Questions regarding recommendation letters

[DK17]

Hello guys,

So I graduated with a B.S. of Biology in the Fall of 2013. I never really spoke with professors and it's been a few years now so I doubt they remember anything about me. I am having a dilemma with the recommendation letter part for the upcoming application season, and the Health Committee Advisor doesn't really reply to the e-mails that I send to him. I tried visiting him (4 hour drive), but he usually does not keep his office hours so still no response. My concern is, do the recommendation letter have to come from the professors that I took class in? Does it have to be professors at all? Who should write me letters of recommendation if the University I attended is not an option..? Any input is appreciated, thank you all in advance.

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[workofshart]

I think that's a really difficult situation to be in. Many schools have a 2 science professor lor requirement and being 4 years out of schools is obviously going to make that hard to fulfill. You could try risking it and begging your old teachers for letters and see what response you get (knowing the letters may not be very good) or you could even try and get letters from more unconventional sources who may actually know you. I think a big question is what have you done since 2o13? If you've just been sitting on your butt I think your safest bet would be to take some post-bacc classes or even a master's to show schools you can still succeed academically and give yourself the opportunity to get letters from your professors. No matter what you decide I think it will be tough so I wish you luck!

 

[mainstreeter]

Most dental schools require two letters from science professors, one from an advisor and one from a dentist. So yes, you MUST get letter of recs from your science professors. If I were you I would write to several professors whose classes I did well in (or if I knew the professor in some memorable way) a short and to the point email telling them 1) your plans to apply to dental school and what else you've been up to 2) when you took their class / any other memorable interaction you had with them 3) why you think they could write you a strong letter and what qualities of yours they can comment on. Most importantly, ask when you can give them a call/meet with them in person to talk about the specifics and answer any questions about you.

Most professors think of this as a part of their job and will have templates ready. Your email serves two purposes, first it reminds them who the heck you are and second, helps them fill in the blanks when they start writing your letter.

As for your pre health advisor, call and leave him a voicemail once a day until he responds. It's his job to help students like you, but since there are hundreds of you, you have to try to make yourself heard.

 

[DK17]

I think that's a really difficult situation to be in. Many schools have a 2 science professor lor requirement and being 4 years out of schools is obviously going to make that hard to fulfill. You could try risking it and begging your old teachers for letters and see what response you get (knowing the letters may not be very good) or you could even try and get letters from more unconventional sources who may actually know you. I think a big question is what have you done since 2o13? If you've just been sitting on your butt I think your safest bet would be to take some post-bacc classes or even a master's to show schools you can still succeed academically and give yourself the opportunity to get letters from your professors. No matter what you decide I think it will be tough so I wish you luck!

Most dental schools require two letters from science professors, one from an advisor and one from a dentist. So yes, you MUST get letter of recs from your science professors. If I were you I would write to several professors whose classes I did well in (or if I knew the professor in some memorable way) a short and to the point email telling them 1) your plans to apply to dental school and what else you've been up to 2) when you took their class / any other memorable interaction you had with them 3) why you think they could write you a strong letter and what qualities of yours they can comment on. Most importantly, ask when you can give them a call/meet with them in person to talk about the specifics and answer any questions about you.

Most professors think of this as a part of their job and will have templates ready. Your email serves two purposes, first it reminds them who the heck you are and second, helps them fill in the blanks when they start writing your letter.

As for your pre health advisor, call and leave him a voicemail once a day until he responds. It's his job to help students like you, but since there are hundreds of you, you have to try to make yourself heard.

I've worked as a Clinical Research Technican, worked under my dentist, and helped with my family business for the past few years; along with doing some volunteer work here and there (nothing noteworthy though). I will try e-mailing all the teachers as I look through my transcript tonight after I get out of work. 4 years and 100+ students in lecture classes might be a little difficult for them to remember me though lol. I will keep contacting the advisor (I just thought he would ignore me if I kept bugging him, but I think I was thinking in the wrong direction. Persistence is key right?) It's worth a try, and thank you both for the responses. If there are any other thoughts or inputs, it would be greatly appreciated to give me more things to think about 😀 .

