<p>I'm freaking out a little bit here. I'm getting ready to apply to some grad programs this November, but I don't have any letters of recommendations. Quickly, I'm looking to get into good Second Language Acquisition programs, I have a BA in Spanish, and a minor in ESL. I haven't really talked to many professors in a long time.</p>
<p>I've been teaching abroad in the Peace Corps for the last two years, and I'm teaching English right now in an Elementary school.</p>
<p>There is one professor who I have kept in a little bit of contact with. He has written letters of recommendation for jobs, and for Peace Corps, but I feel a bit wrong about always using him to write letters for me.</p>
<p>Even if I do tap him as a resource, that is only ONE letter.</p>
<p>What should I do to find letters of recommendation? Would my Peace Corps or other work experience be helpful?</p>
<p>Yes, your work experience seems very stellar and is worth at least one recommendation (from the Peace Corps). You might want to check out websites for some of the schools to see if they mention anything specific about the recommendations. When I was applying to schools (in science), some places stated that they wanted recommendations from research advisors and professors, or that it could be anyone who could attest to my research/academic abilities.</p>
<p>If you’re using him repeatedly, that just means he can reuse old letters (i.e. not much work for him). Do it. Writing letters is just one of the job functions of professors and they know it. They wouldn’t be where they are today if they didn’t get good letters from their advisors.</p>
<p>If that one is good, then the others can be from people in the Peace Corps, even those that may not be managing you in anyway. Most people get one or two “did well in class” letters, which are utterly useless. So you’re not as weak relative to others as you think, even with just one professor letter.</p>
<p>As MaceVindaloo pointed out, you will need to check the programs that you are applying to first! The schools that I am applying to allow LOR’s from professors or superiors who know you well. They also ask for at least 1 letter from someone who knows your academic skills (eg. a professor that you took a class with). Who knows, maybe some programs require 2, or 3 (but that would be absurd!!!).</p>
<p>Ok, I’m bumping this thread again because I don’t think I should start a new one, but I have another related question.</p>
<p>How do graduate programs generally want to receive letters of recommendation? Do I send it myself, or would the letter writer send it for me?</p>
<p>So, say, a professor will write a letter for me, does this professor send it to me so that I can put it in a big application package to send to the school, or would I need to provide an address for this professor to directly send the letter to?</p>
<p>Most schools use an online application where you register your recommenders and an email is sent to them with instructions on how to send the LoR. Not exactly sure for paper-based applications if that’s what you’re doing.</p>
<p>You need to check the dept. requirements, some dept. clearly state that they will NOT accept paper rec. letters. The online application is very convenient</p>
<p>Yup, check the website. If you end up having to mail the letter, make sure to provide the person with a stamped and addressed envelope (if they prefer sending it themselves).</p>