LOR request - silence?

[deleted158872]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I sent an email to my professor asking if he could write me a LOR for med school, and i would like to discuss it further in person if he could.
he hasn't replied for 2 days.
should i send a second email, or should i take it as a sign that he's not willing to write me one? 😀

 

[DrHart]

my rule is to typically wait 5 or 6 days. professors are busy people. send a second email after a week and if no response I'd try to catch them at their office

 

[tiedyeddog]

Professors can be very busy. Does this person have a secretary or assistant you can work through? Often time that person is the key to getting a LOR done.

If not, I also wait at least 7 days for a response.

 

[GatorsKW14]

I sent an email to my professor asking if he could write me a LOR for med school, and i would like to discuss it further in person if he could.
he hasn't replied for 2 days.
should i send a second email, or should i take it as a sign that he's not willing to write me one? 😀

It took one of my writers a week to get back to me because he was out of town and I didn't know. Does he have office hours? It's always better to ask in person if you can.

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

I sent an email to my professor asking if he could write me a LOR for med school, and i would like to discuss it further in person if he could.
he hasn't replied for 2 days.
should i send a second email, or should i take it as a sign that he's not willing to write me one? 😀

Probably knee deep in semester end stuff. Give him/her a week or so, then send a followup email. After 2 attempts, then take a hint, but one can just go awry, or he/she is busy right now.

 

[massmocha]

It took one of my writers a week to get back to me because he was out of town and I didn't know. Does he have office hours? It's always better to ask in person if you can.

Agree with gators... go to office hours

 

[deleted158872]

ok, thanks all 😀

 

[moisne]

email them twice (once a week), visit them in person every other week. If after 3-4 emails and 2-3 personal out reach and no reply - find someone else.

 

[allantois]

email them twice (once a week), visit them in person every other week. If after 3-4 emails and 2-3 personal out reach and no reply - find someone else.

This sounds like a recipe for a bad LOR.

 

[moisne]

This sounds like a recipe for a bad LOR.

Nah man... I used to be an instructor 😀. Especially during finals week - you see like 40 emails, and you'll see "recommendation request" or something. You just push it off until after finals - but then I always forget to get back to them. After being bugged like 2-3 times, I eventually wrote them.

More likely than not - if your prof liked you, they would feel bad they been ignoring you/forgetting you.