Reminding LOR Writer on NYE

[I_mix]

I reminded an LOR writer today regarding my LOR and asking how things were going. The thing is is that they were supposed to submit it by today (Real deadline is Jan 5th, which I informed them of in my recent email). Was this a bad idea?

PS I sent reminders from the applications directly a few days ago (Tuesday). Apparently it wasn't supposed to take my LOR writer long to do this, as they were going to use a previous letter they wrote for me. The panic is setting in.

[fadedfigures]

Think about it from their perspective. Your LOR writer is an extremely busy person. They have many responsibilities to balance on a day-to-day basis, and one of those responsibilities now includes writing your letter. They are well aware that the deadline is approaching, but probably needed a break. The holidays are a fantastic excuse to relax and take a step back from work, even if for a day. They still have 5 more days to submit your letter. They may have said they would do it by today, but chances are that things got in the way. Since the actual deadline is on the 5th, they'll be sure to respect it.

Is it a problem that you emailed today? No, because an email can be addressed once they feel like returning to work and checking their emails. Just be sure to cut them some slack. Even using a previous letter needs to be altered for the specific program you are applying for. So if it takes 15 minutes to change the letter for a specific program, and you applied to a large number, that is a few hours to submit them all. 

You can start to be more adamant after the holidays are done. For now, let your LOR writer enjoy what is probably one of the few times during the year that he or she can relax. 

[fuzzylogician]

Is it a problem? No. Was it effective? Most likely, no. It's new year's eve and a weekend. Even professors deserve some time off. There's still time before the deadline and since this won't be a time-consuming task, they may well do it at the last minute (stressful as it may be for you). 

[rising_star]

Is it a problem? No, but mostly because your professor is unlikely to be checking their work email during their vacation and on the weekend. Think about it. Would you expect a government employee to read an email sent over a holiday weekend? Of course not. So why treat your professors differently? Do they not deserve even one weekend without checking their work email? (And, if it helps, think about it as if you were the professor in question. Would you want to work nine straight months with no days or even a whole weekend off? Probably not. So extend that attitude to them and treat them accordingly.)

[DBear]

I see you're still waiting for your LoR - hang in there. Professors seem to be VERY well aware that admissions committees give letter writers quite a bit of leeway and milk this for everything it's worth. One of the schools I contacted regarding the late letter said they were willing to wait until the end of Dec (the letter was due on the 15th) so if you really feel nervous, shoot them an email and ask if there's a very absolute last day. 

Also, I basically stalked my professor for a month - sent him text messages, emails and the online reminders as well. I sent the online reminders almost daily as the deadlines approached and texted him twice on the day of the deadline. After the deadline passed, I stopped by his office once a day. The third time I did this, he finally uploaded a big chunk of the letters. I have known him a LONG time and worked with him closely so I knew that doing all this wouldn't offend him. I did not, however, contact him on Xmas or NY because 1)I felt bad, and 2) didn't think he'd actually sit down and work on those days anyway. Since your letter writer isn't technically late yet, I think you can really start hounding her once she is. If it makes you feel better, a friend of mine who applied last year (with the same letter writer as mine) said that schools were even more flexible than she had expected. 

Good luck!! 

[fuzzylogician]

56 minutes ago, DBear said:

I basically stalked my professor for a month - sent him text messages, emails and the online reminders as well. I sent the online reminders almost daily as the deadlines approached and texted him twice on the day of the deadline. After the deadline passed, I stopped by his office once a day.

Wow. Just to be clear, this is NOT acceptable behavior if you don't know FOR A FACT that the professor is okay with this. If I had a student do this to me, I would probably refuse to write any more letters for them in the future or have any contact with them whatsoever. I think I would also strongly consider withdrawing my support for whatever I was supposed to be writing for them. That is disturbing behavior, to say the least, and not something I could honestly recommend others to accept. 

[DBear]

@fuzzylogician Sorry if I spread bad advice - Yes, I would not advise people do this in general - this particular professor is a bit notorious and to get anything at all done with him he needs to be hounded, not just with letters. People told me to sit him down and wait until he uploaded everything- which I couldn't do. Pretty special case, and again, premised on the fact that I know him and his work ethic+personality really well.