rlywrmn Posted January 7, 2015 Posted January 7, 2015 Hi Everyone! As a lot of you, I'm getting a little anxious about all of my materials being received on time by graduate programs. All of my materials are in except for 3/4 letters of recommendation. While one of them isn't due until February 1st, the other two are due in about a week (Jan. 15). I sent a reminder email on December 28th ish. Do you think it's overkill to send another email today and say that the programs suggest the letters be submitted 4 business days early? I kind of see it as since it's such an important thing, I don't feel bad pestering with reminders, but I wanted some other advice. Thanks everyone, and happy applying!
Missthang Posted January 7, 2015 Posted January 7, 2015 Don't hesitate to call/stop by/email! Being a little more direct by personally calling or stopping by their office may be better since emails may go unseen. I had a friend whose LOR writer didn't check her email often and she missed the deadline. Luckily the program was forgiving after she called them explaining what happened and they allowed her to submit the letter after the deadline. Contact them in a different way if what you've done to previously remind them hasn't seemed to work and don't forget to remain professional and show gratitude that they completed it(basically don't appear panicky even though you totally are... application season is the worst, but it's almost over!). Good luck with everything!
lisa19 Posted January 7, 2015 Posted January 7, 2015 Have you already told your writers that they should be submitted 4 business days early? If not, you definitely want to tell them this information. Either way, I wouldn't say it's overkill to send a reminder a week ahead of time. I would say it's better to possibly annoy someone (or they may even be thankful for your reminder!) rather than risk not being considered for one of your programs because an LOR did not get in on time. One thing to keep in mind though is that with most applications online, your writers can submit your letter the minute before the deadline and it will be ok. This is a good thing because it gives them more time, but it keeps applicants extremely anxious. One of my writers didn't get my letter in until the day the application was due. However, I knew her very well and trusted that she would get it in on time so I wasn't too worried about it. I would think about each writer and your previous experiences with them. Do they always respond to emails in a timely fashion? If you've had them as a professor, do they grade exams/papers by the following class? You'll know best if you can rely on your writers to get it in on time. If not, a few extra reminders wouldn't hurt. Good luck!
timberlake Posted January 7, 2015 Posted January 7, 2015 I'm in the same position. I have 2 deadlines on the 15th and only one professor has submitted her letters. I think I'm going to wait until Friday to send a reminder. My online applications have a 'remind' function, so I'll use that instead of a personal email.
bindlestiff Posted January 7, 2015 Posted January 7, 2015 I don't think that's overkill at all! I've heard from multiple professors that the more reminders they get, the better. I think the only way you could overdo it is if you literally filled up their inbox. So if I were you I'd go ahead and email them today, and I would also include the info about how to submit their recommendations. Have you looked at the recommendations sections of your applications? On 4/5 of mine there's an option where you can send official email reminders straight from the application. When I reminded my recommenders, I sent them a message from my own email account explaining that they would receive official reminders that day and reiterating the due dates and other basic information, plus more detailed info for the one application that doesn't send official reminders (CSDCAS). I hope that made sense! I have a quick question for you rlywrmn: I see that you're an undergrad at UW-Madison. May I ask why you're not applying there? I'm wondering if you have any specific insight on the department/program that deterred you from applying.
rlywrmn Posted January 7, 2015 Author Posted January 7, 2015 Thanks everyone! Looks like I'll be sending reminders shortly! Bindlestiff, as for your question I believe that I simply do not have the stats to get into Wisconsin's SLP program. As for how my undergrad went, I loved it. Professors are all amazing (some more than others). My biggest critique on big schools is and always will be huge class sizes. However, that won't be a problem in graduate school. I definitely would have applied if I believed I could get in. Part of me also wants to move on from that chapter of my life to a new university. Haha - hope that answers your question. bindlestiff 1
rising_star Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 rlywrmn, it's okay to send a reminder one week before the deadline. But, don't lie and say the programs want the letters 4 business days before the deadline. Everyone knows that isn't true, including the people writing your letters, and they may question why you'd be deceptive about this. bindlestiff and katpdx 1 1
kayyyyy_ Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 oh man, so glad you guys are in this same boat. I had an application due Jan 1st, eastern time at midnight and my professor posted it at 8pm that day. I almost freaked out! don't hesitate to send reminders!
