Applying later => Getting LORs before I leave: What's the protocol?
My situation, phrased poorly: Hi Prof, for financial reasons, I've decided to work for a bit first, but still intend to apply to grad school. Would you be able to write me a LOR now, because I'm afraid you might forget every trace of my existence by the time I actually apply?
General advice here seems to favor asking for LORs before I leave, and I agree with the reasoning that 1) Profs will be able to write better since their memory of me is still fresh, and 2) They can then update whatever they had written for the real apps later on.
Here's the tricky part: What would be a good way to phrase this request, and how can I store these un-used LORs? It seems odd to make a Prof do "extra work" for no immediate purpose, and I don't want to come off looking like a brat. My university doesn't have a service to store LORs either.
So... did anyone here actually do this? If so, I'm very interested to know how you positioned your request. Or should I just try my best to keep in contact with them once I leave, and then ask them when I am really applying?
General advice here seems to favor asking for LORs before I leave, and I agree with the reasoning that 1) Profs will be able to write better since their memory of me is still fresh, and 2) They can then update whatever they had written for the real apps later on.
Here's the tricky part: What would be a good way to phrase this request, and how can I store these un-used LORs? It seems odd to make a Prof do "extra work" for no immediate purpose, and I don't want to come off looking like a brat. My university doesn't have a service to store LORs either.
So... did anyone here actually do this? If so, I'm very interested to know how you positioned your request. Or should I just try my best to keep in contact with them once I leave, and then ask them when I am really applying?