Bethany8787

Hi All, I am trying to figure out my best options for letters of recommendation. I am about halfway through a master's in sociology program and looking to transfer to a PhD program. I could ask for letters from some of my undergrad and grad professors and easily get three - but I don't think they wouldn't be particularly strong letters simply because I haven't been able to develop professional relationships w/ any of them. I have worked full-time throughout all of my academic studies. My undergrad was entirely online and I've just been taking night classes for my grad studies this past year and a half. I have worked at a research organization for the past two years, but not in a research position. I worked mostly with contracts, grants and finance, a little with communications. My former supervisor (she left the organization about five months ago) would be willing to be one of my recommenders. I am just not sure what the best combination would be. My supervisor could write a strong letter about my work ethic, flexibility, ability to learn and adapt, etc. but nothing specific to my sociology studies. One of my undergrad professors would probably write a really good letter. I don't really have any confidence in getting anything more than a mediocre letter from any of my other professors. Would that combination be okay - one from my former supervisor, one from an undergrad professor and one from a grad professor? Or should I try to get letters from just professors?

Hi All, New here and I had a questions. I'm currently in a Masters program and want to transfer to a PhD program (not offered by my current school). My current GPA is 3.575. I am taking a class in the Fall and if I can get an A (extremely plausible, I believe) I will bring my GPA up to 3.66. Undergrad GPA was not good (3.03). I could theoretically be ready to start applying within a month, depending on how quickly I can get letters of recommendation together. Even though application deadlines are not until January for the school I want to apply to, I have heard that applying early is beneficial and I am looking for any edge I can get. My question is, is applying early with a lower GPA better than applying later with a higher GPA? Bearing in mind that 1) the GPA difference isn't that great (less than .1 points) and 2) I will definitely be applying by the actual deadline regardless. What do you all think? Thanks for the feedback!