Requesting Letters of Recommendation Forum

[jumbocolumbo]

I have a couple of questions about requesting letters of recommendation. I have not kept in particularly close touch with the professors I intend to request letters from and I've been out of UG for a little over a year. I am therefore requesting by email. They are all professors in my major and I received As in all of their classes. For those of you who have been in similar situations, how much did you vary your requests between professors? I currently have a basic format for requesting and figured I would plug in the relevant information for each professor (Dear Dr. Blah....I took Blah 401 with you and received an A, etc...) I know the situation isn't ideal but its kind of what I have to work with.

ETA: I was also wondering if sending an email and requesting in the email was the right way to go about it. Opinions welcome and appreciated.

[Hat.trick]

If your undergrad isnt far, then i would say to just go visit them. If thats not an option, an email should be okay. Just make sure they remember you and would be willing to write you a strong letter or recommendation. If they dont remember you then ask your current employer. that could always supplement one of the professors.

[fisheatbananas]

I was in the same situation where I'd been out of undergrad for about a year and emailed my former professor to ask for a LOR. I'd taken 2 classes with that professor in my last semester of undergrad. I just emailed her and asked her, as it seems youre planning to do. She said ok and asked me if there was anything I especially wanted her to include in the letter.

Following up on the person before me's reply, for my second LOR I asked my current boss. At the time I'd only been working for a few months which might not be ideal (I'm assuming its better if youve known the person for a longer time. But summer internships for undergrad students can only last a few months and I know people often get the LORs from those bosses as well...) But I worked closely with that boss every day at work so he knew me well. It wasn't like we had a 15 minute weekly meeting and other than that I worked with other people or something.

[Abraham Lincoln Uni.]

When it comes to letters of recommendation, it is important to connect with those who can write you a strong recommendation on your academic abilities and it's ok if you need to reconnect and update your professors a bit after a time of not being in contact - that's pretty normal for students not going into law school straight from undergraduate education. If you are close to them geographically, it's worth emailing and then offering to visit may be nice for those who benefit from more engagement. If you're far, offering to do a phone call and to send additional information via email on what you have been doing and why you're invested in applying to law school lets you help those who are putting in a good word for you.

You may also want to consider a letter from an employer if you have spent substantial time out of school.

[Scalvert]

If you've kept any old papers you wrote for Blah 401, it might be helpful to include them with the information you give him. I asked a professor from a class I had a couple of semesters ago for a LoR. I honestly think he didn't remember me until he looked over my old work.

[PoopyPants]

For what it's worth, a year out of undergrad is not a substantial enough time for a professor to forget you, unless you're completely forgettable and had no sort of relationship with her, in which case, why would you be asking her for a letter in the first place?

I reached out to a few professors I had one course with 9 years ago. I had fairly close relationships with each of them, and there were things I said that reminded them of who I was just in case the name didn't ring a bell. I also offered to let them know what I've been up to and send a resume if they want one.

Seems to be a good approach so far.

[kray]

I requested when 5 years out of undergrad, and sent out my requests via e-mail. I just mentioned the classes that I took with them (and the semester/year I took them), put in a little corny piece about how they were helpful in inspiring my desire to pursue a law career, and attached an updated resume, thanked them and said that I was happy to give any more information if it would be helpful. I did handwritten thank-you notes to make it a little more personal.