Wait for Letter of Recc or Scratch it and Complete Secondaries?

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Lyd2117

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Hey Guys!

I am having a dilemma. I contacted a science professor in late April for a letter of rec and he knows me so he said he would be glad to write one for me.. but he wanted to meet for coffee first so I can give him my folder of transcripts, PS, CV, etc etc. He said he would contact me when things got a little less busy.

I wrote him an email mid-June because I hadn't heard from him. He was out of the country (got an automatic email back) so I re-sent the email when he got back (June 27).. it was a polite email about when we should plan to meet up, and that I hoped to submit my primary application soon so would like to get all of my letters of rec in within the next two weeks, but if this wasn't enough time for him and I to meet up, then I would gladly postpone submission at his convenience.

I still have not heard back from him... it is nothing against me because we chatted a lot throughout the quarter I took his class and I even shadowed him (just a day) so I know he is fond of me. I decided to submit my AMCAS on July 7th because I know it takes a few weeks to get it verified and I am hoping he will contact me in the mean time and we can get it all settled before I am ready to submit my first secondaries.

SO HERE IS MY DILEMMA: He is my second science professor-letter writer so his recommendation is pretty critical I think. I don't think I should email him AGAIN at the risk of sounding overly pushy..?

What should I do? Just wait patiently for him to get in contact with me at the expense of having a later application? How long should I wait??

Please, any advice is appreciated. Thank you so much..

~Lyd
 
I am in like the same situation as you. One of my science letter writers decided to stop responding to emails after agreeing to write me a letter. Every time I send a reminder/wtf is going on email it's like sending it into the abyss 🙁

I am going ahead and working on secondaries any way though because it's probably not a good idea to wait until they all pile up, especially if you're doing other stuff over summer like school.
 
Push him!!! Do it very politely though. If it's too soon from the last e-mail, I would stop by his office.

i stopped by a prof's office before and had to wait, literally, for over an hour b/c he had company. But I stuck it out and it was definitely worth it!! I finally got in, had a very friendly chat, told him my situation and bang we got it rolling.

I think we exaggerate our pushiness sometimes cause we're very sensitive that we'll bug them and they'll write a crappy letter. WE probably think we're being more pushy than they think.

GOOD LUCK and keep us updated!
 
If you can, try stopping by his office or calling. I had a similar situation and the guy sent the letter the same week I spoke with him in person. If he's a typical professor (no Nobel prize or anything), he can't be THAT busy. He probably just forgot about you.
 
Thanks for the advice so far. Maybe I will stop by his office and bring my folder with me. If he isn't in, should I leave my folder under his door (or in a mailbox if I can find one) with a note about when we could set up an appointment to meet, or would you suggest I just leave, with my folder, and leave a message with the front/ CALL him later and leave a message?

I agree that I probably view myself as being more pushy than I actually am, but it is hard not to be concerned, aka, I wouldn't want to come off as rude by just leaving my folder with him. But maybe it would be appropriate if, like I said, I also leave note asking about when we could meet to chat.
 
I think it would be best to drop by, leave a note but NOT your folder if he's not there, and call him. The note will put you back on his radar, and he won't be able to stack a pile of folders on top of your application stuff. Best to just hand it to him in person, from what it sounds like.
 
Here's a horror story:

A fellow peer of mine has TA'd for a professor 4 times. Does research for him...for FREE. Aced the class. He asked for a LOR 6 months ago. And the dude is still waiting...and waiting...

Anyway, were I in your shoes, I would try to meet up with him as Whee suggested. It makes sense and it's probably your best option.

I'm just curious guys. Is it just me or are female professors 100x more responsible and caring when it comes to LOR??? I've had two female professors write stellar LORs for me, and the two male professors I asked blew me off. Shoo'd me away as if I were a leper...

GOOD LUCK OP!!!
Go stalk him if you have to.
 
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