how do I get referral letters from professors??

[megrose14]

Hi all,

First time posting and thanks for all the advice. I am starting my senior year of college (Bio major) and on the admissions requirements of many of the dental schools, they require 2 letters of recommendation from professors who taught you while in college. My issue is most of the science classes I have attended are really filled and my professors wouldn't remember me from Adam.

How do I get professors to write a letter of recommendation when they don't really know you??

Thanks!

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[yaya97]

Why don't you try to get to know a professor this coming semester? Go to their office hours, participate in class...just talk to them. That'll make it easier to ask them and also you don't want someone writing your letter if they don't know you because they most likely won't be able to do as great of a job as someone you have a relationship with!


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[Charles_Darwin]

Definitely, do what yaya said above! It's really important that those letters come from people who know you well. Sit in front of class, participate, and visit them and do well in those classes. If you're applying right now during the summer though, well that may be an issue. Look out for the professors who you think might remember you and then contact them explaining your situation and that you'd be happy to meet with them to talk about yourself and even give them a resume if they want.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

I'm not a big fan of pretending I need to go to office hours or participating in class just to squeeze a letter of recommendation out of it, personally. If you're a senior and most of your science classes are already behind you, I'd reach out to the professors whose classes you did the best in and mention your desire to apply to dental school and need for a letter of recommendation, then ask if you can meet so they can speak with you for a bit to have material to base the letter on. Worked out fine and saved me the trouble of having to kiss ass after every lecture which was nice. Most professors are pretty understanding about this stuff.

 

[fit2]

It's so easy to make connections with professors when u go to small'medium sized schools. It's gotta suck at some of those big schools because it is harder to get to know the profs well. But honestly if you're active in a class cause you're genuinely interested and do well the Professor will most likely remember you. But you don't need them to get to know that well yo write you a good LOR

 

[ThirdMolarz]

A nicely crafted e-mail detailing your situation and a request to meet up would do

 

[chinchilladreamz37]

I went to a large school where every class was ~200-300 and chem classes were pushing 400. I agree, go to office hours and show up even if you're one of the 20-30 people in office hours. Email and ask the professor nicely. I always began with a brief paragraph of why i enjoyed their class and what it has taught me. then i proceeded to ask politely if they would kindly write me a letter of recommendation. Don't worry about the email being too long. If it's too short it seems like you are just asking to ask. Give a little thought into it! the worst they can say is no. I always had to remind myself that, since i was pretty scared to be emailing professors. if they say no, don't take it personally, just move on. good luck!