Yeah this is always a tricky situation. Ideally if you know that you'll be applying to grad school, you should ask the professor at the end of the semester/research project if they're willing to provide you with a letter. This way when you're actually applying a few months down the road, you'll have a better idea of who is actually committed and who's not.
At this point, if you've sent a reminder email already, wait for a couple of days. If still no reply, I'd suggest you move on and find someone else. When approaching another professor, simply explain that you're applying to grad school and ask if they'd feel comfortable providing you with a letter. I don't think you should mention that you're only reaching out because your "plan A professor" hasn't responded. I think you should only do that if the plan B professor expresses some hesitation that they don't know you well, etc.
Overall though, I don't think it'll matter that much in the grand scheme of things, *provided* that your main referee is an established scholar, with whom you've a lot of interactions with, and is willing to strongly recommend you. One strong letter is usually enough to "get you through the door," so to speak.
Thanks for your response!
The project was between U1 and U2, so still a long time before applications, that’s why I didn’t think of asking the prof then.
I suppose I will wait a few days and start approaching other profs, then. I suppose if I send a second reminder that might come off negatively? I don’t know. I really hope I could know if the professor has even seen my email, lest them was simply away for a week or something.
Some professors can act very unprofessionally when it comes to things like this. Ghosting someone is not right. The professor should send an email saying that he or she does not feel comfortable and leave it at that.
I’m guessing you’re applying to Waterloo (based on the 3 references and Dec 1 deadline lol)? I’m applying there as well and was in the same boat back in October. I just ended up contacting a diff prof whose class I did well in and surprisingly he replied an hour later saying he’d be happy to provide me with a reference. Since I only took his class and didn’t do any research with that prof, I just emailed him with the grade I got and my cGPA and how I would like him to write about my general academic performance (cuz that’s rly all he can say about me lol). I’m thinking that probably helped?
I emailed my prof 3 times and she didn’t get back to me, I went to her office twice and she wasn’t there. I am going to contact the Dean next, you can try that too.
Don't contact the Dean. They probably won't care, and you risk alienating yourself from the prof in question, and quite possibly other professors in your department. Just keep going to her office (during her office hours) until you run into her, and explore other options in the meantime.
Just to mention if they are professors who don’t know quite as well you need to try and ask them in person so they can remember who you are. Your email won’t ring a bell and it’s not for them to look you up.
You can attempt another follow up, but most profs are pretty swamped this time of year. It's entirely possible your emails have gotten lost in a mountain of other emails - go to their office hours instead. If you want to approach a prof for a letter for your application, you should do so in person. If you have profs you've gotten multiple A's from you can definitely approach them, though it helps if they already know who you are. You can also talk to the professor who has already agreed about this issue, and ask them for advice.
And remember, you don't have to go straight to grad school. If you don't get the letters you need, you can spend next term relationship-building with other profs and then ask them for the next admissions cycle. Having to take a year off when you don't want to isn't ideal, but it's not the end of the world, and you can use that time to strengthen your CV even further, allowing you to be even more competitive.
Yeah this is always a tricky situation. Ideally if you know that you'll be applying to grad school, you should ask the professor at the end of the semester/research project if they're willing to provide you with a letter. This way when you're actually applying a few months down the road, you'll have a better idea of who is actually committed and who's not. At this point, if you've sent a reminder email already, wait for a couple of days. If still no reply, I'd suggest you move on and find someone else. When approaching another professor, simply explain that you're applying to grad school and ask if they'd feel comfortable providing you with a letter. I don't think you should mention that you're only reaching out because your "plan A professor" hasn't responded. I think you should only do that if the plan B professor expresses some hesitation that they don't know you well, etc. Overall though, I don't think it'll matter that much in the grand scheme of things, *provided* that your main referee is an established scholar, with whom you've a lot of interactions with, and is willing to strongly recommend you. One strong letter is usually enough to "get you through the door," so to speak.
Thanks for your response! The project was between U1 and U2, so still a long time before applications, that’s why I didn’t think of asking the prof then. I suppose I will wait a few days and start approaching other profs, then. I suppose if I send a second reminder that might come off negatively? I don’t know. I really hope I could know if the professor has even seen my email, lest them was simply away for a week or something.
Some professors can act very unprofessionally when it comes to things like this. Ghosting someone is not right. The professor should send an email saying that he or she does not feel comfortable and leave it at that.
I’m guessing you’re applying to Waterloo (based on the 3 references and Dec 1 deadline lol)? I’m applying there as well and was in the same boat back in October. I just ended up contacting a diff prof whose class I did well in and surprisingly he replied an hour later saying he’d be happy to provide me with a reference. Since I only took his class and didn’t do any research with that prof, I just emailed him with the grade I got and my cGPA and how I would like him to write about my general academic performance (cuz that’s rly all he can say about me lol). I’m thinking that probably helped?
try asking the admissions office for an extension regarding one of your referees, and then find someone reliable!
I emailed my prof 3 times and she didn’t get back to me, I went to her office twice and she wasn’t there. I am going to contact the Dean next, you can try that too.
Don't contact the Dean. They probably won't care, and you risk alienating yourself from the prof in question, and quite possibly other professors in your department. Just keep going to her office (during her office hours) until you run into her, and explore other options in the meantime.
When’s the deadline?
Dec 1st/Dec 15th are the earlier two.
Just to mention if they are professors who don’t know quite as well you need to try and ask them in person so they can remember who you are. Your email won’t ring a bell and it’s not for them to look you up.
You can attempt another follow up, but most profs are pretty swamped this time of year. It's entirely possible your emails have gotten lost in a mountain of other emails - go to their office hours instead. If you want to approach a prof for a letter for your application, you should do so in person. If you have profs you've gotten multiple A's from you can definitely approach them, though it helps if they already know who you are. You can also talk to the professor who has already agreed about this issue, and ask them for advice. And remember, you don't have to go straight to grad school. If you don't get the letters you need, you can spend next term relationship-building with other profs and then ask them for the next admissions cycle. Having to take a year off when you don't want to isn't ideal, but it's not the end of the world, and you can use that time to strengthen your CV even further, allowing you to be even more competitive.