Should I trust these Professors to write my LORs

[CoconutAvocado]

I'm applying to two grad schools (same program) and I've contacted two Professors for recommendation letters two weeks ago. They said they would write them and I should go ahead and write their names and contact info as referees. I need two letters for each School. I did well in these classes (90%, 82%) and thought the Profs might be able to write the letters for me and have some good things to say about me, though I was a quiet student in their classes. The deadline for one program is December 14, while the other is February 1, 2019 and I told both Profs these when I emailed them last week. I've submitted all the other required documents today to the schools (online) and I'm just waiting for the reference letters, which the Profs are to email directly to the schs. My online portal for both schools says emails hv been sent to the referees but the letters hv not yet been received. Today I emailed the Profs to ask when they're going to submit the letter to the schools and I was surprised that one replied with, "Before the deadline" and that was all he said. He didn't even bother to explain, considering there are two deadlines. Idk why he wants to wait till before the deadlines? I'm still waiing for the other Prof to reply. Re. this other Prof: the last email I had sent to him last week Tuesday letting him know I had submitted the applications and included his name on them as a referee as he has told me to, he did not reply). I'm beginning to worry and think they can't be trusted: maybe they won't write them? Should I find other Professors to write the LORs? I've already submitted the names of these Profs and have submitted the applications, so I would hv to somehow change my submitted applications.

Edited November 13, 2018 by CoconutAvocado
Corrections

[rejectedndejected]

First of all, I would not ask a professor for a letter of recommendation if I got an 82 percent in their class.  Just sayin'...  (How could he honestly say you're a brilliant student when you got a B- in his class?) 

The professors will get your letters in by the deadline, if they said they will.  However, the curt answer of your professor to your inquiry as to his submission timing should worry you.  It is apparent that he thought your question was rude and gauche--therefore, I would worry that you will get a poor quality recommendation based on your professionalism.  Is it too late to call an audible?

[Warelin]

24 minutes ago, rejectedndejected said:

First of all, I would not ask a professor for a letter of recommendation if I got an 82 percent in their class.  Just sayin'...  (How could he honestly say you're a brilliant student when you got a B- in his class?) 

Given that the OP used a number grade, it's possible that the OP isn't from the United States and that their country has different metrics. In Canada, an A is as "low" as an 80. In Australia, an A was as low as an 85. Getting the equivalent of an A in Australia is harder to earn in Australia than it is in the USA though because of how they grade. Most people in Australia end up getting the equivalent of a B or C during graduation.

 

33 minutes ago, rejectedndejected said:

It is apparent that he thought your question was rude and gauche--therefore, I would worry that you will get a poor quality recommendation based on your professionalism. 

I think the majority of professors understand that applicants are a nervous wreck during application season and that students may not realize how busy professors are.

My main concern here is this: Did you ( @CoconutAvocado) ask your professors if they could write you a strong letter of recommendation? Simply asking for a recommendation letter leaves most recommenders to feel forced into it. Asking if they could write a strong letter allows them a way to "bow out" if they feel they can't produce a strong enough letter. I'd also keep in mind that they're doing you a favor. Your letter will also likely signal how they view you as a fellow colleague in their letter even if they don't specfically mention it in the letter.

[CoconutAvocado]

On 11/17/2018 at 10:05 PM, rejectedndejected said:

First of all, I would not ask a professor for a letter of recommendation if I got an 82 percent in their class.  Just sayin'...  (How could he honestly say you're a brilliant student when you got a B- in his class?) 

The professors will get your letters in by the deadline, if they said they will.  However, the curt answer of your professor to your inquiry as to his submission timing should worry you.  It is apparent that he thought your question was rude and gauche--therefore, I would worry that you will get a poor quality recommendation based on your professionalism.  Is it too late to call an audible?

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I'm in Canada and 82% is supposed to be an A (not sure if it's just an A or A-). The Prof. who gave me a 90% in his class was the one who gave me the frank, "Before the deadline" reply via email. Idk why he would think my question was rude because I asked nicely. When I initially emailed him, he said he would be happy to write me a LOR, but almost two weeks later my online application portals were/are still saying "LORs not yet received", so I was a bit worried and since neither really gave a specific date/time frame of when they would write and send them to the schools, I thought I would ask. I didn't ask to rush them but asked out of my own worry and nervousness. I guess maybe I should've been more patient and not email them after two weeks? As for me being rude, they/he knows I'm not. There was a time when this Prof's pen fell to the ground after class as we were exiting and I was the only one who stopped to picked it up and he seemed taken aback by that, so he knows I'm kind. He's the one who wasn't too nice with the reply and idk why. In class he was so very nice to us and I wrote good things and pretty much praises about him on the end-of-semester Professor written review we do always do at my Uni, so I'm a bit surprised with his abruptness with the email because he was so nice to us in class. And I wouldn't have asked him if I didn't think he would write me a good LOR. The only negative thing he might say is that I'm very quiet and not much of a talker in class, so me being "gauche" is correct because I'm  socially-awkward. I hope he won't write this, tho, uh oh. The grad program I've applied to requires public speaking skills, something I'm not great at. While I didn't talk much in class, I did go to him when I had questions about the assignments.

