<p>I have just completed my freshman year of college at a larger state school (University of New Hampshire). Due to financial difficulties, I will be taking a year off from college to work. If all goes as planned, I will be going to another part of the country. I hope to apply to a private university for next year. But when I was browsing through admission requirements on various websites, I found that most universities require a letter of recommendation from the last institute attended.
The majority of the classes that I took this past year were large lectures, and I only had a few professors that knew me a bit. I am confused about how I would contact them now and ask them for a recommendation, even though I am taking a year off. Should I email them this summer while they still remember me and ask for a letter of recommendation? Is it acceptable to request a letter of recommendation via email? Can I explain to the colleges that I wish to apply to that I took a year off and could not obtain recommendations? Does the Dean of Admissions at the college that I previously attended help at all in obtaining recommendations?
Sorry for all the questions, I am just confused about all of this!</p>
<p>You should contact an advisor at UNH for more help about this. Generally you do want to contact profs while they still know you, or at least have access to their gradebook. </p>
<p>One thing you should ask the advisor about is using the reference service thru the career center. When people graduate and they know they plan on working a few years prior to grad school, such as future MBAs often do, they can get letters of rec from profs and have them held until they need them. I don’t know if they will do this for undergrads planning a future transfer, but its worth exploring with the career center. See [University</a> Advising and Career Center](<a href=“http://www.unh.edu/uacc/lettersofrecommendation.html]University”>http://www.unh.edu/uacc/lettersofrecommendation.html)</p>