I'm in a bit of a precarious situation with respect to my LORs and I was hoping for some advice. I finished my undergrad 10 years ago and I'm currently in the process of applying to grad school for Masters in Statistics. I have taken some course work as prerequisites for grad programs(CalcI-III and Linear Algebra). I'm getting two strong LORs from tenured professors from these courses but I am unsure what my best option is for letter number three. I have three potential professors I could ask but they seemingly all have drawbacks.
1. A calc professor- I got an A+ in his class. On several occasions he made it clear that he considers me to be an exceptional student. The drawbacks as I see them are that he is a adjunct and seemed disinterested when I asked for a LOR. I believe that he is a retired engineer and teaches to stay busy. I asked him via email if he would write a letter and he agreed. In my email I offered to come meet with him in person and provide him with my transcript from my undergrad institution or a CV so he could personalize the letter. He seemed disinterested in his response which was one sentence, something along the lines of "ok where should i send them". I took the class last spring so there is a possibility that he doesn't remember me. English isn't his first language so its also possible that what comes off as being disinterested is really just a language barrier/cultural differences. I'm just concerned that he will write a lukewarm, impersonal letter which from my understanding will do far more harm than good.
2. Another Calc Adjunct.- I got an A in his class but he has only been teaching for a year or two. I have a decent relationship with him but I don't think I stood out as much in his class.
3. A tenured professor from my undergraduate institution- I worked closely with her as a research assistant. I'm mentioned in the "Acknowledgment" section of at least one of her papers. This would obviously be the best option if it wasn't for the fact that I haven't been in contact with her for ten years. I feel like admissions departments won't be blown away by a letter saying I was great to work with in 2010.
I feel like all my options are sub-optimal. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Question
Statman4
I'm in a bit of a precarious situation with respect to my LORs and I was hoping for some advice. I finished my undergrad 10 years ago and I'm currently in the process of applying to grad school for Masters in Statistics. I have taken some course work as prerequisites for grad programs(CalcI-III and Linear Algebra). I'm getting two strong LORs from tenured professors from these courses but I am unsure what my best option is for letter number three. I have three potential professors I could ask but they seemingly all have drawbacks.
1. A calc professor- I got an A+ in his class. On several occasions he made it clear that he considers me to be an exceptional student. The drawbacks as I see them are that he is a adjunct and seemed disinterested when I asked for a LOR. I believe that he is a retired engineer and teaches to stay busy. I asked him via email if he would write a letter and he agreed. In my email I offered to come meet with him in person and provide him with my transcript from my undergrad institution or a CV so he could personalize the letter. He seemed disinterested in his response which was one sentence, something along the lines of "ok where should i send them". I took the class last spring so there is a possibility that he doesn't remember me. English isn't his first language so its also possible that what comes off as being disinterested is really just a language barrier/cultural differences. I'm just concerned that he will write a lukewarm, impersonal letter which from my understanding will do far more harm than good.
2. Another Calc Adjunct.- I got an A in his class but he has only been teaching for a year or two. I have a decent relationship with him but I don't think I stood out as much in his class.
3. A tenured professor from my undergraduate institution- I worked closely with her as a research assistant. I'm mentioned in the "Acknowledgment" section of at least one of her papers. This would obviously be the best option if it wasn't for the fact that I haven't been in contact with her for ten years. I feel like admissions departments won't be blown away by a letter saying I was great to work with in 2010.
I feel like all my options are sub-optimal. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
1 answer to this question
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now