MangoSmoothie Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 I also agree that it's not a bad thing to remind them, especially so close to the deadline! But one thing that might put your mind at ease is that schools are a litlte more lenient with letters of recommendation. It obviously depends on the schools, but the two schools I emailed said it was no problem. One of my letters of rec told me she wouldn't be able to make early Jan deadlines, but told me the schools wouldn't care anyway, and sure enough, I emailed these schools and they said they would look at the letters that were recieved late anyway. One even said that the 1st deadline is just when things have to be submitted on the applicant's end, and that because they don't look at applications right away (obviously), it was alright for a letter of rec to be a little late. They're all in now, thankfully, but two of them were late for the 1st deadline (I was not expecting two to be late, but such is life...), and one was late for the 5th. I'm not too worried about it. And a sidenote about Madison's program: It is super competitive! I did my undergrad there as well, and some friends in the field were flat-out told not to apply by the department advisors because their stats were too low. rlywrmn 1
rlywrmn Posted January 14, 2015 Author Posted January 14, 2015 Admin person - not lying. Got an email from Marquette University saying to make sure that all materials are submitted early because it typically takes 3-4 business days to process everything. However, after lisa19's post I figured that the email was referring to mailed in materials and not materials that are submitted online. And thanks everyone for the words of wisdom! I appreciate it and to everyone that said they're in the same boat as me - I'm sure we'll all be fine!! bindlestiff 1
lakegirl92 Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Hi everyone, I was in a similar boat last week. I had asked two professors (one CSD and one sign language) to write letters and one professional. For some reason one if my academic references submitted her letter to two schools and just stopped sending it to all other schools. I asked in August and gave her the packet beginning of October with step by step information on what to do. Long story short, i have three schools with deadlines on the 15th (tomorrow) and she hasn't answered my emails in over 2 weeks. Fortunately I was able to find someone to write a letter for me,but she is a speech pathologist, not an academic reference. So Now I technically have 2 professional and one academic. A lot of schools require 2 academic. Should I email the schools and tell them the situation?
MangoSmoothie Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 I contacted one school who has the oppoosite view point of the other two I contacted. If my last letter of rec doesn't submit his letter by midnight tonight, their deadline, they can't consider my application. I've sent him four emails this week about this, and he hasn't contacted me, and my department doesn't allow you to call the faculty, so there's not much I can do.
timberlake Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 LoRs have been the most stressful part of the application process. Two have been great, but the other is sketchy. I never know which email he'ill respond to, or if he's even seen the others. I have two deadlines tonight. I know one school is flexible, but the other is not (and they are super unorganized). What sucks the most is that I'll be out approx. $75.
