Those no-show eLORS

[lenmaca]

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I finally submitted my app yesterday (yay!) and I was waiting on two eLORs. One of them came through last night and I just found out that (after several emails and showing up in person to ask about it last Friday) my other writer went out of town! 😕
I have 3 eLORs submitted already, so this isn't really going to affect my application, but this person was a prof and I really wanted a letter that could vouch for my academic background. Now I just have to let the GPA do the talking!
Anyway, my question is:
How should I approach this situation? My first feeling is anger, and I'd like to send a (tactful) e-mail voicing my disappointment, but I also wonder if I should just leave things alone.
Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[sumstorm]

You might need a ref from them in the future. I do not believe in handling conflict via email; it isn't professional and miscommunications are common. If you can approach them in person that might be best, or via phone otherwise. Try to come up with at least 3 reasons you would find 'tolerable' for them to have missed the deadline, and rehearse those in your mind before hand, and try to keep that frame of mind. It will keep you open to what they have to say and help you sound reasonable rather than angry.

Summer

 

[No Imagination]

Adcoms are people. While they have rules about LoR's and deadlines, you might just be in a good situation if you work it.

What "I" would do... Kindly explain to your prof. how important his LoR was to you. If you have a casual relationship with him/her, the better. Ask your prof. to write you a paper LoR, ask him to include a paragraph about why it didn't make the deadline. Then have him sing your praises, send it directly to the schools admission department.

Worse case scenario, they toss it in the trash. Best case, they read it, and make a mental note about YOU and attach it to your file.

I cannot imagine a situation where you were GOING to get in, and they look at the late LoR and say, "Nahh, not this guy". On the other hand, it might just be what you need to remain in their memory.

G/L

 

[sambone]

If you feel comfortable asking, you could offer to write the recommendation for him. I've had to do that before for an evaluator who whose second language was english, and though he spoke it perfectly he wasn't very confident in his writing. Then they can change it however they want. It's really embarrassing but not as uncommon as you might think.

 

[Rusty27]

Yeah, I had a similar situation to sambone with one of my evaluators. English is his second language as well and I do not think he had written all that many recommendations, let alone vet school ones. He asked me to write a rough draft and then he took it from there. It was a bit weird to write about myself, but I tried to use it to my benefit.

 

[lenmaca]

Unfortunately, there is really no way for me to do that, or get in touch with him in such a short amount of time.
I was just wondering how I should deal with my professor now that he obviously did not write the eLOR and could have easily disqualified me.

 

[No Imagination]

Well, you have 3 others who have already submitted there eLoR's, afaik, once you have 3, your app will be submitted

EDIT: Reread your OP, there is nothing to do, you don't want to come off whiny and like they said earlier, no need to burn a bridge

 

[FlyOnTheWall]

How should I approach this situation? My first feeling is anger, and I'd like to send a (tactful) e-mail voicing my disappointment, but I also wonder if I should just leave things alone.
Any thoughts on the matter?

Call them or write them.. They agreed to do this. Come at it from the "I know how busy you must be" and again remind them. They will feel bad but not vindictive. They agreed to do this!

 

[FlyOnTheWall]

Adcoms are people. While they have rules about LoR's and deadlines, you might just be in a good situation if you work it.

What "I" would do... Kindly explain to your prof. how important his LoR was to you. If you have a casual relationship with him/her, the better. Ask your prof. to write you a paper LoR, ask him to include a paragraph about why it didn't make the deadline. Then have him sing your praises, send it directly to the schools admission department.

Worse case scenario, they toss it in the trash. Best case, they read it, and make a mental note about YOU and attach it to your file.

I cannot imagine a situation where you were GOING to get in, and they look at the late LoR and say, "Nahh, not this guy". On the other hand, it might just be what you need to remain in their memory.

G/L

Great suggestion! This will work.

 

[lenmaca]

This is good advice, Imagination and Fly.
My thanks to both of you!

 

[VAgirl]

I agree that No Imagination's idea is a really good one. Will reflect very well on you.

But my $0.02 on whether to speak to the prof about this or not, I say absolutely do. You just need to do it in a mature/professional way. You asked them to do something, they took on the obligation, and then let you down. This was extremely important to you, as I'm sure you made them aware of. THEY dropped the ball, and it was a huge mistake. Not that you're going to say these kinds of things to them. But it is completely appropriate to remind them of the situation, tell them how disappointed you are, and give them an opportunity to explain. If handling it that way burns a bridge, then that was not a bridge you wanted to walk back over again. Seriously.

Also, in my experience, uncomfortable situations don't cause bridges to be burned. It's how you handle them that determines that. And could you even really ever interact with this person again while this issue remained unresolved and unspoken between you? I certainly couldn't.

 

[Slugpoo]

Since Lenmaca didn't give much detail, it's hard to really give advice..but I wouldn't go banging down any doors just yet. Before addressing this, you should think about what you might have done differently...I have no idea how much time you gave this person, how frequently you reminded them..email is pretty passive - maybe you should have called or gone in person sooner. Did you offer a list of your accomplishments/interactions to help jog his/her memory? These things make a big difference. I drove 7 hours to meet with an old prof who wrote one of mine! We hadn't spoken in years, so I wanted him to have a fresh impression of me. And maybe it's best that you didn't get one from him/her. I found that people who really think I'm a good applicant didn't need much prodding....

 

[ckgilabert]

so i called this morning at 7:45am and the dr wasnt in yet and i told the receptionist that the application was due at 9 am today (i live in CA). i went to class and at 9:30am i got a call saying that she needed 30 more minutes. She eventually turned it in and it says completed but when i click on 'college designations' it says "not mailed". im just a little stressed now. the schools will get it, right?

 

[david594]

She eventually turned it in and it says completed but when i click on 'college designations' it says "not mailed". im just a little stressed now. the schools will get it, right?

Don't freak out too much yet. I had all my evaluations on in time(only by a few hours for 1 of them) and my designations are also listed as "not mailed". So that really doesnt indicate anything bad for you at this point.