<p>hate to break it to the people who have been asked to write their own LORs, but not only is it unethical, it will produce a comparatively weak LOR. my recommendation writers have said things about me that i would never have the audacity to say about myself (good things).</p>
<p>as for what makes a “great” LOR, it would be one that comes from a professor with whom you have a close working relationship and a strong learning relationship. by that, i mean that your professor feels like you’ve taught them something, not just that they’ve taught you.</p>
<p>i had one professor tell me i wrote the best research paper he’d read from an undergraduate or masters student in the last 20 years (i was an undergrad at the time). he created a research position for me just so that he and i could collaborate on an article he was writing. another professor, one of the most notoriously hard-assed profs i’ve ever met, actually told me that i was the sort of student that made him feel like being a professor has been worth it. he’s also one of the most stand-up human beings i have the pleasure to know, and he’s gone above and beyond to assist me in my own research because, in his words, he really believes in what i’m doing and what i’m capable of. from my third letter-writer, i got the sense that she considered me to be a strong, insightful student with potential, but nothing as (over-)dramatic as the other two, so from her, i’d classify my LOR as “good” rather than “great.”</p>
<p>those relationships are hard to cultivate, and even LORs from highly recognized profs can’t buy you admission somewhere if your interests don’t fit with the faculty’s strengths. so don’t worry if your letters are “good” or “great.” just stress out over the parts of the application you have some control over.</p>