Letters of Recommendation and Evaluations

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Is there a rule-of-thumb concerning the maximum number of LORs one should submit (i.e., if the law school does not specify)?</p>

<p>For example, NYU says that one LOR is <em>required</em> but that applicants may submit more and that they may also submit supplemental evaluations. I am worried that my LSAT score may be a tad weak and hoping that my LORs/evals can help my chances.</p>

<p>At this point, I will definitely be receiving LORs from:
1). A tenured history professor (dept. chair) with whom I took an honors course fulfilling a core (200-level) requirement; I've heard that schools prefer LORs from professors of upper-level courses you've taken, but I honestly think this prof. will give me a stellar LOR.
2). A non-tenured philosophy professor with whom I have taken 3 upper-division classes.
3). My boss from a 2-summer unpaid internship.</p>

<p>However, I'm debating whether or not to ask for LORs from 1 or 2 of the following:
1). A non-tenured poli-sci professor from whom I took a 200-level course and received an A- and with whom I am currently taking a 400-level senior seminar. This prof. is also sponsoring my honors thesis in poli-sci.
2). A non-tenured poli-sci professor from whom I have taken two very different 300-level classes (and, as a result, may be able to give a unique perspective?).
3). An English professor (who I believe has tenure but am not positive) with whom I took a 300-level course. This professor is an alum of NYU (PhD) - I know LORs from law school alumni can sometimes carry more weight, but what about alumni in other areas? Would his LOR be beneficial?
4). A non-tenured philosophy professor with whom I took a 400-level course categorized as philosophy and women's studies. (Perhaps this LOR could add more depth to my application?)</p>

<p>With respect to evaluations:
When should evaluations be used as opposed to LORs? From whom should I get evaluations?
There were a couple of 200-level classes I took that were taught by post-grad students (one in English and one in Philosophy). I thought that perhaps I could supplement my application with their evaluations, which I think would be pretty strong.</p>

<p>Any advice as to how I should decide which LORs to use? Would 4-5 LORs and 2 evals be too many?</p>

<p>Sorry about the length of the post (which ended up being much longer than I had expected), and thanks for the help!</p>

2

<p>Yes, though I don’t work in an admissions office (and, therefore, have limited expertise in this area), I would say that 4-5 LORs and 2 evals is way too many. The people in admissions are reading thousands of applications. You want yours to stand out, but not because you were the candidate who went overboard by asking seemingly everyone you encountered to write you a letter of recommendation (at least that would be the exaggerated joke . . . ).</p>

<p>I recommend that you determine who are the 2-3 professors who know you and the quality of your work best. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you automatically go with a professor who taught three of your classes or who gave you an A. That means that you ask the professors who can say positive things about the quality of your work, your work ethic, and your character because they have spent time with you. </p>

<p>Who guides your honors thesis? For whom have you done research? What professor was impressed by your insights when you dropped by office hours on a regular basis? Who saw the way you think as you developed a term paper from concept to outline to research to completion? </p>

<p>The best recommendations are going to come from people who can share anecdotes and/or insights about you as a student and as a person – who can give color to what is an otherwise black and white and grey application. One comment of a completely personal nature (of course, which is compellingly positive) about you can be the thought that sticks in the admissions professionals’ minds. Ideally, the parts of your law school application that speak to who you are (primarily your recommendations and your personal statement) are the things that may make you shine in a pile of applicants with otherwise similar grades and LSAT scores. Think it through carefully.</p>