<p>Since its too late for me to apply to grad schools, not to mention i was very hesitant about applying, i decided to take at least a year off before pursuing a phD or MS in some field of engineering. Now the question is, if I want to get letters of rec from profs I know, without them forgetting about me if I have to ask them for LORs, say next year, is there a way I can get them to write them now? I heard its possible to have your recommendation letters written before you graduate from your current university. Your professors (or whoever writes the letters) should be able to keep them on file for a year. is that true?</p>
<p>If you asked me for a letter now, I would say that you were crazy (well, I’d say that gently and politely), and tell you to email me when you were actually applying. </p>
<p>In other words, your professors are certainly not going to forget who you are. I’ve written letters for students who were graduated ten years previous to application.</p>
<p>Sure, I could write a letter now, and just keep it in a file on my computer until you apply, but there’s no earthly reason to do so. Your qualifications might (should!) substantially improve between now and next year, and I’d just have to re-write the letter anyway.</p>
<p>My advice is to simply tell your desired recommenders that you’ll be applying next year, ask if they would be able to write a strong letter for you, and that you’ll be in touch.</p>
<p>Then, send an email midyear, and tell them what you’ve been doing. Email again when you are applying.</p>
<p>How would one’s qualifications improve after some years off when, clearly, the professor is only bound to write a recommendation based on the student’s performance and his/her knowing of that student AT the time he/she was enrolled?</p>
<p>In other words, if you land a job and do some extra currics, then come back years later and ask your former professors to write you a letter of rec, wouldn’t they write it based on your time with them and NOT on what you’re “currently” up to? </p>
<p>Are you suggesting that when you do land a job and make improvements you need to tell your professors “this is what I did after undergrad, this is my current job, et cetera”?</p>
<p>So we can actually update our professors on what we are now doing and then they will write the recommendation based on your “current” status as well as your time in the class/office with them?</p>
<p>Please correct/revise me here if I’m generating a false impression because I know that the rule of thumb is that your professors are to write letters of rec based on your time in the school, and not on what you’re currently doing so to speak as in you give them an “update” on your status.</p>
<p>If the latter is true then does that mean improving your qualifications will in turn create a much better recommendation by the professor?</p>
<p>Letters will certainly be based on in-class experience with the student.</p>
<p>However, letters written a year or more after the student was graduated will usually contain a sentence or two about what the student has accomplished since then. These sentences can be particularly important in my field when a student has gained considerable fluency in a research language, for instance.</p>
<p>To add to Professor X’s comments, a letter writer can gain a greater sense of who the student is and what he/she wants through updates during the year off. The more you are able to communicate with your professor, the more thorough and accurate the recommendation will be. A good recommendation contains much more than an evaluation of class performance; it mentions concrete examples of qualities that the prof believes should serve the student well during graduate work. For example, if a student becomes more focused on his objectives after a year of work and the prof is aware of it, then that goes into the letter. The student’s character and other intangibles such as work ethic, creativity, and independence (as perceived by the professor, of course) are more important than the grade earned in a course. </p>
<p>I think you’d be surprised by how well professors remember good students. A year is nothing.</p>
<p>well one of the professors i considered asking for my letter of rec even told me that if i applied this fall, he would write the LOR for me, but he suggested that i find other professors to write the LOR (since its been 2 years since I took his class). Does that mean that if i apply next fall, i shouldnt ask him for a LOR?</p>
<p>If you only took one class with a particular professor, they may not be the best choice anyway.</p>
<p>other than the 2 profs i did research for, i dont really know any other professors to write my LORs. none of them remember me from the classes i took from them, so I had no choice but to ask that one particular prof</p>
<p>You may find that the application systems for graduate school are different than those of undergrad. You can’t keep a file on your computer with a professor’s LOR and email it when you apply. The schools require that recommenders sign into their online databases and submit a letter accompanied by some quasi objective information about the applicant. Maintain those relationships while working as a tech, or find more relevant recommenders among the people in your lab that witness you as a professional researcher.</p>
<p>‘You can’t keep a file on your computer with a professor’s LOR and email it when you apply. The schools require that recommenders sign into their online databases and submit a letter accompanied by some quasi objective information about the applicant. Maintain those relationships while working as a tech, or find more relevant recommenders among the people in your lab that witness you as a professional researcher.’</p>
<p>I thought my professors could write me a LOR now, and then store it on their computers from now until, say next year, when i apply for grad schools?
anyways, what if i plan on working in industry after i graduate, instead of working in a lab? i’ve only done research with 2 profs, so thats why i resorted to one of the professors i took a class with as my 3rd LOR</p>
<p>My friend is applying to graduate schools this year, after a two-year stint in the industry sector. She requested her LORs this year, all from professors that taught her two years ago, and they had no problem writing up recommendations for her now. (I should also mention she was always fairly sure she would go to graduate school; she just wanted to explore outside academia for a bit first. Still, she didn’t ask for LORs as if she had decided to go straight to graduate school.)</p>
<p>If you ask for letters before you even apply, and your plans change, you will be wasting your recommenders’ time.</p>
<p>I worked in industry after college and though I didn’t, I certainly could have used my supervisor as a recommender for grad school. Recommendations from people who can attest to your potential as a researcher don’t need to come from academics (though they definitely should come from somebody with a Phd and a lot of publications to their credit).</p>