No academic letter of reference... what to do?

bluetoronto7

Hi everyone,

I am in a dilemma as I don't think I'll be able to get any academic letters of reference. I graduated with a 3-year Bachelor in 2014, went to paralegal school from 2014-2015, then went back part-time to finish my 4th year for the Honours program. I graduated with an Hons. B.Sc. in 2016. I got a job right after graduating and I've been working full-time every since. I'm looking to apply to Canadian law schools and most of them ask for academic LOR. I haven't kept in touch with any of my professors and I don't think they would remember me. I could probably get professional LOR from supervisors (manager and lawyer).

Is an academic LOR really important? Can anyone comment on my chances of getting into law school without any academic LOR?

studyingandrestudying

Maybe email a professor, mention when you had the class with them, and ask can you go to their office hours or schedule a phone call to discuss your interest in law school and them maybe writing a letter for you?

Anonymouse-1

Had something similar happen. Was out of school for four years so chose a professor meeting the following criteria: (i) got an "A" grade in their class and (ii) had a small class size (increases the likelihood they remember you)

Also it helps to send a professional photo of yourself to help jog their memory. "I've attached a photo of myself, as I know you have probably had many students since I left the school in XXXX"

NZ180

Some schools accept non-academic references, such as University of Calgary. And some schools don't even require LORs.

Something similar happened to me. I graduated a year ago. I emailed a few professors that I got As in their classes. Some professors just straight up ignored my emails. Some would say they would write it, then ghosted me. (I admit I didn't make a strong impression during my undergraduate years, but I was surprised at the level of shadiness they demonstrated!) In the end, only one professor agreed to write it, and that's because when I emailed him, I wrote long paragraphs about how his teaching affected me. I didn't even get an A in his class. But sadly, getting an A doesn't guarantee you will get the LOR from that prof.

I would recommend go to their office hours and ask them in person. Or alternatively, write an emailing telling them how their class "made a huge impact on you", and attach a photo or your linkedin profile.

ChiChi55

@"Anonymouse-1" said:
Had something similar happen. Was out of school for four years so chose a professor meeting the following criteria: (i) got an "A" grade in their class and (ii) had a small class size (increases the likelihood they remember you)

Also it helps to send a professional photo of yourself to help jog their memory. "I've attached a photo of myself, as I know you have probably had many students since I left the school in XXXX"

To add to this, if you took a professor in more than one class and attach a paper you wrote in their class that you did well on. Then at least they can remember what type of student you were! I did this to all the professors I asked regardless to refresh their memory.