MangoSmoothie Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Did it end up working out timberlake? My professor managed to get his in today, but he never responded to my emails letting me know he did so. I saw by refreshing the applications every 20 minutes. :\ While some schools are flexible with LOR deadlines, I really think all of them should be. At least a little bit. They don't start looking at applications the day after the deadline anyway, and because of the cost to the applicant (GRE score fee, transcript fees, application fee, postage fees), it seems unfair to toss out an otherwise complete application entirely because of something that was largely out of their hands, especially if that letter was only a day late. The woman at one of the two schools I called today was very sympathetic, but also said they could not budge on this policy. So far this professor submitted all of my letters late, except for the schools that use CSDCAS that have a deadline after he submitted his letter there. I did send periodic reminders before the deadline dates. I had another professor who said she'd submit her letters late even, but ended up being on time. I should have been wary about asking him when he told the story of a woman from his class who applied last year and was rejected to all her schools because one of her LORs never made it to any her schools. It might have been his... I definitely agree, letters of rec have been the most stressful part of the application cycle for me from the beginning, although then I was just nervous about who to ask. :\ Edited January 16, 2015 by MangoSmoothie
timberlake Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 I sent my forms to two of my letter writers in early December. They both said they would have them out within a couple days (though I know only one did). Flash forward to the beginning of January when I emailed two separate people to check the receipt of all of my supplemental materials. I finally got a response a week later saying they didnt have my LoRs, but that they were still going through mail. A couple days after that (I guess when they finished) they confirmed they didn't have them (Monday). So I emailed both professor and asked if they could send out another copy (as long as it was postmarked by the 15th). One professor answered back right away, and she asked if she could fax it. I didn't see a problem with that because the form said "when completed mail to .... fax...." but I said I would call to confirm (also on Monday). So I called the school and left my name, number and question. Then I emailed again on Tuesday. No response to either. So yesterday at 6pm (6 hours before the deadline) I finally get a call back saying faxes were not acceptable, but they could email a copy of the form by 11:59pm. I emailed both professors and randomly got a response from the one who never replies. He emails me the completed form, I replied back saying he needed to submit them directly to the school, he never confirmed that he did, so I'm not sure if that one made it. The professor who has been really great at sending letters never responded, but I don't hold that against her. I'm pretty pissed off. I'm about to send the graduate office an email that I hope doesn't sound too b*tchy.
timberlake Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 My professor still hasn't written the letter that was due last Thursday.
selbstverteidigung Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with the problem. I'm having trouble since I did my pre-requisite coursework online. Out of 11 different courses, each taught by someone different, only 3 agreed to write me an LOR. And I had a 95% and above in every course! I work from home and travel a lot. For the summer I was on the road, traveling from the east to west coast. For the Fall, I was in South Africa, scrambling to get things submitted on time, sometimes hitchhiking or walking 10 miles and back because the internet was so spotty. If that doesn't indicate enough dedication. I swear, if you're too hesitant to write your best students an LOR because you don't know them that well personally, the ones who are also paying your salary, then don't teach an online class! I hope everyone gets all their materials in on time or at least gets an application refund from the referee who is slacking! Seriously. Edited January 21, 2015 by gendertreachery
selbstverteidigung Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 My professor still hasn't written the letter that was due last Thursday. Is one of them from JU perhaps?
combustiblecake Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I had a professor who also took a considerable amount of time to write her letter. She also didn't respond to my e-mails for weeks, which had me anxious during the whole process! I even tried calling but her number is conveniently disconnected. However, I am really close friends with one of her grad students and said grad student was nice to ask her in person about it for me. Sometimes professors who are far in their tenure are very lazy when it comes to letters of recommendation. Edited January 21, 2015 by waitwhichgaby
selbstverteidigung Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 I had a professor who also took a considerable amount of time to write her letter. She also didn't respond to my e-mails for weeks, which had me anxious during the whole process! I even tried calling but her number is conveniently disconnected. However, I am really close friends with one of her grad students and said grad student was nice to ask her in person about it for me. Sometimes professors who are far in their tenure are very lazy when it comes to letters of recommendation. I hope she writes you a nice one though. My experience in another field in the past is that if there are any doubts, any signs things aren't going to get done, the letters aren't going to be very strong either, and sometimes they might not even be a recommendation at all! Trust your instincts during this process even if it's a pain.
timberlake Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 Is one of them from JU perhaps? The professor? No. I see you're applying there, too! At this point I think I'm going to ask another professor. I just hate to ask last minute.
combustiblecake Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) :\ Edited January 21, 2015 by waitwhichgaby
combustiblecake Posted January 21, 2015 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Luckily, I only applied to two schools since I still need to complete the pre reqs so I'm not 100% counting on getting in but I know I won't ask her again because she's retired and lagging behind on everything. I also know other people who are more responsible than her. If she did write a bad letter, then it kind of sucks since I've been in her lab since freshman year and have done wonderfully according to all the grad students. I've had a rough time with my major :\ it's a top 5 school and I can't believe how unsupportive my department has been. Edited January 21, 2015 by waitwhichgaby
timberlake Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I asked another professor and she said yes!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now