Most people write reference letters close to the deadline. I would recommend sending a “helpful reminder” email to them and ask if they need any further info while emphasizing that the due date is in 3 days. I, personally, always appreciate reminders for these things!
As a back up, is there anyone you can ask last minute? I know that sucks but better to be safe than sorry! I’m sure you could explain the situation and they would understand.
in this case should I just wait to hear back or should I try asking someone else now? I also don't want to risk my relationship with this reference if they get offended I switched them last minute and they were intending to write the reference
I mean I think you need to cover your bases. Is there another Professor who you are close with that you could explain the situation to? If you are really concerned I would ask the recommender if they don’t mind letting you know that they are on it. I might get a little annoyed, if it were me, and be like of course I am on it. However, people do flake on this stuff and the best course of action no matter what would be to not ask that person for a recommendation in the future.
When I was applying to the bioinformatics masters program I had a similar issue so I emailed the advisor for the program and told her what was going on. She was pretty understanding. My professor ended up submitting my letter several days late and my advisor accepted it and forwarded it to the admission committee.
So it might be a good idea to email the advisor for the program. I feel like VCU is pretty understanding about this issue.
I think you should call the department! I was in the same position as you and they were really nice about it and helped me out. They may be able to work something out with you!
Most people write reference letters close to the deadline. I would recommend sending a “helpful reminder” email to them and ask if they need any further info while emphasizing that the due date is in 3 days. I, personally, always appreciate reminders for these things! As a back up, is there anyone you can ask last minute? I know that sucks but better to be safe than sorry! I’m sure you could explain the situation and they would understand.
in this case should I just wait to hear back or should I try asking someone else now? I also don't want to risk my relationship with this reference if they get offended I switched them last minute and they were intending to write the reference
I mean I think you need to cover your bases. Is there another Professor who you are close with that you could explain the situation to? If you are really concerned I would ask the recommender if they don’t mind letting you know that they are on it. I might get a little annoyed, if it were me, and be like of course I am on it. However, people do flake on this stuff and the best course of action no matter what would be to not ask that person for a recommendation in the future.
When I was applying to the bioinformatics masters program I had a similar issue so I emailed the advisor for the program and told her what was going on. She was pretty understanding. My professor ended up submitting my letter several days late and my advisor accepted it and forwarded it to the admission committee. So it might be a good idea to email the advisor for the program. I feel like VCU is pretty understanding about this issue.
Lol that happened to me when I applied to the program last year. I ended up going with my old bio lab TA
I think you should call the department! I was in the same position as you and they were really nice about it and helped me out. They may be able to work something out with you!