River

Thanks. Do you think that most academics would write a bad letter based on a colleague's judgement of a student who always performed well in their own classes? In the past this tutor has always been very supportive.

The background is that I was a good undergraduate student. I graduated from university with a top degree classification and several of the Faculty exam prizes and scholarships. The trouble started when I began a Masters degree at the same university. The course didn't suit my interests and I fell out with my main tutor, who took my bad performance very personally. I know that she contacted all three of my former referees and made sure to involve them. For full disclosure I also left the Masters course with unpaid rent owed to my college and threatened to draw publicity to the case if they pursued debt collection action against me (I had no money to pay the amount they were demanding so this was a last resort). A few years later I want to go back to university (for public policy/development) but none of my tutors seem willing to provide references. One has refused and the other seems very cold about it (as he was my personal tutor I think he is obliged to provide a reference, so I don't want to push him into providing a bad one). I am applying for this round so I don't have time to take a new course to get a reference. Is it better to risk a recommendation from someone who might be willing to sink all my applications, or choose someone who hardly (doesn't at all) remember me?