High school teacher recommendation?

[bryn04]

I have hit a bump in the Grad school application process...

It has been over two years since I have been in college and couldn't find a job until recently either. So I decided to go to grad school but I need LOR's and my college professors won't remember me. My only choice is to have an old high school teacher write one ( who is a family friend as well) and possibly my supervisor from my job. Will this be accepted? The universities want LOR's to be on an official letterhead and I'm not sure my high school or my workplace has them. I'm not sure what to do. Do I risk not sending in a LOR from my college? Or do I try to track down an old professor and ask them?

[waddle]

A letter from a high school teacher is a big no. Job supervisor, maybe. Try sending your old professors an email. They might actually remember you. (Try trawling the forums for previous threads from people who have lost contact with professors.)

[wtncffts]

I have to echo waddle's point: do not get a recommendation from a high school teacher. A high school teacher cannot remark on your ability to do graduate-level work. It also makes you seem as though you haven't done anything in college.

I have to say, with no offense intended, that it doesn't seem like your motivations for wanting to go to grad school are very sound. I mean, feel free to apply, but if you're doing this as a 'fallback' thing and you have little confidence that anything you did in college was remarkable, why do you think you would be accepted and succeed in grad school? Perhaps you're just underplaying your record in college; as waddle said, you might be surprised.

[natsteel]

The thing to keep in mind, bryn04, is that admissions committees are not looking for character references. They are looking for informed opinion as to your ability or potential to do graduate-level work. Two years is not all that long. Did you keep your best work from your undergraduate years? When visiting a professor to ask for a LOR, you should bring along some of the work you did for that professor as well as copies of your personal statement and CV, especially if it's been a while since the class or if the class was large.

[Count de Monet]

email two professors from college who you took either more than once, or in whose class you know you put forth a great amount of effort. They might remember you. If not, start emailing professors in whose class you got an A in. If any of them even vaguely remember you, ask if they will write you a recommendation providing that you give them your SoP, writing sample, resume and a copy of the papers you wrote for their class (you do still have them saved right?). Giving them all those things will make it so much easier on them to write the letter.

That's your only option. No recommendations from professors means no grad school.

[bryn04]

Thanks guys, I was hoping to get clear cut advice. And that really helps alot.

As for my intentions for grad school, I graduated in three years because I was very motivated to get into the workforce (unfortunately I didn't know the economy would be as bad as it was) and spent a semester of that time abroad. So I wasn't at my university long enough to establish relationships with my professors like I would have wanted to. The semester I spent abroad was my last semester and therefore received my degree after my credits from the university abroad rolled in. My plan at the time was to go back abroad and teach english until the economy cleared up and I could find a job, but due to circumstances, I ended up finding unpaid work as an intern for an organization. I am actually applying to grad school abroad because I want to get a masters and at the same time, have more experiences abroad while I am still young. I am very capable of earning a masters, I just timed things wrong from the beginning and now find myself scrambling.

I have a professor in mind for one, but as for a second, it will be a stretch. I unfortunately lost all my coursework samples not too long ago so that may be a challenge. I was just curious if professors are used to having to write LOR for students they don't remember and if so, how good could the letter possibly be?

[wtncffts]

I'm not sure, but I would think that most professors would simply not write a letter if they had no recollection of the student. I mean, the notion is there in the title: you're asking them to say, "hey, this student did good work with or for me and I think they would make an excellent graduate student". If a professor had any amount of intellectual honesty, they wouldn't recommend somebody about whom they have no idea.

[MoJingly]

My current PI told me that, harsh as it might sound, your recommenders should have doctoral degrees.

[colormehappy]

I'm not sure, but I would think that most professors would simply not write a letter if they had no recollection of the student. I mean, the notion is there in the title: you're asking them to say, "hey, this student did good work with or for me and I think they would make an excellent graduate student". If a professor had any amount of intellectual honesty, they wouldn't recommend somebody about whom they have no idea.

I think a lot of professors actually would (and do). It's part of the job. It might not be a great letter, but if a student did well enough in the class, I think they would write it. Whether they remember the individual student, they probably remember the course itself, how challenging/not it was, and what a particular grade in that course means.

[wtncffts]

I think a lot of professors actually would (and do). It's part of the job. It might not be a great letter, but if a student did well enough in the class, I think they would write it. Whether they remember the individual student, they probably remember the course itself, how challenging/not it was, and what a particular grade in that course means.

Perhaps you're right, I don't know. But I don't think it's 'part of the job' in the sense that it is mandated. Profs don't get punished or reprimanded for not doing particular recommendations; a student can't complain to the chair or dean about a prof's unwillingness to recommend her. Of course, most profs do write recs because they want their students, especially the promising ones, to succeed.

[Triple Tall Cappuccino]

Worst case scenario, try taking a class this upcoming semester (assuming you're applying 2012 and this is not a really old post), excel in it, and ask that professor.

When I applied for my MA 3 years after my undergrad, I was surprised that most of my professors remembered me! It doesn't hurt to ask!