Urgent Advice Needed Please!!!

Graduate School
1

<p>I have a question about LOR for grad school application and I would really appreciate your input on this!</p>

<p>So I have already asked three professors to write me letters. They all happily accepted my request. They are all professors whom I have worked with on research projects in my department. Prof. A and Prof. B are both very accomplished full tenured professors. My concern is with Prof.C. He's also a very nice and brilliant guy. I was in an advanced lab class taught by him and Prof. D (more on him later). I have also been working with him and Prof. B on my senior thesis. So you can see why I asked Prof. C to write me a letter. The problem is that Prof. C is not a full professor in the conventional sense. He is only a research assistant professor. Actually he is known in the department as a research associate/staff. In addition, he's not a native speaker in English and he hasn't had much experience of writting LORs before. On the other hand, Prof. D is a full tenured professor and he is sort of the director of the advanced lab class. And every year, he writes around 10 LOR's, probably the most in our department. So top graduate programs around the country have seen many letters from him over the years. </p>

<p>I definitely need Prof. C's letter since he knows me the best. My question is should I ask Prof. D too as my fourth letter, to sort of supplement C's lack of recognition? </p>

<p>Your help is really appreciated!</p>

2

<p>When are your apps due? My guess is that it is probably a little late to be asking someone for a LOR. If your other 2 LORs are good I dont think there is anything to worry about, most people dont get 3 excellent letters.</p>

3

<p>They are all due the end of December or early January, so I think I am not too late.</p>

4

<p>I recommend that you directly consult with prof D and ask his opinion if he should write a letter for you to complement Prof C or should write a joint letter with Prof C.</p>

5

<p>I agree with ParAlum. Had a similar situation but in a different way- the prof was in my field (and the only one in the department) but we disliked each other but another prof offered to be a “stand-in” for him by probably commenting on my performance in the class… they worked out some kind of shady deal :)</p>

6

<p>Thanks every body! It all works out. Prof C and D will co-write a letter.</p>