The other Professor who gave the 82% in his class was much nicer in his reply and said the letter was on his "to-do" list for Friday (3 days ago).

If only I could see what's being written, though, but they're supposed to be sent directly to the schools, electronically, and not me. 

Edited November 19, 2018 by CoconutAvocado

[CoconutAvocado]

23 hours ago, Warelin said:

Given that the OP used a number grade, it's possible that the OP isn't from the United States and that their country has different metrics. In Canada, an A is as "low" as an 80. In Australia, an A was as low as an 85. Getting the equivalent of an A in Australia is harder to earn in Australia than it is in the USA though because of how they grade. Most people in Australia end up getting the equivalent of a B or C during graduation.

 

I think the majority of professors understand that applicants are a nervous wreck during application season and that students may not realize how busy professors are.

My main concern here is this: Did you ( @CoconutAvocado) ask your professors if they could write you a strong letter of recommendation? Simply asking for a recommendation letter leaves most recommenders to feel forced into it. Asking if they could write a strong letter allows them a way to "bow out" if they feel they can't produce a strong enough letter. I'd also keep in mind that they're doing you a favor. Your letter will also likely signal how they view you as a fellow colleague in their letter even if they don't specfically mention it in the letter.

Hi. Thanks for the reply Are you saying it's a bad idea to specifically ask for "strong LORs?". I didn't ask for  *strong* LORs, just a LOR.

The Prof who gave me an 82% in his class was the one who actually asked for the deadlines because he wanted to "evaluate whether he has enough time to write me a strong one". I didn't think much of that at the time and really just remembered that he had written that after reading your comment above. Based on that, I guess two weeks might be too soon to email him again. At least he had stated he would write me a strong one and that he would need time to do it, so he probably needs more than two weeks, as I'm sure he (and the other Prof as well) are busy. It was after this that I gave him the application deadlines for both schools. Yes, they would be doing me a favour, that's for sure. I've kept that in mind and thanked them a lot on the emails I sent.

[Warelin]

19 minutes ago, CoconutAvocado said:

 Hi. Thanks for the reply Are you saying it's a bad idea to specifically ask for "strong LORs?". I didn't ask for  *strong* LORs, just a LOR.

 

No. I'm saying that asking for a strong LOR is a good idea. Just asking for a LOR isn't enough because a professor can feel forced into writing a letter. The use of the word "strong" allows them to back out if they don't feel they can produce a strong LOR for you.

20 minutes ago, CoconutAvocado said:

Based on that, I guess two weeks might be too soon to email him again.

Unless you specifically mentioned when you'd mail him for updates, two weeks is way too soon. Professors often have a lot on their plate that have tighter deadlines. Besides teaching, there are department meetings, student advising, community events, conferences, invited talks, and publications that they're working on at any time. In addition, there are often times multiple people that professors are writing recommendations for. I'm not sure if you need to send them any more e-mails, but I think an apology and thank you from you in person might be beneficial. Tone is often hard to read over e-mail.

[CoconutAvocado]

Soooo, an update:

The Prof who said he would submit them by the deadlines has submitted them last week. I checked my online portal for each school and they each say his LOC has been received. I'm yet to send him a "Thank You" mail but I will, though Idk what he said, lol.

It's the other Prof who I actually thought would send the LOCs first who's yet to send them; the one who made a comment about writing me a strong LOC and said it was on his to-do list. I'm not going to contact him again but I wonder what's taking him so long or could it be that he doesn't want to write them for me? The deadline for one of them is next week and he's very much aware of this. This is so nerve-wracking. ?

[CoconutAvocado]

On 11/18/2018 at 11:28 PM, Warelin said:

No. I'm saying that asking for a strong LOR is a good idea. Just asking for a LOR isn't enough because a professor can feel forced into writing a letter. The use of the word "strong" allows them to back out if they don't feel they can produce a strong LOR for you.

Unless you specifically mentioned when you'd mail him for updates, two weeks is way too soon. Professors often have a lot on their plate that have tighter deadlines. Besides teaching, there are department meetings, student advising, community events, conferences, invited talks, and publications that they're working on at any time. In addition, there are often times multiple people that professors are writing recommendations for. I'm not sure if you need to send them any more e-mails, but I think an apology and thank you from you in person might be beneficial. Tone is often hard to read over e-mail.

Yes, i will apologize in my Thank You email to the Prof who has submitted the LOCs for me, in case he thought emailing him again was too soon or thought it was rude or something.  You're right, Tone can be hard to read over email.

Edited December 3, 2018 by CoconutAvocado