LOR Dilemma

[kateausten]

I am planning to apply to French Translation MA programs (one French Translation - Linguistics dual concentration) for next year. My major hurdle is that I can't figure out three people to get LORs from.

I spent my first two years at a major public university (a UC) where I only had classes with a couple of actual professors, and barely (if ever) spoke to any of them in person. I had some smaller classes with TAs, but I don't think I'd stand out to any of them, and to be perfectly honest I don't even remember their names. I then transferred to a LAC where students worked closely with professors. It was a very small school with only a few professors in each department, so I only had a handful of professors during my time there. Unfortunately I had one semester where I had a bit of an emotional crisis, didn't finish my work for some classes (though I passed them all), and burned some bridges that I didn't get a chance to fix through later classes with those professors. My senior capstone project was a group project and the only group project where I had issues with my group -- I wound up with a B but it was my only work with the advising professor and I don't feel comfortable asking her for a letter of recommendation based on it. I developed good relationships with three professors, one of whom I TAed under. Of those three, one passed away, one retired (and I can't find his contact information online), and another left the university. I found the last on Linkedin so I know where he works now and can probably contact him, and he has a very good opinion of my work. I feel a little awkward about it because I had a lot of interest in his field but I'm applying to a totally unrelated one -- I'm sure this is normal, I just feel a bit odd about contacting professors from my very academia-focused college for recommendations for a professional program that I'm choosing largely due to lifestyle (I do love languages and linguistics and writing, but I also want to be able to work for myself and have a job that travels easily).

I did take an interim term linguistics class with an adjunct. I got an A in the class and we had a good rapport but I'm not sure if a 1-month class is enough to request an LOR, and I'm not sure where she is teaching now or whether I'll be able to find her contact information. Even if I am able to contact her, that leaves me with two LORs and I need a third.

What should I do? I'm working full-time with an inflexible schedule and I can't take additional classes just to get an LOR at this time, plus that would require delaying applying by another year and killing another year in my current until-I-go-to-grad-school career. My current job is unrelated and I'm not sure what coworkers could contribute besides saying that I show up and work hard, plus I graduated in 2010 so I feel it would look bad if I use professional rather than academic recommendations (not to mention the fact that it's always a bad idea to advertise that you plan to leave the company soon). I even looked into classes at the Alliance Francaise or something, but there aren't any that work with my schedule. Do I just start looking up the classes I got an A in and see if the professor could write something for me? Does anyone have suggestions?

[mandarin.orange]

I would go with the two you've mentioned so far - the one you found on LinkedIn, and then the adjunct. I think good rapport with the adjunct trumps tracking down a prof who may or may not remember your coursework. Then, try harder to sleuth out where the retired one is. What about calling the dept's admin staff at your alma mater? Contacting his/her peers at said institution, who could possibly still be in touch?

How competitive is admission to your desired program, and what do grads of it go on to do after? Do you have any sense of that, and how much the letters matter? I've had jobs where the letters/refs were a formality more than anything. Now, I've learned letters of rec in my current dept are weighted very, very heavily, but it's also an environment that favors high-level research and training MOAR ACADEMICS.

[kateausten]

I don't think the program is too competitive, and I'm applying to the professional track rather than the research track. I may be applying to others that are more competitive if I don't get into this program for Spring, but all would be professional programs.

In trying to do some sleuthing I discovered that the professor I thought had retired also passed away (I assumed he had retired when I didn't see his name on the school website as he was that age and I wasn't aware that he was sick). The program requires 3 letters, so I need to pull at least 1 out of somewhere, assuming I am successful at contacting the other two. I can't be the first person to face this sort of situation -- what is it that people do? Could I write an email explaining my situation to professors whose classes I did well in and whose classes involved some sort of discussion or interaction to ask for a letter? Or should I try with the research supervisor, who didn't see my best work, but should at least remember my name?

[mandarin.orange]

I would explore ALL these options at this point with some "feeler" emails and conversations - your old profs, the research sup who saw mediocre work, and your current boss. Don't get bogged down with lengthy explanations or excuses; just be up-front about your goals, the specialty of the program you are applying for, and your strengths that you feel a LOR from that person could attest to. Offer to send a draft of your SOP. I wrote LORs for my high schoolers and the more specifics they gave me, the better my letter - even if I didn't know them well before the request. Go with whomever is most responsive. And I wouldn't rule out your boss...two of my three LORs were from non-academics. While I was confident there were at least 2 profs from undergrad that could write me fantastic letters, I asked supervisors because I felt it was more recent, and they could speak to my current skill set.

The danger is that you may get a "faint praise" or nonspecific letter, and if the AdCom's decision hinges on that and this app season is not successful...then you may have to consider the route of taking classes again to build better relationships.

Edited June 23, 2012 by mandarin.orange

[kateausten]

I'll send out some feeler emails to the old professors. My current boss is not an option -- it's just not the type of work environment where management would ever be supportive of someone having goals outside the company, it would result in retaliation if not firing or sabotage. My trusted coworkers are already serving as references for me in trying to get a different job, and it could compromise those references if I tell them I'm looking to start school soon anyways.

Is having a copy of an SOP absolutely vital before asking for an LOR? I'm trying to pull this all together in 3 months, My life is pretty tense already (job, commute, possible surgery in the near future with a lot of pre-surgery doctor's appointments, looking for another job) so I was planning to put all time into studying for the entrance exam and GRE initially, writing the SOP in the last month before the due date after the tests are done. I know I need to ask for LORs a couple months before the due date so the recommenders are not rushed.

[mandarin.orange]

Is having a copy of an SOP absolutely vital before asking for an LOR?

"Absolutely vital"...probably not. But recommended, esp. for those references you've been out of touch with for awhile.

Good luck with this application season, and everything else you're coping with right now.

[kateausten]

A bit of an update...I have contacted three professors and so far only one has replied. Has anyone had this happen? I'm hoping they just check their email rarely during the summer, but it's possible that contact info has changed or they are avoiding me because they don't want to respond.

The two that haven't replied are an adjunct that I took 1 class with and my thesis supervisor. The adjunct I found through google at another university, google brought up a page with her email but I couldn't find her in a faculty directory so I have no idea if she is there. She doesn't have a linkedin. The other is still at my college (tenured).

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do at this point. Contact professors who don't know my name in unrelated fields that I only had 1 class with and haven't saved any of my papers from and hope they are willing to do me a favor?