Recommendation Letter Dilemma

[tippeny]

I have a dilemma. I asked my Chemistry teacher if she would write a recommendation for my Nursing School application. She was more than happy to agree. This was back in late April at the end of Spring semester. Well, it is now July and she hasn't written it yet! I sent her an email a week ago 'gently' reminding her about my letter and I have yet to hear back from her. My other recommendation letter has been in for about 3 weeks now. My application deadline isn't until September 1st and I hate to be a pest, but I certainly don't want to wait until the last minute. How should I handle this? Give her a few weeks to get back to me? Send another email trying to push her a bit? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[GoldenDomer63]

Unfortunately for you this is a delicate situation. I would continue to send a pointed, yet polite and respectful email once a week until you get a response. Maybe try sending her an email with some of your accomplishments along with some other salient points/highlights you want her to include in your letter; maybe that will initiate a response. Perhaps she is just busy and your recommendation is not viewed as a high priority for her at this time, but that doesn't excuse her from being unresponsive...if in fact she has written recommendations for other students in the past, she should be aware of how integral the letters of recommendation are and if she didn't want to do it, or couldn't do it due to time constraints then she should have informed you so you could make other arrangements.

With that being said, are there other professors you can petition for a letter of recommendation? September is not that far away and it will be unfair to ask any professor to turn around a letter of recommendation within a few days, so leave yourself some options.

Good luck!