Professor took a 180 about a letter of rec

[bearcalbear2019]

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I asked one of my science professors for a letter of rec back in March with a due date of end of June, and he agreed to write a strong one for me because we had a good relationship and he saw that I was from a underserved background and said he wanted to advocate for me. I sent him a email and interfolio reminder today, 4 days before my requested due date and he replies back in a rude manner and said that he has several letters to write and they will all be turned in by end of july. He basically ignored my request that I asked it to be done by end of June.
"I don’t need any reminders. I have multiple letters to write and they will all get in by the end of July." (I sent a reminder 3 weeks ago, and met with him in May too)


I have a backup letter but my relationship with that prof is not as good as this one (many asked him for a letter in the small seminar and he really liked us all). Is it common for professors to turn mean like this about letters?? It makes me worry about the quality of the letter as he was rude about this, and I had planned to be complete at schools like Tulane/Georgetown ASAP. Should i just stick with my backup letter for early-mid July schools or wait for this one? Should I not even use this one anymore after this experience? My other letters are stellar as i got to read them and 2 of them moved me to tears.

@LizzyM

 

[Fidelio17]

Stick with your backup letter. If he's rude, you can't trust him.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@bearcalbear2019 Should be 180 as doing a 360 would be coming back full circle.

 

[PA_dud3]

@bearcalbear2019 Should be 180 as doing a 360 would be coming back full circle.

I wasn't gonna go there and be "that guy" but lol

 

[Schwifty]

360 means he’s back to the same place, but ya I would use the back up. One of my professor was a little late with a letter, but when I reminded her about it she was apologetic and not rude about it at all. If he rushes it, it could end up being very generic, and not something you would want in your app. But at the same time, maybe he was just having a bad day, up to you to decide

 

[Phoebus Apollo]

This guy sounds sus. At worst, the back up is a net neutral and you’ve got other strong letters.

 

[LizzyM]

If the letters are in by September 1 you'd be in good shape. I can see it from the faculty side given that this is the time of year when the flood of requests has piled up and now has to be dealt with. You set an early and somewhat unreasonable due date given the deadlines the medical schools have and he's just pushing back given that he thinks that he is a conscientious person who will do what needs to be done and he is annoyed by all the reminders which he may see as nagging.

 

[Fidelio17]

Is it really unreasonable if he agreed to it in the first place? All of my letter writers were asked in April or May and had no problem getting their letters in by the end of June.

 

[Moko]

How strong do you think your back-up letter will be? If you have other options, I would use those instead of this one, especially after this exchange. I would apologize any ways and see what his response is to gauge if his letter is still salvageable as a back-up (in case another letter writer falls through).

Is it really unreasonable if he agreed to it in the first place?

I don't think it's unreasonable since he agreed to that deadline, but at the end of the day, the professor is still doing the OP a favor by writing this letter. A good LOR does take thought and time to write. Not defending his behavior though.

 

[bearcalbear2019]

This was my reply to his email and he didn't reply..
"Thanks for clarifying xxx. I was trying to get everything in early as some schools start giving interviews in mid July like Tulane and Georgetown, and they fill up fast. But I understand that you're extremely busy and have other letters to write. Thanks." Sigh 🙁

If the letters are in by September 1 you'd be in good shape. I can see it from the faculty side given that this is the time of year when the flood of requests has piled up and now has to be dealt with. You set an early and somewhat unreasonable due date given the deadlines the medical schools have and he's just pushing back given that he thinks that he is a conscientious person who will do what needs to be done and he is annoyed by all the reminders which he may see as nagging.

I guess I will just use my backup letter for the early schools like tulane and GT and use his letters for the secondaries that come later in July. Letters in by September 1 is not ideal bc like Tulane has filled up most interview slots by then.. It really isn't early and somewhat unreasonable to give someone 2 months to write a letter of rec. But yes I can see how the reminder is nagging, but I'm glad I ''nagged'' cause otherwise i never would've known he wasn't planning to submit it by the deadline i requested.

Is it really unreasonable if he agreed to it in the first place? All of my letter writers were asked in April or May and had no problem getting their letters in by the end of June.

Ugh exactly. All 5 of my other writers got it done just fine by late June.

How strong do you think your back-up letter will be? If you have other options, I would use those instead of this one, especially after this exchange. I would apologize any ways and see what his response is to gauge if his letter is still salvageable as a back-up (in case another letter writer falls through).


I don't think it's unreasonable since he agreed to that deadline, but at the end of the day, the professor is still doing the OP a favor by writing this letter. A good LOR does take thought and time to write. Not defending his behavior though.

It'll be ok but I think on the generic side since he wrote like 10-15 letters?? But the professor is also the chair of his department..

 

[calixd123]

I was in a similar position, got the ok back in March, rainbows and sunshine no worries etc. etc. When it came to crunch time I sent him a number of reminders until he finally got the letter in - only to be told by my premed committee that they wouldn’t be using the letter because it sucked (and this guy was hyped as the best letter writer in the dept). Just move on in the mean time imo

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

Not unreasonable for you to check in. He probably is being bombarded by people emailing him, hence his "annoyed" response. If I were in your shoes, I'd give it a week or two to see if he gets it in early [if you think it'll be stronger than the other]. If it comes early July and no letter from him, then I'd enact the backup letter.

Fun story this reminded me of. I had a prof that I was super close with. They always asked me to stay after class to chat. Was a top student in the small physics class as well. Asked him for a LOR and he happily agreed. Thought it'd be my second strongest letter... until I graduated and he ghosted on the letter. I was shocked lol, glad I had backups though!

 

[init2020]

Chasing down letter writers after they commit seems to be a common problem. I know several people that had their letter writers completely ghost them. Very unprofessional. And maybe the most frustrating part is that you can't call them out on their behavior because then you become the person in the wrong (like LizzyM notes). Just another joy of being premed lol

 

[deleted846158]

I had one of my letter writers “happily” agree to write one for me in January, told him the committee should have at least 3 in by the end of March (a deadline which he missed but I had 4 in already so no big deal), I remind him in April then in May, days before the hard deadline and no response, the committee got nothing from him. OP consider this a blessing in disguise. I think I dodged a bullet. I would much rather have 4 stellar letters than 5 with one being trash. I say go with your backup.