hey I was just wondering about your opinion&advice on me asking a professor for a letter of recommendation.
So I need a letter of recommendation by 6/24 for a medical mentorship program, would emailing him tomorrow be enough time? I am not really close to this professor, however I was an outstanding student that received the highest exam score in multiple exams in both semesters of organic chemistry and he always congratulated me, I earned As both semester, and went to office hours for help with questions relating to class notes, test preparation. But he doesnt really know me on personal level like my hobbies, “my story”, my extra curricular activities, etc. so is he even qualified? do i just mention in the email these things he doesnt know about me or do I ask him if he needs this info? how do I go about this? also I feel like I’m interrupting his break, is it inconsiderate of me asking him to write me a recommendation during break?
thanks for any opinion/help! btw, I just had him for the 2014-15 yr.
Yes you could ask during his break. Letters of recommendation are part of a professor’s job. He has the right to decline because he doesn’t have time or doesn’t feel like he knows you or a million other reasons, however, he won’t say “yes” if you never ask him. You could also offer to email him a resume if he feels like he needs more information about you that he didn’t learn by having you in class.
Yes, he’s qualified. You might want to remind him of some of those things so you can jog his memory of who you are. Yes, you can ask him over break- just be warned that some profs will be away from email during long stretches of time during breaks.
Thank you both for the reply/help!
It never hurts to ask. If he doesn’t have the time or if he doesn’t feel like he can write you a strong letter, he is always free to decline. Just be polite and professional when you correspond him, and of course, respectful of his time. I’d recommend just reminding him who you are and what you need the letter for, and then if he agrees to write you a letter, follow up with your resume/CV, more details about what he needs to do to submit/write the letter, and anything else you think will be helpful. He’ll ask if he wants anything else.
For the future, I always try to give at least a full month. More time is always better.