Who should I ask for my LORs? Out of school 5+ years

[FutureSLP]

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out who I should ask to write my LORs so I can give them plenty of time before I apply for graduate school this Fall. This is what I'm thinking of, but it doesn't seem very strong, so your suggestions would be very much appreciated:

1. Former boss in non-degree related field: This boss LOVED me, I worked for her for 2 years, and she would gladly write a great letter for me. However, she knows nothing about speech pathology (the field I'm getting into), so she would only be speaking to my work ethics and personality. That means non-strong responses to LOR questionnaires that ask about my grad school and clinical ability.

2. Former professor: I took a graduate class at Harvard Extension School 2 years ago for work, got an A+, and the teacher used a lot of my writing as samples for other classes. She is willing to do a LOR for me, but wants me to write it for her and then send it to her for "tweaking". I figured this would be a good LOR since a) I get to write it and it shows my aptitude for graduate work, but I'm still not sure. This professor is a little aloof Thoughts?

3. Current professor: I have to take a series of prerequisite/leveling classes before I can apply to graduate school. I'm in my first class with a very well known professor at 1 of the schools I plan on applying to. She head of the speech clinic and one of the directros of my program there, I did a couple hours of observation time with her, and it's looking like I'll pull off a B in her class. I really want to ask her to write a LOR for me, but she is crazy busy (very much all over the place) and we haven't connected in class at all. I feel like she may say no because she doesn't know me very well. Should I ask her anyway? And if so, should I prepare a few things to help her get to know me better--Resume, summary of my interest in going to grad school, volunteer work I've been doing, etc. (maybe see if I can do some more clinical observation time with her over the summer to help her decide?)

I've been out of school for 6 years now and my undergrad degree was in a different field, so I'm hesitant to ask any undergrad professors for LORs (I went to a large state school with large class sizes, so I doubt any would remember me personally--they would be pretty generic letters).

I'm taking another 6 week class this summer and another class in the Fall, but that seems really late to ask someone for a LOR. I've tried to shadow a speech pathologist, volunteer at rehab centers, etc, but they're so bogged down with students as it is that they're not allowing anyone else in (4 universities in my area offering speech pathology=masses of students). I volunteer and tutor adult ESL students at a community center and I've thought about asking my supervisor there for a LOR, but I never see the guy--if my students were great writers they'd provide a great LOR!

Thoughts? I really want to make these count, and feel like I'm grabbing at straws just to get it done. Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading!

[newms]

Are you applying for a research based program or a professional program? If it's research based, I think you will probably need at least 2 academic LOR and you could probably use 1 from a previous boss. I would go with the former professor from Harvard Extension School as well as aim to get a LOR out of the summer class - that's not too late in my opinion and they will have you fresh in their minds. The professors from you undergrad days might not necessarily be a good option since its a different field and since you think they would give you a generic letter.

On the other hand - if its a professional degree you're applying for then you can use LOR from former bosses.

I hope this helps.