LOR from a class that you did not do well in?

[Ayuka001]

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When I took the class I had gotten an A on the first midterm when I started going to office hours and the prof seemed to think positively of me. When I told him I was applying to pharmacy school he said he'll write me a letter if I needed one (w/out me even asking him first). However by the end of course, I bombed the final (apparently so did everyone else lol) and almost of us ended up with some form of a C.

So I went to talk to this prof again and even though I told him that I got a bad grade in his class, he once again told me "if you need my help for pharmacy school applications, let me know". I guess he still wants to write me one?

Well should I be worried he might not write a nice letter since I got a C? I guess I'm just confused as to why he wants to write me one since I got a bad grade and all....

Thanks for any input 🙂

 

[johnep34]

He would not offer to help if he did not think well of you. take up his offer.
johnep

 

[DrDrugs2012]

Very tough question. Is there anyone else you could feasibly use? You'd be shocked to see how many applications have LOR that are unfavorable for the applicant....

 

[Notecard]

When you talk to him ask for a "positive" letter of recommendation, just to be sure. It seems redundant but at least you can be sure he's writing something good since you'll never actually read it. I've also heard of people getting letters from professors that said bad things. If you think he does like you and that you made an effort in his class then that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[owlegrad]

I can't imagine him offering to help if he wasn't going to write a positive letter. Do you think it's a trap?

I would love to read some of those negative letters that were mentioned upstream. I bet they are pretty funny.

 

[Ayuka001]

I can't imagine him offering to help if he wasn't going to write a positive letter. Do you think it's a trap?

I would love to read some of those negative letters that were mentioned upstream. I bet they are pretty funny.

Haha ! Well I agree that he probably wouldn't write a bad letter I'm just concerned about what he'd write regarding my academic abilities ( unless they don't have to comment on that in a lor)? And I did work hard I only did bad in the final and there was no curve.
Otherwise I got As in my other classes but the profs just never seemed interested in me 🙁

 

[NaOH]

It can work, sometimes. One of my letters was from a professor whose class I dropped 😱 The difference in my case was that I usually get to campus early (around 7 AM) and sit on a bench in our lab science building and goof off with my laptop... where this professor usually walks in around 7:15. I'd always say hi, stop and talk occasionally (I think he thought I was studying... ) and in the end, he was perfectly okay with writing the letter. Even said that he wouldn't mention the dropped class.

TL;DR - the grade matters, but in most cases I think a personal rapport with the professor matters more.

 

[30Percent]

He can talk about how great your academic ability is, but make sure he doesn't mention the C. I'd be upfront and discuss with him about not mentioning your grade.

 

[cjflahave]

My organic professor said, on the first day of class, that he'd write anyone a great recommendation letter as long as he knew we were working hard. If you made office hours and got along with the professor, they are probably willing to help you out.

 

[DrDrugs2012]

I would love to read some of those negative letters that were mentioned upstream. I bet they are pretty funny.

Pretty funny doesnt describe it. Its usually downright hilarious! Its especially comical when you see things in a personal statement that are directly contradicted by what was said in a LOR.

 

[R2pharmD2]

He can talk about how great your academic ability is, but make sure he doesn't mention the C. I'd be upfront and discuss with him about not mentioning your grade.

What's the point of not mentioning the C? It's not like they won't have a copy of the OP's transcript anyway. It seems to me like having the professor explain why they got a C could only help. "Ayuka may have ended up with a C in my course, but there was no curve and a single poor exam really hurt his/her grade. Still an excellent student, worked hard, yada yada yada."

 

[R2pharmD2]

Pretty funny doesnt describe it. Its usually downright hilarious! Its especially comical when you see things in a personal statement that are directly contradicted by what was said in a LOR.

 

[30Percent]

What's the point of not mentioning the C? It's not like they won't have a copy of the OP's transcript anyway. It seems to me like having the professor explain why they got a C could only help. "Ayuka may have ended up with a C in my course, but there was no curve and a single poor exam really hurt his/her grade. Still an excellent student, worked hard, yada yada yada."

It didn't look like it affected NaOH's chances of getting accepted. He probably had a W from his dropped class on his transcripts that his professor didn't mention in his letter.

I could be wrong since every school's drop policy with a W is different in length. My school was only 20 days before you got a W.