Are LOR's less important for Master's programs than PhD?

[theduckster]

And if so, are they still very important or just somewhat important? Just curious.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

LORs are somewhat important for MS programs but do not carry as much weight as they do for PhD applications. Most Masters programs are cash cows for the department/university, since they are typically unfunded. As a result, many people are admitted as long as they have a decent ugrad GPA and have taken the minimum math requirements (Calc I-Calc III and linear algebra), and admissions is not as competitive. For PhD programs, the department is making a long-term investment in you and wants to see that you have strong research potential, so the letters will matter more (the letters are really the main component through which the adcoms assess research potential).

Edited October 3, 2018 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[cyberwulf]

They don't play much of a role at all; since Masters are mostly coursework-based, the relevant information to predict success is contained in your previous coursework grades and GRE scores.

[theduckster]

3 hours ago, cyberwulf said:

They don't play much of a role at all; since Masters are mostly coursework-based, the relevant information to predict success is contained in your previous coursework grades and GRE scores.

Really? Interesting; this must vary vastly across departments. I've seen a PDF from a Stanford admissions committee member that LOR's can make or break an applicant as long as they are above a certain GPA/GRE threshold.

In your experience, how do you distinguish applicants who are all within a relatively tight range of "qualified", academically speaking?

Thank you for your insights!

[jmillar]

On 10/3/2018 at 11:09 AM, theduckster said:

And if so, are they still very important or just somewhat important? Just curious.

They can possibly play a role if you are also applying for teaching assistantships. I helped TA a Calculus course in undergrad, and those letters played a big role in landing one of the 3 TA spots in my Statistics Masters program.

[cyberwulf]

16 hours ago, theduckster said:

I've seen a PDF from a Stanford admissions committee member that LOR's can make or break an applicant as long as they are above a certain GPA/GRE threshold.

Was this person referring to Masters or (more likely) PhD admission? Two totally different stories. The handful of Masters programs which are highly selective presumably handle admissions more like typical PhD programs would, where letters play a big role.

16 hours ago, theduckster said:

In your experience, how do you distinguish applicants who are all within a relatively tight range of "qualified", academically speaking?

My point was that most Masters programs don't try to make this distinction; they more or less take everybody they deem "qualified". There is program-to-program variability in what constitutes "qualified", but in general Masters admissions don't involve grinding over who is good/better/best among the set of students who can plausibly succeed in the program.

Edited October 4, 2018 by cyberwulf