<p>I saw this question posted before but the responses were not helpful. I'm a freshman at my HUGE state university right now and I'm planning on transferring for fall 2011. The app deadlines for some of the schools I'm applying to are March 1st. The problem is that right now most of my classes are taught solely by grad students, grad students who speak very poor English at that. I don't know any of them very well and they're all busy with their own work and I wouldn't really want to ask any of them for rec letters even if I did know them well. If I wait until next semester to ask a prof for a recommendation, will there be enough time to get to know them a little bit and have them write me letters all before the deadline? would really appreciate any thoughts with this...</p>
<p>Tough one. Hard to say whether you can get to know next term’s profs well enough. Do you feel confident that you will have better choices next term? Or could this term’s language issues repeat?</p>
<p>I’d suggest two things in your shoes - make efforts to get to know one or two TAs or profs from this term. “Busy with their own stuff” doesn’t cut it; they are your faculty and the only ones you’ve got, so they need to be available to you. So visit the best prospects during office hours - to discuss any help you might need, inquire about their research interests, to ask their opinions about whatever (good courses to take next term, their opinions about transferring - good schools to consider etc.).</p>
<p>If this term’s prospects just don’t work for you, then do similar right away next term. Get to know one or two profs/TAs from the get-go through class participation, visiting office hours… If you start early, a couple of months may give them enough to go on for a recommendation.</p>
<p>Additional thought - while you must meet the application deadline, your prof recs can trickle in a bit later. So, while you’ll likely want to give profs a heads up that you’d like a rec with a fair amount of advance notice, you could have them wait to write and submit until perhaps after mid-term grading, when they’ll have more to go on.</p>
<p>A little off-topic, but a bonafide question: why are so many college courses being taught by immigrant grad students? Aren’t there qualified American citizens who speak decent English applying for those jobs? If not, why not?</p>
<p>Yes, off-topic. If you wish to discuss it, better to start another thread in the appropraite forum so as not to hijack the OPs thread.</p>