Oh, and I think I will write a brief about me page to send to the professors maybe to assist in the lor? Let me know what you guys think about this. Thanks

 

[mainstreeter]

I've worked as a Clinical Research Technican, worked under my dentist, and helped with my family business for the past few years; along with doing some volunteer work here and there (nothing noteworthy though). I will try e-mailing all the teachers as I look through my transcript tonight after I get out of work. 4 years and 100+ students in lecture classes might be a little difficult for them to remember me though lol. I will keep contacting the advisor (I just thought he would ignore me if I kept bugging him, but I think I was thinking in the wrong direction. Persistence is key right?) It's worth a try, and thank you both for the responses. If there are any other thoughts or inputs, it would be greatly appreciated to give me more things to think about 😀 .

Oh, and I think I will write a brief about me page to send to the professors maybe to assist in the lor? Let me know what you guys think about this. Thanks

Don't undermine your experiences, your professors want to know what you've been up to! They want to know you're working towards your goal (dental school) and have experiences to show for it. When you're writing those emails it helps if you tie their class / their mentorship into how it helped your pursuit of dentistry. Even if it's something small like, "I learned so much in your class, and for me, it was a gateway that led me to pursue a major in Bio/Chem/whatever." Make a point to show that you thought about your options and chose that specific professor because they had the greatest influence on you / can speak to your abilities the best. Also, you probably want to talk to them in person/on the phone and have them agree to write you the letter before sending them your CV/transcripts etc.

Yep! Persistence is key. If you never follow up after the initial email, how will your advisor/professor know how important this is to you? If they don't respond the first time, I usually send a "Follow Up: Recommendation for ____" email the week after and ask if they've had a chance to think about my proposal.

 

[DK17]

Don't undermine your experiences, your professors want to know what you've been up to! They want to know you're working towards your goal (dental school) and have experiences to show for it. When you're writing those emails it helps if you tie their class / their mentorship into how it helped your pursuit of dentistry. Even if it's something small like, "I learned so much in your class, and for me, it was a gateway that led me to pursue a major in Bio/Chem/whatever." Make a point to show that you thought about your options and chose that specific professor because they had the greatest influence on you / can speak to your abilities the best. Also, you probably want to talk to them in person/on the phone and have them agree to write you the letter before sending them your CV/transcripts etc.

Yep! Persistence is key. If you never follow up after the initial email, how will your advisor/professor know how important this is to you? If they don't respond the first time, I usually send a "Follow Up: Recommendation for ____" email the week after and ask if they've had a chance to think about my proposal.

You are right, what you gave me was a template to the e-mails. Thank you so much for giving such good advice 🙂. Do you think, on average, this time of the year is a little on the late side of asking for recommendations? When do most people usually ask for them? Do I need to provide the advisor or the professors of my DAT score, or just if they ask for them?

I apologize in advance for so many questions, I never had a mentor to guide me through all of this. I was always in a cloud of questions that I could not get answers to because I don't know of many pre-dent peers. I knew many pre-meds though, which doesn't help me lol.

 

[x0jessmariex3]

You are right, what you gave me was a template to the e-mails. Thank you so much for giving such good advice 🙂. Do you think, on average, this time of the year is a little on the late side of asking for recommendations? When do most people usually ask for them? Do I need to provide the advisor or the professors of my DAT score, or just if they ask for them?

I apologize in advance for so many questions, I never had a mentor to guide me through all of this. I was always in a cloud of questions that I could not get answers to because I don't know of many pre-dent peers. I knew many pre-meds though, which doesn't help me lol.

Its never too late to ask but I would start asking ASAP. I started asking some professors around January, but some of them left me hanging so I continued to ask other professors up until mid April. The earlier you ask the better. I know some professors start rejecting requests because they get asked for around 100 LORs. Just ask nicely using the format mainstreeter said and be persistent in reminding them without being a pest lol.

 

[Panis et Circenses]

All I can add is that it may be helpful to go there in person. It's a lot harder to turn someone down in person. They could easily just not reply to an email. Even if they don't remember you, they could still help you out and write you a letter.

 

[x0jessmariex3]

This too! Although one did reject me in person lol.

 

[Panis et Circenses]

This too! Although one did reject me in person lol.

Yep, but a rejection in person is better, because then you know right then! With an unresponded email, you are left hanging for so long and wondering so long... Plus one rejection isn't bad 🙂 lol

 

[DK17]

You guys are right, only thing is having to create the time to drive the 4 hours over there. With a full time job its a little difficult during the week/work day. But yes, I will definitely have a day to get to the University and talk to them in person if I can, and e-mail them also. Thanks so much guys! 🙂 much appreciated. <3 Good luck to you all.