2 lor questions

[flip side]

hi y'all,

2 questions that i know have been touched on elsewhere but i can't find an answer:

1) i live across the country from my undergrad & grad universities.  is it VERY rude to ask for an lor over email?  i know the general consensus is "don't do it," but, unless you live near the area, it's not very practical to pop in to profs' offices anymore.  i don't mind calling, but would prob. prefer to email with full details first, because otherwise a phonecall feels a little coldcally to me.  what do y'all think?

2) i have been concentrating on lsat studying & have yet to start on my personal statement.  again, i know the consensus is that we should send recommendation writers a package of info (resume, papers, personal statement, etc.), but i hate to keep putting off asking for the lor's if my ps draft is a long way away.  would it be ok to write up something informal explaining why i'd like to go to law school &/or chat about it on the phone, instead of providing professors with my ps? 

thanks so much in advance for any and all help 

[meggo]

I know a lot of people find e-mails impersonal, but in summer, I really see no other option. I have constantly emailed my prof's during the school year if I could do office hours and I find it personal way of communication. One of my prof's is actually visiting friends and family out of country, so calling is not an option.  I actually think in the summer when prof's don't have office hours, calling is a bit of an imposition. Email is something they can access when they have time to deal with 'work' issues. One prof. I'm going to meet up with in person, the other prof I've organized everything via email, and the other I'm going to offer to do it via email or in person. I think the best thing is to be flexible to what's good for each prof. Some prof's prefer working only in person, others only in email.

If you look at my other posts, I talk about the 'packets' and how I organized mine since it was the summer.

[flip side]

thanks so much y'all.  i wanted to report back with my successes of the day!  i called 2 grad school prof's & 1 practicum supervisor from grad school (since i am NOT telling my current boss about this little endeavor called "law school") today for rec's.  one prof was away & his assistant said to email, which is great; another agreed right away & asked me to send him any tips to highlight; and the practicum supervisor also agreed right away & asked me to write the letter myself.  i'll definitely be including tips from that other post you pasted in, meggo, so thanks again for that!  i'm excited to get the ball rolling... makes everything seem much more real than does studying for lsat.

hooray, thanks again!