What to do about a recommender who won't write the damn letter?

[elyswim]

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So I've been having some major issues with one of my recommenders. I asked him May 11th to write me a letter and never got a response. I sent him an email asking him again saying that we've worked together closely for a long time and that I woudl really like to write him a letter. He responded (within 1 day) saying he would be "delighted" to and that I give him a deadline. I told him "the end of june or early july." The end of June/Early July comes and I receive no letter submitted (they do this stuff at our school). I send him email, no response. I send him another email (yesterday) still no response. I really want him to write my letter, but I don't know what else to do. I don't want to seem like i'm badgering him, but I'm almost done with some secondaries and I want to get this thing goinggggg!😡

Any suggestions on what to say to him?

 

[SN2ed]

If he's dragging his heels this much, he probably doesn't want to write it. You don't want someone writing a letter of recommendation when they don't want to write it.

 

[JJMrK]

So I've been having some major issues with one of my recommenders. I asked him May 11th to write me a letter and never got a response. I sent him an email asking him again saying that we've worked together closely for a long time and that I woudl really like to write him a letter. He responded (within 1 day) saying he would be "delighted" to and that I give him a deadline. I told him "the end of june or early july." The end of June/Early July comes and I receive no letter submitted (they do this stuff at our school). I send him email, no response. I send him another email (yesterday) still no response. I really want him to write my letter, but I don't know what else to do. I don't want to seem like i'm badgering him, but I'm almost done with some secondaries and I want to get this thing goinggggg!😡

Any suggestions on what to say to him?

This is why you gotta request in March/April and give a false, early deadline. Can you go visit this guy in his office instead of just emailing him?

 

[Count Chocula]

Can you go visit this guy in his office instead of just emailing him?

Yeah talking in person/on the phone is more likely to get the ball rolling, especially if your writer is technologically inept.

 

[BerlinDude]

So I've been having some major issues with one of my recommenders. I asked him May 11th to write me a letter and never got a response. I sent him an email asking him again saying that we've worked together closely for a long time and that I woudl really like to write him a letter. He responded (within 1 day) saying he would be "delighted" to and that I give him a deadline. I told him "the end of june or early july." The end of June/Early July comes and I receive no letter submitted (they do this stuff at our school). I send him email, no response. I send him another email (yesterday) still no response. I really want him to write my letter, but I don't know what else to do. I don't want to seem like i'm badgering him, but I'm almost done with some secondaries and I want to get this thing goinggggg!😡

Any suggestions on what to say to him?

I'm in the same position.

Good luck with your problem. Especially if your recommender is an important guy, getting faculty to write a letter is harder than I am when I watch "Who's Nailin Palin?".

 

[wedogogirl]

.

 

[SteinUmStein]

I'm in the same boat, and I'm at the point where I already asked for a LOR from another professor and got a yes, and should be getting that letter in the next week or so.

However, I do have one question: I already designated my previous LOR to all of my schools, and his name is on my secondary file online for several schools. If I remove the LOR completely from AMCAS, which seems to be an option from what I've seen, will my schools automatically get the update and change the letter name to the new one that I will soon add?

 

[acridknight]

visit the prof in his office and nicely bring this up/ remind him about it (eg. ask if there's anything you can do to help him with the letter).

in the meantime, leverage your contingency plan. ask other profs. you can't have too many letters (you'll select each letter per school, so having a choice can't hurt).

 

[elyswim]

Thanks for the responses. I think he actually does want to write the letter, but he works in Hollywood as a screenwriter so when he's not teaching he's producing/writing films (aka really busy)... I've worked with him for a long time, and I can't imagine that he would write me a poor/mediocre letter. I'll definitely try to contact him.

Thanks again!