How did you get a letter of recommendation from a professor for a post-bacc?

[Jubanpride]

Hi SDN folks,

I'd love to hear from people who applied to career changer post-baccs a few years after graduation. Who did you ask for your academic letters of recommendation? How did you go about doing it?

I studied film and economics in undergrad. The 3 professors I was close with during my time have either retired or moved to different schools. When I've reached out to them, they've declined to write a letter of recommendation for me. If anyone has any advice on how to move forward, I'd really appreciate it.

Thank you!

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[lumya]

I would start emailing professors you weren't very close to, but had good performance in their classes. Just reach out to them with a brief reminder email about who you are, which class you took, and what grade you got. Sometimes the most random professors are the most enthusiastic to write letters (I had an art professor who offered to write a letter even though it was an online class and she had never met me).

Alternatively, you might consider taking a basic science course at your local community college. This will allow you to have a more recent professor who can attest to your academic performance (which is what I ended up doing for one of my letter of recs).

Finally, if your undergraduate academic adviser is still around, you could maybe see if they're willing to do a committee letter. It will probably not be very personalized but they have your GPA information and can attest to what types of grades you received.

 

[humblethinker]

get a LOR from your work experience as well. I think there is more flexibility with this than many think. As a nontrad your experience is so different that it is more worthwhile to have someone who actually knows your character rather than a random professor.

 

[Jubanpride]

I would start emailing professors you weren't very close to, but had good performance in their classes. Just reach out to them with a brief reminder email about who you are, which class you took, and what grade you got. Sometimes the most random professors are the most enthusiastic to write letters (I had an art professor who offered to write a letter even though it was an online class and she had never met me).

Alternatively, you might consider taking a basic science course at your local community college. This will allow you to have a more recent professor who can attest to your academic performance (which is what I ended up doing for one of my letter of recs).

Finally, if your undergraduate academic adviser is still around, you could maybe see if they're willing to do a committee letter. It will probably not be very personalized but they have your GPA information and can attest to what types of grades you received.

Thank you lumya, I took your advice to heart and have started emailing professors I wasn't necessarily the closest with (my old econ professors -- I was close with my film profs because I wanted to be a screenwriter). I plan on taking a chemistry course at a local CC next quarter, so I'll also ask my professor then!

 

[lumya]

Glad to help!

As humblethinker mentioned above, some programs do allow you to substitute work related letters for academic so check the requirements for the programs you apply to.

 

[Jubanpride]

I'm definitely getting some references from my work as well, I was very close with my boss in my last job. My current employer doesn't know yet that I'm moving on next year, and I'm worried they may cut my pay / let me go if I give them this much notice. The programs I'm looking at in southern California all seem to require at least one reference from a professor. I've written to a few more whose classes I did well in, hope to hear back soon! Fingers crossed!

 

[nobaddays]

So with your UG degree it seems you'll have some prereqs to take. I took most of mine as night classes at a community college. Many schools require 2 letters from science professors. Knowing this, I went out of my way to establish good relationships with my prereq professors. Sit in the front of the class, ask a lot of questions, perform well in the class, and take an interest in any personal hobbies/interests the professor mentions. I had one that was into scuba diving. I am too, so that was a perfect ice breaker. Another was super into music so I lent him a CD of a band that I thought he would like. He did, and it was a great talking point. It helps them personify you as more than a set of test scores, and put a face and a personality to the letter. It will seem brown-nosey and awkward at first, but it works. I usually email them at the end of, or immediately after the semester and remind them who I am, and politely ask for a letter.

I would also caution that for about every 3 profs that agree to write you a letter, 1 might actually come through and do it without you hounding them.

 

[Campana]

Depending on your situation, it could be possible to apply to a post bacc without a letter from a professor. I applied to my post bacc program with only personal and professional letters, no academic letters. But my college years were more than a decade prior, so it was somewhat reasonable for me.

You can call and ask the post bacc program about your situation - if you your professional experience is substantial and your academics was some time ago, they may be just fine with letters representing the current you.