I need new LOR. Do I have enough time?

[noodles.galaznik]

So, I'm reapplying to grad school for the 2012 season, and I'm going to need some new LOR writers. I just found out that one of mine is out in Africa with very limited access to communication lines for the next year, and another is a curator I worked for-- he doesn't have a PhD, so I feel that a recommendation from him wouldn't carry as much weight as someone who does. So, I need to replace two of mine. I'm taking some courses as a non-degree seeking student and hopefully doing some volunteer work/research, so would that give me enough time to find some new LOR writers up here?

[newms]

Will you be doing courses over the summer? If so then I'd say definitely 'yes', especially if you're doing some research work over the summer. If the courses start in the fall, then it's going to be tight. Perhaps you could approach the profs from the start of the course and let them know that you're looking for opportunities to do research since you're applying to grad schools. That way you won't have to ask them out of the blue in November to submit letters for December deadlines.