<p>For this special program that I'm applying to in my school, I need to get a science recommendation letter by april (the deadline). I don't think I interacted enough with my semester 1 professors because I didn't know that I needed a letter until late in the semester, so I'm going to try to get a letter from semester 2 bio professor. There are 3 bio lecturers for the class (they cover material for one month each). Thing is, the intro science classes at my school are huge (350 people) so the only time I could get to see them is in office hours. However, their office hours conflict with next semester's classes, so I would have to email them to set up appointments. Would it seem odd to them that the same student keeps e-mailing them to set up appointments? (considering that they are very busy people) How often would I have to meet with them to get a good letter of recommendation?</p>
<p>umm... yes, if you keep asking to see them outside of office hrs without a good reason for the regular meetings, you're only likely to annoy them. A good LOR doesn't come from repeated meetings with a professor, it comes from what you do as a regular student in and out of class that impresses them. The way to get a good LOR is to be an excellent student (e.g., sit up front in class, get the work done on time, be positive about the course, interact positively with TAs/GTAs/GSIs -- we actually have a fair amount of pull when it comes to your LOR -- sometimes we're even asked to write it for a prof, get good grades on exams and assignments, write your papers with good content and grammar following the prof's guidelines consistently, etc.) and to get involved in that prof's research (usually requires an invite from the prof to his or her lab) and then excel there.
Basically, forcing yourself upon professors by requesting regular meetings without their invitation to do so will only alienate them, resulting in not only a loss of an LOR but a reputation amongst the faculty as a socially awkward brown-noser-wannabe who just couldn't seem to get the social/"positive" part of brown-nosing down!</p>
<p>Go to the transfers forum - there is plenty of similar posts and advice there, since all transfer students need a rec or two for the application.</p>
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The way to get a good LOR is to be an excellent student (e.g., sit up front in class, get the work done on time, be positive about the course, interact positively with TAs/GTAs/GSIs -- we actually have a fair amount of pull when it comes to your LOR -- sometimes we're even asked to write it for a prof, get good grades on exams and assignments, write your papers with good content and grammar following the prof's guidelines consistently, etc.) and to get involved in that prof's research (usually requires an invite from the prof to his or her lab) and then excel there.
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ok well, I could my first term professor for the rec, but I only really met with him once (again, because my schedule conflicted with all his office hours, Errr), but he knows who I am b/c he notices that I sat in the front of the lecture... I did comminucate with him a lot through email and the blackboard discussion forum thing... But then if I ask him to write me a letter in March, he probably would have forgotten who I am...</p>
<p>Well, if your 1st sem prof shares an area of interest with you, email him asking if he has a research lab you could join (heck, if he doesn't share an area of interest with you -- adopt HIS interests). offer to do the dirty work (expect to get your hands dirty, and I mean entering tedious data and cleaning up after other research assistants in the lab if that's what he needs -- the fact that you're willing to do the stuff no one else wants to will say a lot about your potential in terms of commitment to the lab, desire to work, and your character in general). If you excelled in his class, he'll probably be willing to take you on and a rec from a prof with whom you've completed a course is far more valuable than one who's had you for less than a semester! (Common advice is that for a prof to give a good LOR you should have taken 2 courses, and ideally you've served under the prof in another capacity -- as an RA or a TA or done some applied work for him/her, etc.)</p>