<p>I have pretty good rapport with one of my professors, and was thinking about getting a LOR from him. Also, I've been thinking about taking some time off after undergrad to work and save up $$$ for grad school. The problem (in my mind, anyway) is that if I ask for the LOR a year or two from now, he may not remember me all that well. Would it be weird to ask for the LOR now, even though I wouldn't be using it anytime soon?</p>
<p>You could always ask, although grad schools may wonder why they are getting a 2-yr-old letter. You also could tell him about your plans and keep in contact with him (occasional e-mail, etc.) during your time off. You may develop an even deeper friendship with him over time.</p>
<p>That's normal for people who work before grad school.
When you ask for the rec, you can remind him about your time there. Some profs will talk to you about the rec anyway.</p>
<p>Definitely ask him to write it now. Let him know that you are planning on attending grad school in the next 1-2 years and are aiming to have all of your academic letters of intent prepared beforehand.</p>
<p>With who you are fresh in his mind, you will get a much stronger letter. I agree with the earlier poster in that it is always beneficial to stay in touch (once a quarter / semester or so) to keep him abreast of your whereabouts.</p>
<p>Cheers</p>
<p>I had my LOR written while I was working. Since most applications are due in Dec or Jan, a 6 month period isn't long enough so that a professor would forget you IMO. You can always ask them to write it over the summer when they have less or no classes to teach and can probably spend more time on it.</p>
<p>But if you apply while working you might get lazy with applying to various schools because you have something to do and fall back on... so keep that in mind and not slack off like me :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses! As I'm only a junior right now, I'm thinking I should ask him near the end of the semester so that the letter is as strong as possible. Any more suggestions?</p>
<p>Don't ask for the letter now. Grad schools usually ask for the letters to be sent directly from the professor to the admissions committee. Many even ask for electronic submission via an e-form.</p>
<p>Your professor will not forget you. Just tell him now that you're going to apply to grad school in the future, and you'd like to know if you could contact him later when that situation arises.</p>
<p>Here's a tip: Keep your graded papers from your undergraduate courses, as well as good records of course names and numbers. That way, when it is time to ask for the letter, you can offer to send copies of the paper(s) you wrote, and can remind the professors of your grades. Also send a current resume, and if you are comfortable doing so, a copy of your statement of purpose.</p>
<p>You can trust me on this one, as I have written letters of rec for undergraduate students that I hadn't heard from in over six years, and of course I remembered them well. (They also helped refresh my memory by providing scans of graded research papers!)</p>
<p>I also direct a graduate program, and I can assure you that two or three year old letters sent by the student him/herself would not be appropriate. </p>
<p>Some schools do allow signed and sealed rec letters to be sent by the student, but most do not.</p>
<p>Yikes! I guess it's a good thing I haven't asked yet. Thanks, Professor X!</p>