my professor said no...

[ceeceeroni]

Since im not in the states currently, i asked one of my psych professors for LoR and she sent me an email back saying she cannot write one because she has agreed to write more than 15 recs already and she will be on maternity leave next semester...i cannot think of any other profs to ask for a recommendation letter what should i do?

i have four or five to ask for a recommendation letter from non-academic sources and only one from my lab advisor...

[fuzzylogician]

For starters, I'd try writing back and saying very politely that although you understand the pressure she is under, you don't have any other people who you could ask to write a letter on your behalf. This creates a serious problem for your application, and you don't know what to do now. Would she be willing to reconsider? Say you would be very happy to help facilitate writing the letter in any way that you can (e.g. give her supporting materials, maybe even suggest writing bullet-points for the content or something, though I wouldn't actually offer to write a full draft for her unless she explicitly asks for it). Perhaps she'll change her mind; you have nothing to lose by trying. 

[BeingThere]

Oh no!  That is a bad situation to be in.  However, I am not sure I would write that professor imploring her to change her mind.  She obviously has limits to what she can do and she has set those limits.  I am wondering how good a letter she would write you if she is saying no now.  She obviously doesn't feel so strongly about you that she is willing to stretch herself to do it.  But, if you feel like that is your only option, well. . .

 

Are you applying this cycle? (It does seem a little late to just now be asking profs for letters.)  If you aren't applying 'til spring or next fall, can you develop some relationships in the next few months with profs who at least know you by name now?

 

I'm not clear from what you wrote; are you saying you only have one LOR from an academic source at this point?  Are any of those outside-academia sources from people in a field related to your area of interest?  If you've been out of school for a little while, I'm sure that makes it harder.    

[fuzzylogician]

Here is my logic: the professor said nothing about not being able to write a strong letter for the OP, this is more a matter of the OP asking for a letter rather late, and the professor having already agreed to write many letters for other people. The decision to put the cap at 15 is understandable but also arbitrary. I'm sure the professor is just trying to get a handle on the stress and workload in her life, but I don't think she would want to damage anybody's chances of getting into grad school. She probably hopes that the OP (and others she turns down) have other people who they could ask for letters of similar strength so they will be alright. If the OP is really stuck, maybe the professor will still help him out. I still think there is nothing to lose by trying here. If she says yes, I don't see any reason why she would write a bad letter--this is just about reducing workloads. Writing a bad letter is no less work than writing a good letter (it's the writing that takes time!) and besides I didn't get the impression that that's something you'd have any reason to expect would happen. 

[BeingThere]

Here is my logic: the professor said nothing about not being able to write a strong letter for the OP, this is more a matter of the OP asking for a letter rather late, and the professor having already agreed to write many letters for other people. The decision to put the cap at 15 is understandable but also arbitrary. I'm sure the professor is just trying to get a handle on the stress and workload in her life, but I don't think she would want to damage anybody's chances of getting into grad school. She probably hopes that the OP (and others she turns down) have other people who they could ask for letters of similar strength so they will be alright. If the OP is really stuck, maybe the professor will still help him out. I still think there is nothing to lose by trying here. If she says yes, I don't see any reason why she would write a bad letter--this is just about reducing workloads. Writing a bad letter is no less work than writing a good letter (it's the writing that takes time!) and besides I didn't get the impression that that's something you'd have any reason to expect would happen. 

 

I did not say that I think she would write a bad letter.  Letters take our recommenders' time and energy to write.  She could have had a very valid reason for limiting it to 15 (that's a lot of writing about how special and gifted and "top 1%" each student is). 

 

I am putting myself in her shoes.  If I absolutely thought a student really shined and the world would not be right unless they got into a PhD program, I would agree to write them a letter if I possibly could at all.  I think any professor realizes that we students only have a limited number of people we've developed substantial enough relationships with to actually get a great letter from.  Just as there is a difference between a bad and great letter, there is a difference between a good and a great letter.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Bren2014

[fuzzylogician]

"I am wondering how good a letter she will write you..."

 

My point is that the refusal was not about the content but about outside considerations of the professor's.