Extreme Frustration

[geographyrocks]

I don't know if this is common or if I'm just special.  Others can feel free to jump in with their frustrating LOR stories as well.

 

I've only applied to 4 universities.  The department I'm in is very small, and I think I am the only one applying to Graduate school.  One of my professors has managed to have issues with turning in recommendations to 2 different schools.  My other letter writers seem to have no problem at all.  I've had to speak with him several times to resubmit recommendations.  He resubmitted one recommendation last week (I didn't yet know that another school didn't have his recommendation either) via email.  I call today because it still isn't showing up in the web portal and they tell me that they haven't received ANYTHING from him.  What the fudge, man?

If that wasn't bad enough, while speaking to another senior professor here who has worked with him the entire 15 years he's been here, he expressed extreme doubt that he ever turned them in at all!  I thought I was being smart by asking the Chair of the department to write recommendations, but I was clearly mistaken.  

 

Anyone else have these issues?  

[Pollux]

I would recommend going in to your department Chair and telling him that you understand if he has too many commitments on his plate right now, and is unable to complete the letter. His response should give you a better idea of whether he's actually tried to submit it, has written it but been absentminded, or if he doesn't plan to submit it. Then work on your backup plan. Contact the places you're applying and let them know the situation: you've requested the letter well in advance of the deadline, you've been in contact with your recommender, and the LOR will be coming shortly.

 

If there is another professor at your institution that you know well, you could ask (very nicely and humbly and apologetically) if s/he would possibly be willing to write you an LOR on very short notice. I had a situation in the past where one of my recommenders simply didn't submit, despite constant nagging, email reminders, etc. The schools I was applying to contacted me to let me know that they'd received nothing from him a week after the deadline, so I asked another professor I was close with to write one, and he had it turned in within 24 hours.

Good luck -- that's a frustrating situation.

[arakawa]

I am having the same problem with one of my letter writers. He agreed to write me a letter in October, but not only he does not return my e-mail and messages, he already missed 2 deadlines. 

 

I think somehow they feel indebted to write a letter for their students, but at the same time, they are very busy with other projects. I would rather had a "no" as an answer in the first place!