Member- shinythingsrule
- 8 years ago
- Wedding: June 2014
Hi Bees!
Ughh… so I am done with my undergrad as of December, I have my degree and teaching certificate in my hands, and I will be walking in the ceremony next month with high honor cords. For a while I have wanted to join the honor society (I had/have been eligible for quite some time), and I finally got up the nerve to ask my math professor for a letter of recommendation sometime last summer, I think (when I had my last class with her). So that’s the good news. The bad news is that I need *two* letters, but I’m freaking out.
I really want the additional cord for the ceremony, the extra info on my resume, and the chance at networking, etc. I don’t want to just “waste” the first letter for nothing (which the coordinator/head of the chapter has). Last September I think it was, I did ask another professor through email. I asked if I could please meet with her briefly to discuss her opinion on grad school programs and the possibility of writing a recommendation for me for the honor society. I was nervous because for the first class I had with her, I got As in everything but couldn’t for the life of me focus enough to finish the damn final project on time and additionally spent 4.5 hours on a 3 hour final exam only able to complete 5 out of the 8 questions (I knew the answers but apparently I couldn’t write fast enough??…worst day ever btw. But I wasn’t the only one, which was frustrating…). So anyway, I ended up with a C(!!). The second time I had her, I really tried to get shit done on time lol. I also met with her before class one day to tell her how painfully boring the writing reflections were for me (I seriously loathe written reflections. I discuss things and think about them plenty and reflections seem like suchhhh a waste of time! Easy to do, yes, but so painfully boring that I literally can’t focus and get them done) and that I was doing all this extra work instead because it was way more enriching for me. Anyway, she was glad I showed her all my work and accepted it in place of the reflections. On final exam day, I actually finished on time and had kick-ass answers, and when I left, she said that she had been talking about me with another professor and was saying how bright they think I am, etc. 🙂 So that was cool, and I got an A for the class.
Fast forward to the email, and I never got a response from her! I waited a while (can’t remember how long), I may or may not have emailed a follow up, and assumed maybe she didn’t want to write one?? Ugh. Fiance claims that professors are just lazy, lol, and/or never check their email, etc., but I had emailed her in the past, so I didn’t know what was up. I also didn’t know how exactly to follow up. So I kind of gave up, and then awkwardly maybe a month later I sort of ran into her, but I was walking out of class with the dean and didn’t want to bring it up right there (“Hey, btw, why the hell didn’t you email me back??” lol). I kind of froze anyway, like the frickin’ anxiety-ridden person that I am trying not to be :/ Then, to top off my anxious feelings, as I was walking away, I heard her say to the dean something like, “She’s so quiet.” Ughhhh.
So I gave up, discouraged, not knowing if she even read the email, was waiting for me to follow up, or just didn’t want to write it. Now, a couple weeks ago, I got an invitation to the *graduate school* honor program, which reminded me of this one. Of course, I lost it in some paper pile of mine, but found it again and was prompted to see the coordinator today. She was like, “Actually, the induction (for the “regular” honor society) is next Tuesday (!!!), so if you want this, you have to get everything in quickly.” There was a small part of me that hoped that she would “waive” the second letter, lol…. ahh…. oh well 🙁 But she put me on the list, letting me know that my name would be printed on the things, etc. for next week. She even printed me a semi-formal invitation/congratulatory type thing.
Wow. If you have read this far, thank you SO MUCH.
Ok. So after looking through all my past classes, here are some options of professors to ask:
1) My original professor that I just mentioned… maybe call and say “hey, I never followed up with my email (from eons ago), but would you be willing to please write a short recommendation for me?…You probably think I’m such a slacker at this point…but maybe you still like me enough to do me this favor?……..”
2) The dean who was also the professor when I did student teaching last semester. She has recently written a stellar letter for me for the school districts. It did take a while, however, with constant reminders to get it…and I’m not sure if I should ask for another one right now anyway lol.
3) Another math professor. I got an A in her first class (prob/stats), and I asked if she could be in charge of an independent study for me for another math class (edu math) that wasn’t offered for another year. She agreed, said I was a good student, and I got an A in the I.S.
4) A professor I had in Fall 2011. I was in a class of about 20? He maybe doesn’t remember my name, but I got an A and can forward my papers to him.
5) Another prof from Fall 2011. I got an A- in her class, but today, as I was walking out of the coordinator’s office, I saw her (she saw me too), but there were two other people in the way and I panicked and didn’t say hi. Ugh how lame am I? 🙁 Will she think I’m rude or don’t remember her or am only asking because I just saw her??
6) A third prof from Fall 2011. She loved what I contributed to the discussions. I got As on all my work, but for some reason my observation was not good (ok, my paper wasn’t ready on time!! ughhhhhh, plus the school setup was not traditional and my supervisor saw a not great day I suppose!), which negatively impacted my grade to a B+. I did see my prof fairly recently and said hi (I can’t remember when or what we chatted about though).
7) A prof from Summer 2011. I was in a class of like 5. She was really friendly and said to keep in touch, etc., but of course I couldn’t do that…I can barely keep in touch with all my friends! lol. She was also a teacher, but applied for a principal position and got it. I am not 100% sure if she is still teaching university courses, will have to check…. I got an A- in her class. (Honestly I was shocked I didn’t get an A though…haha).
8) Winter 2011 science prof. He loved me. I knew all the answers, had one of the best if not the best two PowerPoint presentations. I also had to take my final exam two weeks early because of a trip I booked overseas, and I totally aced it. I got an A in his class, but haven’t seen him for a while, obviously.
9) A professor from Fall 2010. So a while ago, yes, but I recently saw him from afar, walking by when I was at the job fair, and he recognized me and smiled. I got an A in his class.
10) Summer 2010 prof. Her class was instructional media. I was pretty much the best…not gonna lie 😉 I also asked her how to do certain things with my PowerPoint that she was excited to show me how because no one else was at that level haha. I got an A for her class, but will she remember me? Is this class “juicy enough” for a recommendation letter?
To make things slightly more complicated, the society “prefers” at least one letter to be from an Edu prof. Not all the professors I have listed are education ones (the math and science profs are not edu profs, although I think they liked me the best?). Additionally, while I do great work and try to contribute as much as I can (the small groups/classes are best for me!), I am, unfortunately, probably known as “the chick who can’t make it on time to class to save her life.” Ugh. ADD people apparently only know two times: “now” and “not now.” Is tardiness enough to negate all my good work? I really have no idea. Finally, I would like to apply to grad school either for this fall or sometime in the near future, and will, undoubtedly, need a few more letters of recommendation. Can I ask professors for more than one letter? Should I use profs that are friendliest with me to do this quick, short letter, and the other profs that I can send my resume and past work to for the future letters??
I am so sorry this is so damn long! I am just really stressed out about this whole thing and would love some input!!
Thank you sooooo much Bees!!! 🙂
