grad school reccomendations

[MooseGirl]

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

[MooseGirl]

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!

[GeekyPenguin]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!