<p>I worked at ga tech in a computer science research lab this past summer, and was told several times from both the professors and the grad students that they'd be more than happy to write me a recommendation.
One professor is pretty well known in his field, and his name would be recognized by most professors in the computer science field. However, he doesn't really know me all that well. He knows my name by face, but I didnt really work with him much. Most of my time was spent with the grad students. My question is would it be better for me to get a rec from the professor who doesnt know me all that well and hope he consults the grad students to get their input about me, or go to one of the grad students?</p>
<p>Also, would a rec from one of the grad students who graduated from carnegie mellon have any extra influence if I applied to CM?</p>
<p>Think about it. How much experience does a grad student have in evaluating students? It is very limited, at best.</p>
<p>If the professor doesn't know you very well how is he going to reply to the question about his knowledge of your capabilities? It seems that his recommendation wouldn't carry much weight since it would add very little to the profile for your prospective schools.</p>
<p>Approach the professor and ask him if he could provide a strong recommendation to your colleges of choice. He should be honest with you if he can't due to his lack of knowledge of your performance. At least he can confirm that you participated in the project. Good luck.</p>
<p>I also had an idea, though Im not sure if this is allowed. Could I ask them to jointly write a recommendation between the four of them, so all their opinions get voiced, and they all put their names/sign it? Do colleges allow a recommendation written by more than 1 person, or is it a bad idea?</p>