<p>I am figuring out who I want to write my letters of recommendation and have a few questions:</p>
<p>1) How many letters should I have? My pre-law adviser said two but my friend who got into Michigan said she submitted three.</p>
<p>2) Who should they be from? My adviser said they must be from faculty, but the same friend said she also had one from an employer (she worked in a senator's office at the time).</p>
<p>I have two professors in mind from two different departments who I plan to ask. One is a journalism professor who can speak for my writing and leadership skills and the other is a classics professor who can speak for my Latin and reading skills. I work in a politician's office and know I could get a letter there as well, but my adviser (who I don't really trust for various reasons) said I should seek only faculty. I can think of a couple TAs I could ask (one taught me in logic, one in Latin) but assume a professor would be better. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>I’m going back a few years when my d applied-- but I’m sure Cornell specifically wanted 2 letters from professors. So I would agree with your advisor- get two faculty recommendations.
A third from employer, is fine too. Three recommendations is certainly not overkill- but make sure at least 2 of your recommendations are from professors who can speak of your academic abilities. I think 3 recommendations is more than sufficient.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to hijack this thread… But if you went to two schools, for example a community college then a university - is it okay to get a LOR from community college? I knew my professors way better at ccc then a giant institution</p>
<p>@ alexandra, I’d only be comfortable with having a professor write a LOR. As the amount of letters, I’m pretty sure most schools specify how many letters they want. Some want two, others want three. Check out the websites of the schools that you’re applying to for more info.</p>
<p>@ cheery_girl, I came from CC as well, and I’ll be having at least one CC prof. write a LOR. On one hand, the prof. does know me a lot better and on the other hand the prof. will be able to demonstrate in the letter that the courses I took/excelled in at CC were somewhat difficult. I have a 4.0, but I took CC courses and some consider that to be a liability. My advisor said that if I provide a LOR from a professor who says that I earned the only A in the class, it demonstrates that the CC may have been a more challenging environment than might otherwise be assumed. I’d like to hear someone else’s opinion though.</p>
<p>My son had three letters done, since he felt they were going to be strong enough. You send them into the LSAC, and can decide how many get sent out with applications. </p>
<p>It helps to give them a resume with additional things that you want them to know about you. </p>
<p>Odds of getting accepted seem to be slightly better at the beginning of the cycle, so it’s desirable to get applications in early rather than late. Your applications at the law schools won’t be considered until your file is complete, which means that the references are also in your package. Ask for the letters sooner, rather than later. </p>
<p>Not sure if it makes a big difference, but you’ll have to decide whether to check-off that you want to see the letters or not. My kid’s pre-law advisor told him to check off that he didn’t want to see the letters. Fortunately, his profs gave him copies or it would have driven him crazy.</p>
<p>Two of my kid’s friends were really frustrated that their professors delayed getting their letters done, and one ended up having to find someone else to write a letter. That kid waited to ask for his letters near mid-terms, which wasn’t too smart anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks guys - your advice has been really helpful.</p>
<p>I’m bumping this because now I have another question related to this topic. Should I ask my recommenders to complete evaluations too? My pre-law adviser who isn’t that helpful said “very few law schools require evaluations but you should probably get them just in case.” Can someone help?</p>