Asking Recommenders for another recommendation?

[mj53]

So I got rejected from everywhere this year (mainly my fault for only applying to PhD programs when I should have had some Masters programs as well due to lack of experience).

But now I have the unfortunate task of having to e-mail all my recommenders that I didn't get in and need another LOR for next year.

I find it very embarrassing and have just sort of been staring at a blank e-mail message for the last 30 minutes cause I don't know how to word this without sounded pathetic.

For those who have had to do this before, what was the best way to word your e-mail? Obviously you thank them for taking the time to write the first. Didn't think I would be in this position when I first applied and it really sucks badly.

[newms]

Hey mj53. I was in your position last year. Emailing my LoR writers to tell them that I wasn't successful and that I needed their help again was one of the harder parts for me in reapplying. You almost feel like you disappointed them and you wonder if they would bother to spend the effort to help you again. Of the three that I emailed, 1 didn't get back to me, but the other 2 were very supportive and expressed their confidence that I should be able to get in. They also gave good advice. Thankfully, I was able to find another LoR writer and everything worked out for me this time. In my email, I had thanked them and explained why I thought I wasn't successful and what I was planning to do to make my application stronger for this year. I also asked their advice on what I could do to improve my chances.

Ultimately, your former profs want you to be successful, and they understand how competitive getting into grad school can be, so they are likely to be supportive of your desire to apply again. Good luck and don't wait too long before sending that email to your LoR writers.

[jaxzwolf]

Hey mj53. I was in your position last year. Emailing my LoR writers to tell them that I wasn't successful and that I needed their help again was one of the harder parts for me in reapplying. You almost feel like you disappointed them and you wonder if they would bother to spend the effort to help you again. Of the three that I emailed, 1 didn't get back to me, but the other 2 were very supportive and expressed their confidence that I should be able to get in. They also gave good advice. Thankfully, I was able to find another LoR writer and everything worked out for me this time. In my email, I had thanked them and explained why I thought I wasn't successful and what I was planning to do to make my application stronger for this year. I also asked their advice on what I could do to improve my chances.

Ultimately, your former profs want you to be successful, and they understand how competitive getting into grad school can be, so they are likely to be supportive of your desire to apply again. Good luck and don't wait too long before sending that email to your LoR writers.

This. I, too, was in a similar position last year. The difference was that I attended a small college for undergrad, and I had good relationships will all three of my recommendation letter writers. This meant that I'd kept in touch with them during the application process and they all knew as I went along that I was slowly getting rejected from school after school. Even so, one of the hardest parts for me about not getting in was contacting them and asking if they'd be willing to recommend me again. I did feel as if I'd let them down in some way, and I was concerned they'd take my rejections as evidence that I shouldn't be applying to grad school, and as a result would be reluctant to continue to serve as references on my behalf.

In the emails I sent I thanked them all for the time and effort they'd put in to recommendation letters, expressed my continued interest to attend grad school, and asked politely if they'd be willing to write letters for me another round. The response was wonderful-- they were all surprised that I didn't receive an offer, tried to reason the outcome with the state of the economy, and encouraged me to apply again. One of my references got his butt in gear as a result, and finally started working to submit a joint paper for publication, one we'd been editing for months. One of the others offered to read over all of my application materials to suggest ways I could improve my SOP, etc. And all three really beefed up their letters for my second round of applications. It was tough, but they were extremely supportive, and it worked! I'll be headed to grad school this fall.

newms is right: they want you to succeed. If any of them are unwilling to go to bat for you a second time, then it's probably best to find a different reference anyway-- one that really does want the best for you and will show it in their letters.

[Neuronista]

I think, sadly, I'll be in the same situation. I applied to several schools this year and I'm being rejected by each of them one after the other. I still have one school that didn't reply yet but I'm just assuming it will be a rejection too. Whatever.

Like jaxzwolf, I have a good relationship with all my LOR writers. And one of them, in particular, knows that I'm being rejected (I'm still too embarrassed to tell the others) but still has hope that I just might get accepted into this last place I'm waiting on. He's very supportive and already offered that if nothing works out, he will always be ready to supply me with the number of LOR's a want and that he'll help me improve my application for another round. One other LOR writer is on sabbatical leave; however, before he left he told me to always e-mail him whenever I needed anything and whenever I needed any more LORs. Very sweet of him too.

I know my LORs wish me the very best and that they really do want me to go for that PhD. They were the ones who encouraged me to apply in the first place. But I'm still very embarrassed from them and from everyone else who knew that I was applying. I feel like I want to hide from everyone for a while until they all forget about me and my PhD hunting

Just wanted to vent. Good luck mj53 and to everyone else wants to reapply. We can do this. It's just that our time hasn't come yet!