Letter of rec - asking over email

kimw2015

All the advice I've read on asking for LORs is that it must be done in person. In my case, I graduated college 3 years ago and am unable to find out what the office hours are of the professor I'm hoping will write one of my LORs. Also, I feel like jogging her memory of me with an emailed note first would be to my advantage, since it's been 4 years since I took her class. Would it be so horrible to make an initial LOR request over email while also asking for her office hours this semester (or another time she's available), then coming in in person and giving her additional information, etc.? #help

Kermit750

I think an email is totally fine when initiating a conversation with the recommender.

xenonhexafluoro

I have 5 letters of recommendation on file (overkill, I know), and all of my initial requests were by email. I think asking about office hours is a great idea, or alternatively, you could do a phone or skype call.

bartlet4america

I asked for all of my LORs over e-mail this summer (graduated last December) BUT I had great relationships with all three professors. I had visited all of them during office hours. Took multiple classes with two of them (2 with one, 4 with the other) and got all A's. My major was fairly small so I knew they hadn't forgotten me. I will be following up completed LORs with personally delivered thank you notes and baked goods

I would ask in person if
a) there is a chance they will not remember you
b) you got anything less than an A in their class
c) you never met with them outside of class
d) you are uncertain they will provide a STRONG letter

I also tailored each letter to the professor and offered to come in for office hours in the fall or send additional information (such as a resume).

Leah M B

I asked over email for all of mine. My recommenders all live out of state from me. We only communicated via email. Is it ideal? No. But it is what it is, logistically. If you are currently in school asking for a professor to write one, I would try very hard to do it in person. I think your plan of laying the groundwork via email and then trying to connect in person sounds just fine. Don't sweat it!

sx23

I emailed all the professors first but then requested that I met with them in person to talk about it. This might be a good compromise.

Ohnoeshalpme

It would be better to e-mail them initially. You want to give them some space at first so that they can take their own time to respond.

Professors get these things all the time. So don't worry if you took their class a long time ago. A piece of advice for the e-mail would be to include when you took the class, give 1-2 sentences describing your decision to go to law school. Explain why their class was important to you, and why they specifically are a good pick for you. Maybe you are a STEM major and they taught English. You could ask them to write a letter of rec highlighting your writing ability. Or, maybe you're a music major and you want your physics teacher to write something about your ability to grasp complex scientific problems. Make sure they understand why you are picking them. Try to be as specific as possible so that they will have something to write about and so that you don't end up with a generic letter.

kimw2015

Thank you all so much for the input! The email first/stopping by OHs later ended up working out well.

Tom_Tango

it doesn't matter.