just when i thought it couldn't get any worse..

[melusine]

vent post disclaimer warning. venting and moaning ahead.

soooooo... i had this top recommender who agreed to read over my SOP.

and by top, i mean top. as in not someone who's just a great prof (+), but a famous prof (++), even outside of our field (+++), as in makes regular tv appearances/has wiki page/etc, and is also a regular lecturer at one of the top schools i'm applying to (+++++!!!!!).

well, after keeping my hopes up, leading me on, making promises of rosy futures, etc... the top recommender just decides to vanish. completely and utterly. for like 1.5 months. i send 3 emails into the void.

then out of the blue, i get an email asking me how things are. i resend the SOP and everything.

SILENCE... for another month.

in the meantime, my first submission package is due mid-november. so in less than a month.

and i know they're not dead.

because i called the university and actually speak to them. and they (the top recommender) said they had *ahem* probs with their email (for the last 2 months...). and told me to send everything again (to the same adress..) and that they have a plane to catch (or perhaps a flying saucer or something of that nature), and they'd get back to me tomorrow, really, truly, cross my heart and hope to be spanked very hard for being a big bad recommender.

it's been 2.5 WEEKS.

i have about 2.5 left.

this suuuuuuuuuucks.

Edited October 23, 2009 by melusine

[jlee306]

Yeah, that really does suck! Hopefully he/she will come around and get all their eggs in one basket and finally read that SOP! All I can say is stay on their case until they read it...it's not your fault they made promises to you and didn't keep them. If that person is as great as you say they are, don't let them get away without reading your SOP and giving you the best critique ever given!!!

[modernity]

I had this happen to me last year...well the professor wasn't even that prestigious. One disappeared, until the last second... and another was spotty and unresponsive. They both apologized. I was thankful regardless- I mean they took time to write for me and that meant a lot, but it made it difficult and stressful for sure. On top of that, I had several people I had in mind as recs that just completely disappeared off the face of the earth - as in, no one, not even their colleagues could locate them! Recs are one of my least favorite items of the process. Its something I have no control over... I can't even help it if they submit it at the last second, or even late...

But, as far as the SOP reading... make sure you have a backup plan. I am guessing as busy as this person must be, even if you are one of their favorite students, its going to be difficult for you to get them to sit still long enough to really be helpful to you. Maybe opt for someone with less frills, but still some good advice?