Politely sending reminders for reference letter to professor over the holidays?

[wishful.thinking]

Hi all,

I am still waiting on one of my references (out of two letters) to submit their recommendation letter to a program, whose last day of document acceptance is tomorrow (Dec. 31st). This professor is my thesis supervisor, so their letter carries quite a bit of weight to my application. I was wondering if it is considered inappropriate/rude to send a reminder to my professor the day before/the day of (right before New Years...) politely re-stating the deadline for the letter? ?

I'm also worried that they will not be checking their email over the holidays (understandably so) and are busy with family events, etc. Does anyone have experience with late letter submissions, and how that may have impacted their application? I am applying to an MA in Experimental Psychology at a University in Ontario, Canada.

Thank you!

[M246]

I would still send out an email to the professor. If you have already spoken to him about submitting a letter, a polite reminder should be fine. The sooner you send it today, the higher his chances of seeing the email. I am not sure about late submissions though. Hope this helps!

[JoePianist]

33 minutes ago, M246 said:

I would still send out an email to the professor. If you have already spoken to him about submitting a letter, a polite reminder should be fine. The sooner you send it today, the higher his chances of seeing the email. I am not sure about late submissions though. Hope this helps!

I agree with M246. In most cases, if the letter writer makes a submission after the deadline, admissions committees still accept it without penalty on the student applicant. 

[SoundofSilence]

Yes, if you haven't been bugging them every day, you should definitely send a reminder.

I agree with JoePianist - faculty committees are more lenient when it comes to one of their own

However, do ask if your letter writer has received the appropriate links to access the platform etc., just in case it's a technical thing or the notification is in spam (especially if they have already submitted the others letters).

Best of luck!

[wishful.thinking]

Thank you everyone!! I've emailed my prof and now have my whole body crossed hoping they read it on time. ?

[Vanilla Bean]

Some professors apparently wait until the very last minute to submit letters for students. It's likely that they have not forgotten and are planning to submit the letter tomorrow, but sending a reminder email should not be rude or out of line. Hopefully they respond soon to give you peace of mind!