Encouragement for older students

DawnHenry

I've been out of college for almost 25 years. Getting LORs was a bit of a challenge, as all my professors have since retired and are travelling or don't check their official emails very often. Of my first two choices, one said she was travelling for the foreseeable future and wouldn't be able to write one for me; the other hasn't replied. With that in mind I approached two others, and was so pleasantly surprised to find that both remembered me well, even though I'd only had a couple classes with them 25 years ago, and both were very encouraging and overjoyed to write me LORs.

One of them mentioned a paper I'd written that "revised, corrected, and refined a theory" of hers regarding a certain novel. I don't even remember this! So don't assume that just because you've been out of school for a while (or even a LONG while) that professors won't remember you. It doesn't hurt to ask, and you may be surprised