I wrote this on academia.stackexchange but I thought I might better answers here.
I'm a foreign student currently applying to extremely competitive doctoral programs in the US. Recently, one of the professors writing a letter of recommendation sexually assaulted me. I live in a country where things like this, when reported, are usually unpunished and even more difficult for the victim. I'm currently deciding what to do, all while trying to get my applications done and finishing up my last semester of my Master's program. To put it bluntly, my life is currently hell.
Severe trauma and everything aside, I'm really trying not to let this derail my academic career. My question is, would it be possible for me to contact the universities that I'm applying to and ask them if I could submit just 2 instead of the required 3 letters of recommendation? Or ask them for an extension on the deadline for one of my recommenders, if I work hard to get another professor to write me one?
With some deadlines less than a week away, I'm worried that this professor might write a bad LOR to try to keep me out of academia, or threaten me with it. Most importantly, it's too late for me to find another professor to write my letter of recommendation at this point in time (unless I can explain the situation to them, but even then, that would be extremely difficult). There are many, many students applying for the same programs that I am applying to in my department.
However, I'm also wary of spinning what might seem like a sob story to admissions committees, even though this is not my intention at all. I'm not sure how something like this would be viewed in the US. Please, I would appreciate any advice on this matter.
