LoR - Professor said "Ask someone else"?

[Taesan]

Hello everyone,

 

Let me start off by saying that I am an undergraduate sophomore majoring in International Studies. However, I am spending my sophomore year abroad studying in South Korea. I am considering transferring to Hawaii in order to pursue my studies of Korean and hopefully graduate with a Korean B.A. Being an out-of-state student, the thought of attending is quite unrealistic unless I am able to get several scholarships. I emailed my Korean professor back at my home university asking him if he would be willing to write me two letters of recommendations, given the fact that I was in his class for 2 semesters and he had written me several letters last year for different scholarships. He replied saying "I have already agreed to write recommendation letters for several Korean language students here, so you may have to ask someone else for the letters. Good luck with your transfer."

 

The problem I have is this: I am in need of 3 letters of recommendations, and one must be from a professor in my field of study. However, as I will be changing my major to a Korean B.A., it is important that at least one of these letters is from a Korean professor. However, he is the only Korean professor that I have had, meaning that I have no one else to ask. I did have a TA in the class, who I also emailed, but I have yet to hear back from her. I would ask one of my Korean teachers here at my university in Korea, but none of them speak English, and none of them are actual professors meaning that it would not really work for them to write any letters for me. 

 

How do I go about asking him to write me a letter of recommendation, despite what he said? I feel as if he was trying to put me down lightly by saying that he was already writing letters for several other students instead of flat out saying "No, that would not be possible." so I do not want to be pushy, but at the same time this letter is vital for the scholarship, which in turn is very important as the tuition costs are unthinkable. I understand that he may have letters for other students, but he only teaches two classes with a total of 50ish students. I can't imagine he is so busy that this is that unfeasible for him. 

 

What are your thoughts?

 

P.S. I thought about just asking other professors that were not Korean language professors, but the trouble is that I am a sophomore (who only spent two semesters at my home uni before studying abroad) so I have very few professors to ask to begin with. 

[Lisa44201]

I would not ask that professor again. You might want to look into a certified translation, and ask one of your current teachers; given that you're switching your BA to Korean, I would think that a letter from an instructor in Korea would be okay, even if that person is not a full professor, although it might be worth it to e-mail someone in the program you're transferring to and asking.

[hj2012]

I also would advise against asking that professor again because of the risk that the letter will be mediocre. If possible, I'd ask one of your current Korean instructors or another professor at your current Korean institution, especially if you've taken coursework in Korean history, literature, society, etc. Certified translation might be your best bet.

Edited January 22, 2014 by hj2012

[geographyrocks]

You could send him a follow up email that says something like:

"I completely understand that professors tend to get overwhelmed with letter requests at this time in addition to all of the other duties you must perform.  My first instinct was to contact you as I plan on obtaining a BA in Korean and one of the scholarships requests that one letter be from someone in my field.  You are the only person I know that fits that requirement."

 

You could also ask him who else might be able to write a letter for you.  Just because he refused to write a letter doesn't mean he won't try to help in whatever way he can.  Just don't pressure him for a letter. 

 

Call or email the contact for the scholarships and tell them your situation.  I'm sure they would be happy to help as well. 

 

Also, remember that he has a lot more responsibility that 2 classes and writing letters.  There is constant administrative paperwork and duties along with his own research and grant writing which is generally required of professors.  He could also have a lot of responsibility outside of the classroom. 

Edited January 22, 2014 by geographyrocks

[Meanyus]

I would also support finding another route. I would hate to see the professor get pissed off because you asked again causing them to write you a mediocre or bad recommendation. As a note of habit, I always ask my LORs if they can write me a positive letter of recommendation. You don't only need people who are willing to write a letter, but that will also go to bat for you.