LOR from professor I did badly with

[pitupua]

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Hi! I did poorly in physics 1. I got a C. I took physics 2 with the same professor and got an A. The professor knows that I did well in his class the second time around and he once told me during class that he noticed the difference.
He's one of these professors that's really easy going and relaxed and "cool" with everyone so I was thinking of maybe asking him for a LOR. He could talk about my improvement and about my dedication and so on an so forth.

what do you guys think? is this a good plan?

 

[Palam]

Hi! I did poorly in physics 1. I got a C. I took physics 2 with the same professor and got an A. The professor knows that I did well in his class the second time around and he once told me during class that he noticed the difference.
He's one of these professors that's really easy going and relaxed and "cool" with everyone so I was thinking of maybe asking him for a LOR. He could talk about my improvement and about my dedication and so on an so forth.

what do you guys think? is this a good plan?

If the professor likes you and they write verbose LOR's then that's all that matters. There are a lot of professors out there that if you got along with them really well during office hours or whatever (I'm actually friends with one of my old professors now) they will write whatever they think will get you in regardless if it's completely true.

 

[Cinclus]

To me, it sounds like this is a prof who knows you fairly well and could write you a good letter. Just make sure he agrees he can write you "a strong letter." Based on what profs have told me about writing letters for students, they will usually be quite honest about the strength of a letter they are willing to write for a particular student.

 

[TxResident]

Hi! I did poorly in physics 1. I got a C. I took physics 2 with the same professor and got an A. The professor knows that I did well in his class the second time around and he once told me during class that he noticed the difference.
He's one of these professors that's really easy going and relaxed and "cool" with everyone so I was thinking of maybe asking him for a LOR. He could talk about my improvement and about my dedication and so on an so forth.

what do you guys think? is this a good plan?

Your answer is there. Just be sure when asking for one that you ask for a "strong" LOR as mentioned by the people above me.

 

[pitupua]

ah, thanks for your input guys 🙂 i appreciate it!

 

[gmcguitar4]

I took biochem and got a D+ in it. I retook the course a year later and got an A. I knew the professor knew me because he called my name out right away on the first day when I had a question and he sorta hinted that I was retaking the class to the WHOLE freakin class. Annnyway, I asked for an LOR from him and it is my strongest one. I had interviews last cycle and they all commented on how great it was. So from my experience, I would say it is a great idea!

 

[neurodoc]

No harm in asking for an LOR from the Prof., but I'd do two things: 1) ask if the Prof can write a "good" LOR; and 2) ask if you can see that LOR...

If the answer to both questions is "Yes," go ahead. If the answer to 1 or 2 is "No," I'd say forget about it.

When I first applied to med school 27 years ago, I had a "Pre-Med Committee Letter" from my University. This letter had snippets from my Pre-Med Profs.My overall GPA was 3.94and my BCPM GPA was 3.68. My MCAT scores were 12-13 across the board. I got a half dozen interviews and no acceptances. I thought the interviews went well....

I had no idea what went wrong, so I had an interview with my school's Pre-Med advisor (a Physics Prof). He suggested that my "problem" might be my committee LOR... The folks I was working for were happy to show me this LOR. Imagine my surprise when I read it! The Organic Chem Professor, who gave me an A+ grade for his course (he didn't have any choice...I aced all the exams), just didn't like me. In fact he made a comment to the effect that I was one of the brightest students he ever had but he felt that I was also the most arrogant SOB he'd ever had the pleasure to teach...

That was very useful information...I went back to my PreMed advisor and asked him to delete Prof.M's snippet from my LOR (we had the option to delete any committee LOR entries). So I deleted this Prof's comments from my LOR...

I've never gotten back to Prof. M. to "thank" him for helping me get into med school and become a physician...😀