LORs, How Long Does it Take?

[BHSUStudent]

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Just wondering how long it took for your referees to write you letters of recommendation through OTCAS. It's been about two weeks for me, and I haven't received any of my letters yet. I do know that two of my referees are pretty busy. Makes me kind of nervous though, since all the schools I am applying to have rolling admissions.

 

[c2902]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1018565

We've already answered this for you - if you don't hear from them, follow up. Following up is key, and is a large part of the "real world" experience in most work settings, because people are lazy and tend not to get you the information you need when you need it. If you just sit and wait, you won't get what you want.

 

[BHSUStudent]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1018565

We've already answered this for you - if you don't hear from them, follow up. Following up is key, and is a large part of the "real world" experience in most work settings, because people are lazy and tend not to get you the information you need when you need it. If you just sit and wait, you won't get what you want.

No, this wasn't answered before. That thread was about getting a response from emailing a professor, and whether or not if it is difficult to get a hold of someone over the summer.

I am asking how long does it take for them to write a letter of recommendation, not respond to my email. I have already gotten a hold of my referees. These are two totally different circumstances. I've already had a career and hold a degree. I asked something that was simple.

 

[Sunny324]

One of mine did it within a week, the other person took three weeks. I told them they had 4 weeks to finish it, but the true deadline was quite a bit later than that.

Did you give these folks a time frame for when you wanted them done? I'd say a follow-up/reminder e-mail after two weeks is reasonable. Ask how it's going and remind them that it needs to be finished in x number of days.

 

[amaleigh84]

Definitely follow up! I've only asked one person so far and they did it within a couple of hours! In general, I've found that the longer you wait, the more likely it is they have forgotten about it. People are busy! Personally, I'd send a simple follow-up email to gently remind them.

Good Luck!

 

[RedHeadOT]

It took one of my professors less than an hour to complete the OTCAS form. I want to say it might have been around thirty minutes to complete. That being said, she had done a few other forms for me, so that might have helped speed up the process because she was already familiar with my work.