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More Frustration!!

Posted by joro, 04 December 2009 · 17 views

Sent another email this morning begging for some kind of status update for the LOR. Still nothing...I probably should start calling and even showing up at his office if I get no response by next week.

I don't believe Professors intentionally try to screw people over. I keep telling myself maybe he's busy or perhaps there's a bigger issue at hand? Maybe he wasn't satisfied with the work I did with him then decided to completely ignore me and not write the letter.

gradschoolnewbie

Dec 04 2009 10:16 PM

I feel your pain. I've found out that it's useful to call directly, rather than send email after email. One of my LOR writers (a former professor of mine) definitely got on the ball after I left him a voice message. Having said that, you want to be strategic about your communications with your LOR writer, too. As a lot of the commentors mentioned in your previous post, you still have over a week, and if it's an electronic submission, that's plenty of time. Also, I would wait a bit to call the professor---I've found that some professors (like the abovementioned LOR writer of mine) get annoyed if you try to contact them constantly. Set an arbitrary deadline for yourself---say like next Tuesday or Wednesday---and call him if he hasn't sent in your LORs by that time. I know it's hard to just sit tight for that long, but it'll be better than turning off the professor.

I know this is the worst time of year to get in touch with professors because it's the end of the semester, everyone is giving and grading finals, AND the holidays are around the corner (which means major slowdown in mail and other communication because people are taking personal time with their families and friends). I found myself muttering about how much I hated Thanksgiving this year, because it was preventing me from communicating effectively with my LOR writers! LOL.

Anyways, good luck with your LOR! Let us know how things go.

joro

Dec 05 2009 03:07 AM

I am definitely afraid of turning him off to writing the letter. I will probably give the Professor a call on Tuesday. Hopefully I can get in touch with him. Otherwise, I will be making a personal appearance on Wednesday to just give him a reminder with SOP and resume in hand. Ahh, I feel like a loan shark in a way.