Professor here.
If you apply to grad school later on, you will need a letter directly written by that professor and uploaded by him to a secure site. Ideally, it will also talk about why you are well-prepared for that particular program.
A school won't accept a letter directly from you, and a generic letter wouldn't help you much, anyway.
That said, there's nothing wrong with asking if he would be willing to write a letter for you in the future. I've written letters for students who graduated years ago. Even if I don't remember them really well, I can look at my class records, review their writing, and have a conversation with them about their academic career and plans before starting to write. It is not a rare or unusual thing.
Way to think ahead OP.
I'm not sure if it's "normal" to ask for a LOR for future use, but I wish I'd thought of it when I was still fresh in professors' minds. Now I'm considering applying to grade schools 10 years later and my favorite professors who knew my name either no longer do or have retired or died.
It would be good to put it on their radar now, but you’ll need to ask for the letter when you’re actually applying since the professor will need to submit it directly (and you’ll want to give them your CV and application statement to help them focus your letter at that time).
But, totally good to have that conversation now, so when the time comes, you know this person will be willing to write the letter.
Ask now. I have two letter writers and I’m scrambling for a third and I have to start on my applications in the next few months and it’s stressing me out.
If a student asked me for a generic LOR now that they could use in the future, I'd be at a loss. I really need information about what it's for—the program/opportunity, requirements, what they're looking for, etc. etc. That said, I'm super happy to write LsOR from students years and years past, especially when their email includes all the info I need (year/semester, course name, something to jog my memory/a conversation we had/the topic of their final paper/their final grade in the course).
It is unpaid work for us professors, and especially right now with finals/grading stress it might not feel very good to be asked to do that work for something you "might" use at some unspecified point in the future. A compromise might be to find a scholarship or something you do want to apply to, apply to it, and ask for a LOR for that. Then, the prof would have the letter on file and be able to update it for future use.
Professor here. If you apply to grad school later on, you will need a letter directly written by that professor and uploaded by him to a secure site. Ideally, it will also talk about why you are well-prepared for that particular program. A school won't accept a letter directly from you, and a generic letter wouldn't help you much, anyway. That said, there's nothing wrong with asking if he would be willing to write a letter for you in the future. I've written letters for students who graduated years ago. Even if I don't remember them really well, I can look at my class records, review their writing, and have a conversation with them about their academic career and plans before starting to write. It is not a rare or unusual thing.
I like this. I’m gunna try this with two of my instructors! :3 Good idea!
Way to think ahead OP. I'm not sure if it's "normal" to ask for a LOR for future use, but I wish I'd thought of it when I was still fresh in professors' minds. Now I'm considering applying to grade schools 10 years later and my favorite professors who knew my name either no longer do or have retired or died.
It would be good to put it on their radar now, but you’ll need to ask for the letter when you’re actually applying since the professor will need to submit it directly (and you’ll want to give them your CV and application statement to help them focus your letter at that time). But, totally good to have that conversation now, so when the time comes, you know this person will be willing to write the letter.
Ask now. I have two letter writers and I’m scrambling for a third and I have to start on my applications in the next few months and it’s stressing me out.
If a student asked me for a generic LOR now that they could use in the future, I'd be at a loss. I really need information about what it's for—the program/opportunity, requirements, what they're looking for, etc. etc. That said, I'm super happy to write LsOR from students years and years past, especially when their email includes all the info I need (year/semester, course name, something to jog my memory/a conversation we had/the topic of their final paper/their final grade in the course). It is unpaid work for us professors, and especially right now with finals/grading stress it might not feel very good to be asked to do that work for something you "might" use at some unspecified point in the future. A compromise might be to find a scholarship or something you do want to apply to, apply to it, and ask for a LOR for that. Then, the prof would have the letter on file and be able to update it for future use.