<p>I am applying for a study abroad scholarship and I need two letters of recs. I asked my prof at the end of November if he would write me a letter and he said he would so I emailed him the directions for the reference. He didn't email me back so I assumed he was working on it. That was about 3 or 4 weeks ago and I still haven't gotten any indication he received the email or that he is working on the letter; I need it by January 5 at the latest. What's a good way to ask him about this or should I assume that he is working on the letter? I dont want to bother him and I know he is probably working on a ton of recommendations right now.</p>
<p>You could try just sending him an email thanking him for writing the letter and wishing him happy holidays. If he’s written it, or is writing it, he’ll appreciate the thank you. If he hasn’t it’ll remind him to get at it.</p>
<p>I would never consider this bothering your rec writer. Did you give him a deadline of Jan. 5? When you ask a rec writer to write on your behalf, it is appropriate to check in about a week or so before the deadline to remind them or to confirm it was sent. With the holidays and all, it would be appropriate now for you to check in. You can thank him but also ask him to confirm it was sent or that he is aware of the due date and to drop you a note when it is sent. </p>
<p>Nobody is going to care about your admissions process as much as you and so you have to check on things and confirm them. My own kid has had a very tough time with this with one of her rec writers and numerous contacts and she has done everything right and he has been late on her schools so far and still hasn’t submitted to one of her schools. It’s been stressful.</p>
<p>I suggest that you check in with him by telephone right away. You can start with something like, “My emails sometimes seem to end up in spam filters, so I’m worried that the messages I sent to you went astray.” That way you won’t put him on the spot but you also won’t be sitting around wondering if you’ll ever hear from him.</p>