Whom to ask for my rec letters?

[forthorn]

I’m a rising senior applying for PhD programs this fall, and I’m really worried about rec letters and not sure whom I should ask. Somewhat embarrassingly, this literally keeps me up at night. I know people say to ask whomever knows you best, but I’ve also heard that it’s important to have more senior/famous people write for you or that you shouldn’t ask people you’ve only taken a class with.

I’m applying to statistics/biostatistics PhD programs, but I’m asking her because this doesn’t seem too specific to any field in particular. Of the 4-5 professors below, who might be good to ask? I need three letters total.

1. My thesis advisor (assistant professor), working on a topic in my field of interest. I’m pretty certain I’ll ask him.
2. Professor from last semester who is one of the top researchers in the subfield I’m interested in. I took his grad school class (in subfield of interest) and got an A, and he sent me an email at the end saying I had done very well on the assignments over the semester. I don’t know him that well yet, but I’ll likely meet with him a few times this summer to talk about my research and future plans.
3. Biostats professor from last semester who is very well known, but doesn’t work in the same subfield as I want to. I took his undergrad class and got an A, and he said at the end that I had been a very good participant in discussions.
4. Political science professors (two) I’m RAing for this summer, both assistant professors. The research I’m doing with them is fairly quantitative, so I think it’s still relevant to the programs I’m applying to. I’ll have met with them/done more work directly with them than most of the other faculty above.

I'd really appreciate some help/advice, thanks in advance!

[labradoodle]

Definitely go for your thesis advisor, of course. Apart from that, from what I've heard, it's most important to choose people who know you well, so that they can say more than just "they got an A in my class". While it's definitely a good sign that you receive emails saying you did so well, that on its own wouldn't convince me completely. I think that Professor 2 seems like a really good pick, but only if, and after you meet with him a few times. Then he'll certainly know you better. While I get the appeal of the third one, you have to properly ask yourself if they would still remember you well, and what they would exactly have to say. A bad letter from a famous person doesn't bring you that much further. As a bit of balance also can't hurt, and 2 and 3 seem fairly similar in their function in your academic path, I'd definitely go for someone who knows your concrete research experience as a third one! They'll know from the other letters, plus from your CV/transcript, that you're qualified and have taken (bio)statistics courses - a letter from a political science professor will probably only show your interdisciplinary qualities.

I do want to say, though, that all of these seem good options, and as long as your thesis advisor is there, you're probably alright! So if one declines, the other ones would probably be good choices, too. If you end up asking someone who only knows you from a course, though, espeically if it's a bit longer ago, I would definitely recommend you sending them some information about yourself - your CV, transcript, maybe a paper you wrote for the class, or whatever. Good luck, in any case!

[labradoodle]

On 6/16/2021 at 2:26 PM, labradoodle said:

Definitely go for your thesis advisor, of course. Apart from that, from what I've heard, it's most important to choose people who know you well, so that they can say more than just "they got an A in my class". While it's definitely a good sign that you receive emails saying you did so well, that on its own wouldn't convince me completely. I think that Professor 2 seems like a really good pick, but only if, and after you meet with him a few times. Then he'll certainly know you better. While I get the appeal of the third one, you have to properly ask yourself if they would still remember you well, and what they would exactly have to say. A bad letter from a famous person doesn't bring you that much further. As a bit of balance also can't hurt, and 2 and 3 seem fairly similar in their function in your academic path, I'd definitely go for someone who knows your concrete research experience as a third one! They'll know from the other letters, plus from your CV/transcript, that you're qualified and have taken (bio)statistics courses - a letter from a political science professor will probably only show your interdisciplinary qualities.

I do want to say, though, that all of these seem good options, and as long as your thesis advisor is there, you're probably alright! So if one declines, the other ones would probably be good choices, too. If you end up asking someone who only knows you from a course, though, espeically if it's a bit longer ago, I would definitely recommend you sending them some information about yourself - your CV, transcript, maybe a paper you wrote for the class, or whatever. Good luck, in any case!

I'm not sure how to edit my previous comment, but you can of course also just email them asking "would you be able to write me a strong letter"? That leaves them more room to say so if they actually don't remember you well, and might increase your chances for a strong letter!