grad school reccomendations
 

hello all,

Well for once we`re not talking about rush Recs but grad school recommendation letters.

So, i`m pretty set on applying for grad school for next september...i`ve chosen one school for sure and i`m a bit iffy on whether or not i want to apply to any others.
i know i`ll need at least 2 letters of recommendation from professors.

here`s the problem. I`ve always been quiet and shy and i never really had many problems in class, thus i am not chummy with any of my profs. Most of them know me though since i both worked and volunteered with my department.
i have narrowed down my profs to two who know me best and have talked to me outside of class. Both of these profs are now retired - is it ok to still ask them for a letter? i know they both still get some mail through the departmental office, so i should be able to contact them.
second problem tho is that these profs have seen me at my worst!!! in prof S`s classes i ALWAYS dosed off a little...no matter what i tried i could not stay awake.(his classes were always in the afternoon and he has a very soothing voice) he also gave me my worst mark ever , yet in that same class my best mark from him ever.
Prof B is a bit better... I think he knows i have more potential then what i showed him. This year he let me into one of his classes without the prereq because he felt i could catch up on my own...and i did ok in the class. The problem with this one is that I have not shown him my best effort and I know i could have done a lot better in many of the classes i took with him (i never got lower than a B- but didn`t get too many A`s either)

well, i guess that`s it. I am not in school at all this year (actually i`m wotking in a high school this year out-of-province) so there is not a chance for me to get to know other profs.

what do you think of this situation? Any suggestions on how to approach these two professors; what should i write in my letter to them?

btw, i`m interested in applying for Library Science, neither of these profs work in that area, one is in French and the other in Classics.

thanks,

Jen

Hey,

If you read the first post, you were prolly like me, thinking Why bother even trying? Or at least that was how I felt....But I guess I wrote ok letters because today in the mail was my acceptance to grad school!!! Yay me!! I was so excited i picked up the phone and called my sorority sisters long distance! (and during the day...i can just imagine my phone bill)


Therefore, in answer to my own question, I say just ask your profs, you never know what they think of ya and you never know what they'll write!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! :) :D :cool: :p