LOR from an online professor??

[sophianc]

I am an our-of-field (music performance) applicant, and I graduated 5.5 years ago. I have taken the pre-reqs required for my top choice (UVM) through their pre-masters program online over the past year. I am having a hard time deciding who to ask for LORs. I have a music history professor from music school who I could get a decent letter from, as well as a more recent chemistry professor, but since all of my in-field classes have been online, even though I received A's in all of the courses, I don't feel super comfortable asking any of those professors as we have never met. Can I ask a professor who I am on good terms with (we've emailed back and forth a couple times since the course ended, and I got an A+ in her class) to write me an LOR? I would resend her a couple of my papers/projects to refresh her memory. Or wouldn't that be a strong letter? Has anyone had success doing this?

[zurako]

I had 2 speech professors that I barely talked to in my online classes wrote my recommendation, because most schools I applied to wanted recommendations from professors in the discipline. Sent them information about myself and snippets of my personal statement so they could personalize my recommendation. I got into most of the schools so you'll be fine.

If you're worried they won't be personal enough, you can always send a third recommendation from someone who will write a stellar recommendation. I had my supervisor write me one and sent it to the schools anyways.

[sophianc]

9 minutes ago, zurako said:

I had 2 speech professors that I barely talked to in my online classes wrote my recommendation, because most schools I applied to wanted recommendations from professors in the discipline. Sent them information about myself and snippets of my personal statement so they could personalize my recommendation. I got into most of the schools so you'll be fine.

If you're worried they won't be personal enough, you can always send a third recommendation from someone who will write a stellar recommendation. I had my supervisor write me one and sent it to the schools anyways.

That makes me feel better, thanks!

[ElKel87]

@sophianc I was in the same out-of-field boat, only I graduated 8 years ago! Did not keep in touch with any of my professors from undergrad. I agree with what @zurako said above. Some schools don't even require the letter writers to be academic, so you could ask a supervisor or someone at an organization you volunteered with instead. The important thing, in my opinion, is that the letter is a strong one that sings your praises in as specific ways as possible. Also, one of my online professors told me she didn't write letters for online students, so cast your net wide in case anyone says no. My final letters came from a former boss, a professor from an online SLP pre-req, and a mentor who supervised me in a work study position at the campus radio station in undergrad. 

FWIW - NYU was adamant that at least 2 of my LOR come from academic sources and they accepted me anyway with the three above. Maybe they considered that last one "academic," who knows. All to say, if you're really unsure you could reach out to the schools you're applying to explaining that you're out of field and see what they say.