 other PIs i've done research with in the past, so i won't really have a problem showing my interest in research.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Trying to get a letter of rec from a PI they started working for the same summer they're applying? When did you ask for your letter of rec? And how long was it after you began working?

 

[bravofleet4]

it can sometimes take a long time depending on who you ask for the LOR. I was told by counselors (who run the LOR writing service at my school) that you should ask for a month for it a month in advance. Some of my LOR writers wrote theirs in a day or two but others took several weeks. This is because they're usually busy with other things and because they may request information from you or want to get to know you better first. Don't spring it on them last minute and certainly don't expect them to get it back to you right away.

 

[SodaScientist]

I am in the exact same situation... I brought up applying when I was interviewing with the PI and he immediately mentioned that he would eventually write a letter. Not really sure when eventually is but you might want to hint delicately that you are applying and see if he offers