Asking for LORs as an online distance student

[katiejSLP]

Hi there!

I'm looking for some advice from fellow online students who have needed letters of recommendation from professors for grad school applications. I am in my second semester (online) through USU and love it! BUT, being strictly online, I don't really interact with my professors and I have no connection to any of them, last semester or this semester. During my first undergrad experience, I was able to connect with my instructors in person, but that was over 2 years ago and I'm afraid that too much time has passed to go back and ask for LORs...

Grad application deadlines are quickly approaching and I know now is the time to start asking professors if they would be willing to write my LORs. What advice do you have? I'm worried that my letters will not stand out because I do not have a strong personal connection to these professors! What ways can I make a connection prior to asking them to write me a LOR? 

I'd really appreciate any advice and ways to make this work as an online student! Thanks!!!

[KEIM]

A few people have given me the advice that professors at distance programs are well aware that online students will have a more difficult time connecting with them VS on campus students. They shouldn't hold it against you.

I am not attending USU but I am in my last semester at ENMU online BS program. So far, I've been able to receive an LOR for 1 out of the 3 professors I've contacted. The other 2 professors who I've reached out  to did not respond to my request AT ALL. It's almost been 3 weeks since I sent my initial email. My fears that being an online student would count against me in terms of being able to get LORs...have come true! Although, I do have a few more professors I will be contacting before I lose all hope.

Contact every single professors you've taken courses with at USU even if it's been more than 2 years ago. Start with the professors you most recently have taken classes with and have done well in. I hope you have better luck than I have! Since, USU has been around longer than ENMU's undergrad program maybe they have a better system when it comes to LORs.

Edited September 24, 2019 by KEIM

[Lwc23]

5 hours ago, KEIM said:

A few people have given me the advice that professors at distance programs are well aware that online students will have a more difficult time connecting with them VS on campus students. They shouldn't hold it against you.

I am not attending USU but I am in my last semester at ENMU online BS program. So far, I've been able to receive an LOR for 1 out of the 3 professors I've contacted. The other 2 professors who I've reached out  to did not respond to my request AT ALL. It's almost been 3 weeks since I sent my initial email. My fears that being an online student would count against me in terms of being able to get LORs...have come true! Although, I do have a few more professors I will be contacting before I lose all hope.

Contact every single professors you've taken courses with at USU even if it's been more than 2 years ago. Start with the professors you most recently have taken classes with and have done well in. I hope you have better luck than I have! Since, USU has been around longer than ENMU's undergrad program maybe they have a better system when it comes to LORs.

Could you reach beyond email and call them?  I’ll be honest, I’m not too surprised to hear this as professors can be really busy! I spoke in-person to a professor for a LOR before I graduated; later, applying while living abroad, I needed to contact that professor via email to get my LOR. It definitely took some time! Some professors are just bad at replying to emails, which is a problem, yes, but didn’t mean that she wasn’t willing to write me a LOR. The reality is that everyone's asking for LORs right now and yes, the fact that you can’t go to their office hours could be holding back a timely response to your question - but honestly, I doubt that your relationship to your professors is dissimilar from that of many other students (because there are a lot of in-person students who don’t work extra hard to form relationships, but still get LORs). Keep trying, and try different methods! But certainly don’t lose hope.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Lwc23

[Lwc23]

On 9/22/2019 at 3:50 PM, katiejSLP said:

Hi there!

I'm looking for some advice from fellow online students who have needed letters of recommendation from professors for grad school applications. I am in my second semester (online) through USU and love it! BUT, being strictly online, I don't really interact with my professors and I have no connection to any of them, last semester or this semester. During my first undergrad experience, I was able to connect with my instructors in person, but that was over 2 years ago and I'm afraid that too much time has passed to go back and ask for LORs...

Grad application deadlines are quickly approaching and I know now is the time to start asking professors if they would be willing to write my LORs. What advice do you have? I'm worried that my letters will not stand out because I do not have a strong personal connection to these professors! What ways can I make a connection prior to asking them to write me a LOR? 

I'd really appreciate any advice and ways to make this work as an online student! Thanks!!!

I would consider asking a professor that you had in the past and connected well with! I took two years off before applying and asked all of my professors from undergrad - two CSD professors who I’d spoken to about LORs before graduating, and one non-CSD professor who I reached out to during the application period to ask. I’m sure you could get LORs from your online professors but don’t dismiss professors that you had positive relationships with just because it’s been a few years! 

Otherwise, make sure you give them lots of info. for the LORs. I gave my professors copies of my transcripts, resume, SOP drafts, and a list of schools I was applying to with deadlines. Even if the professors don’t know you incredibly well, that info. makes it possible for them to write about your strengths and positive attributes in depth.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Lwc23

[KEIM]

4 hours ago, Lwc23 said:

Could you reach beyond email and call them?  I’ll be honest, I’m not too surprised to hear this as professors can be really busy! I spoke in-person to a professor for a LOR before I graduated; later, applying while living abroad, I needed to contact that professor via email to get my LOR. It definitely took some time! Some professors are just bad at replying to emails, which is a problem, yes, but didn’t mean that she wasn’t willing to write me a LOR. The reality is that everyone's asking for LORs right now and yes, the fact that you can’t go to their office hours could be holding back a timely response to your question - but honestly, I doubt that your relationship to your professors is dissimilar from that of many other students (because there are a lot of in-person students who don’t work extra hard to form relationships, but still get LORs). Keep trying, and try different methods! But certainly don’t lose hope.

Yeah, if my other professors fall through... I will be calling them. It's probably a busy time of year since the semester started a few weeks ago. Thanks for the advice!