Letters of Rec

LSAT Student

I graduated earlier this year from a large university and while I did well in my classes I never really connected with any of my professors (my fault). At this point I need a letter or two so I can fire off my applications as soon as I receive my December score. I have one professor who I think might remember me but after that I am kind of lost. I don't want to come off as rude asking a professor who I am certain will not remember me to write me a letter. Any advice on navigating this situation?

Alex

@"LSAT Student" said:
I graduated earlier this year from a large university and while I did well in my classes I never really connected with any of my professors (my fault). At this point I need a letter or two so I can fire off my applications as soon as I receive my December score. I have one professor who I think might remember me but after that I am kind of lost. I don't want to come off as rude asking a professor who I am certain will not remember me to write me a letter. Any advice on navigating this situation?

Get in touch with some of your old profs. Pick a couple classes you did exceptionally well in and reach out. Maybe ask to set up a phone call/coffee and explain to them your situation and why you want to go to law school. If you have any papers/assignments you did well on in their class, then be sure to have those ready to send as well.

hibster95

Remember that writing letters of recommendation is part of the job of a professor. They get asked to write LORs all the time. You won't be the first student that has asked them without having a great personal connection, and you won't be the last. I agree with @"Alex Divine" that you should suggest meeting with them. If you're nervous end your email by offering to give them more information. I've sent resumes to professors, old paper's i've written for their class, etc. That way you are offering to give the professor the appropriate tools to write you an awesome LOR. As long as you're polite and give the professors ample time, they should be willing to come through.

LSATcantwin

I went to a fairly large university as well (30k kids or so) and had the same problem. What @"Alex Divine" said is gold. Teachers will be impressed with your initiative to reach out to them. I wouldn't be surprised if they do remember you though. I asked a teacher two years after I left his class. I was sure he would have no idea who I was. When he E-mailed me back I was amazed! He remembered a whole lot about me.

Main point - Don't let this stand in your way. You will still get great LOR's from these teachers. I bet some even remember you!!

_oshun1_

What was your favorite class and your most difficult class that you tried really hard and ended up doing well in? Write a solid few sentence email to your professors saying how much of an impact those classes had on you and how hard you worked and attach essays you wrote for the class and your unofficial transcript.
As a back up I emailed a prof who I only took one class with and he responded that he can write me a letter but it will be limited/restricted to the single course I took and I should probably get letters from a professor I was closer to.
Professors want to help. I don't think it will hurt your app if your LORs aren't really long and personal.

ktvarda1

I had this problem too. I had one prof that I really connected with and she wrote my letter in less than a week. I also had two prof's that ghosted me lol. After I rudely got ghosted, I e-mailed a couple professor's that I got an A in their classes. I reminded them of the semester I took their class and the grade I earned. I also wrote a couple sentences about how their class inspired me. You'd be surprised, but many professor's will write you a letter if you did well in their class. They get the process. Try to send a personable e-mail! They'll most likely ask you to send them your personal statement, resume, etc., to help them get to know you before they write, but most will help you out. Good luck!

xtinextine

^^ I second this!

I also graduated this year from a large university and initially asked 2 professors who I had briefly mentioned law school to. And they both ghosted me! One of them I knew for 4 years lol. (After months of emailing with no response, he apologized and wrote it...)

Thankfully I asked 2 other professors as back ups. Although I didn't know them as well as the first 2, I did well in their classes. And honestly I think that's the key. Maybe you didn't get a chance to connect with them personally, but they can attest to your work ethic in the classroom and your grades.

So I would say pick 3 or 4 professors and do what the post before me said (I did this too). And don't be nervous about being rude. I know I was. But it's okay -- like the other posts said, this is part of being a professor.

Give them a deadline a week before you need the letters (which is very close at this point since Dec scores are released on Jan 4). My problem was that I gave them way too much time, so I don't think they prioritized it.

Best of luck!!