Recommendation Letter Help

Started by kperry
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kperry

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10+ Year Member
So, I want to submit my secondaries for UNECOM and DMU by the end of this week but 1 out of 2 of my academic letter writers are not responding to my emails. The writer confirmed with me back in August that she would be happy to write for me when the time comes but is now not responding (via email). How do I approach this without sounding to pushy or demanding? The DO who is suppose to write for me also has been a little slow in responding to my emails.

Again, I don't want to come off as pushy when attempting to contact them again but I do have a sense of urgency in submitting these secondaries due to the late cycle submission.

Any advice would be great. Thank you!
 
kperry said:
So, I want to submit my secondaries for UNECOM and DMU by the end of this week but 1 out of 2 of my academic letter writers are not responding to my emails. The writer confirmed with me back in August that she would be happy to write for me when the time comes but is now not responding (via email). How do I approach this without sounding to pushy or demanding? The DO who is suppose to write for me also has been a little slow in responding to my emails.

Again, I don't want to come off as pushy when attempting to contact them again but I do have a sense of urgency in submitting these secondaries due to the late cycle submission.

Any advice would be great. Thank you!
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Are you sure you meet the lor requirements?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
 
Yes. Both of these schools require 2 academic LORs and 1 DO letter (UNE recommends a DO letter).
 
How well do you know them? If you have a good, long standing relationship I would go ahead and tell them that you are panicking (but still be polite) b/c they are probably very busy and regretfully forgot all about you. If you don't really know this person well I would use email or telephone to say something like, "Hi Dr. Smith, I just wanted to give you an update on my application. I'm really excited b/c I am nearly complete. I have submitted my application and essays therefore once Harvard/Interfolio receives your letter my file will be considered complete. Attached are my resume and instructions on how to send the letter. Thank you again for your time and I will be sure to keep you updated on the outcome. Signed, k perry."

Since email isn't working I would politely call them or (even better) stop by their office. Does your 1st/completed letter writer know this 2nd/uncompleted letter writer? Maybe ask #1 if they know the best way to approach #2. Does 2nd/uncompleted etter writer have a secretary?

Now matter what you write/say to them you MUST resend them the material that you gave them initially. The reason for this is twofold. 1) they might not have your original email 2) even if they have your original email then it is buried somewhere and it will be much easier for them to open an attachment than search through 2 months of emails. So you MUST resend your mini bio, your resume and instructions on how to send the letter even though you already gave them all of this information. You need to do everything possible to make it easy for your letter writer to send the letter. Will it be snail mailed? Then give the letter writer a pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope. I hope that helps.
 
moocow47 said:
How well do you know them? If you have a good, long standing relationship I would go ahead and tell them that you are panicking (but still be polite) b/c they are probably very busy and regretfully forgot all about you. If you don't really know this person well I would use email or telephone to say something like, "Hi Dr. Smith, I just wanted to give you an update on my application. I'm really excited b/c I am nearly complete. I have submitted my application and essays therefore once Harvard/Interfolio receives your letter my file will be considered complete. Attached are my resume and instructions on how to send the letter. Thank you again for your time and I will be sure to keep you updated on the outcome. Signed, k perry."

Since email isn't working I would politely call them or (even better) stop by their office. Does your 1st/completed letter writer know this 2nd/uncompleted letter writer? Maybe ask #1 if they know the best way to approach #2. Does 2nd/uncompleted etter writer have a secretary?

Now matter what you write/say to them you MUST resend them the material that you gave them initially. The reason for this is twofold. 1) they might not have your original email 2) even if they have your original email then it is buried somewhere and it will be much easier for them to open an attachment than search through 2 months of emails. So you MUST resend your mini bio, your resume and instructions on how to send the letter even though you already gave them all of this information. You need to do everything possible to make it easy for your letter writer to send the letter. Will it be snail mailed? Then give the letter writer a pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope. I hope that helps.
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+1

Follow this post to the letter.
 
I ran into this problem. Honestly, it created a ton of stress as I was taking my MCAT and preparing my primary application. I knew that I would begin receiving secondary application materials within a week of my primary being released.

The professor I had a problem with was very upsetting because he was such an influential part of my education. I met with him as far back as May, he graciously agreed to write the letter, and was given all of the necessary materials. Month after month went by with nothing. Emails went answered with "It's coming shortly, sorry." Over and over again this happened. As time to submit my primary approached, I eventually left a voicemail on his office phone. I heard nothing. A week went by and I emailed again. He got back to me again and apologized. Again, another month went by. It wasn't until I laid it on the line that Interfolio finally got the letter. He wrote it over the weekend and physically handed it to the post office clerk. He profusely apologized.

I was super nervous because you obviously don't want to irritate someone with so much power over your future, but sometimes putting things in perspective is required. The reality is as follows: people with a PhD should have hopefully gotten over the passive aggressive stages of life. Hopefully they won't write a secretively bad letter. Do these people exist? Sure, but hopefully you can gauge that during the initial meeting. This is why it's so important to meet with each of your letter writers personally and professionally. If you get a wishy-washy feeling, abandon ship. If not, then the person is probably genuinely forgetful. Professors are human too. If they didn't want to help you out, you have to place confidence in them telling you so. Maintain confidence, make alternative arrangements, and keep on the pressure. I feel you. It sucks.

It can be made worse because some people have such strange social conventions. I interact professionally with people who hate email and are completely turned off by any substantive interaction via the medium. I know other professionals who somehow can't communicate via email, i.e. someone with a Master's Degree suddenly starts capitalizing everything and forgetting basic punctuation. I know others who can barely speak on a phone and get nervous. It's hard, because you are the vulnerable pre-med looking for approval. Even worse, it's one of the many steps to a successful application. A good letter will make or break an application. Like I said, I get it. Hopefully I've given you some confidence.
 
Thanks for that response. It is pretty frustrating since I made the contacts in a timely fashion (June of this year) to secure my lor's and now that it is time to get them submitted, I am kind of in limbo. Hopefully she responds soon because my other academic writer already submitted his and the DO writer finally got back to me and will submit by the end of the week.

I hope that a phone call may not irritate this professor. I am a non-traditional student and am currently not taking any courses at this university and they are prepping for finals so I know that they are busy.
 
I received my secondaries both UNECOM and DMU last Tuesday. Will it look bad if I don't get my file completed soon because of a writer failing to respond/not submitting my letter right away? I am pretty nervous because I have put a lot of time, effort, and money into this application process and don't want to be screwed because of one of my letters.
 
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