Jump to content

Need Help Choosing Recommendation Letter for Fall '22 PhD Statistics


Recommended Posts

This is kind of an unusual situation, but I need advice deciding who to pick for my last recommendation letter, specifically for Stanford's Stats PhD program.

First, the other two recommendation letters are solid. One will be from my undergrad thesis advisor in Stats, and the other will be from a professor with whom I did a semester of graph theory research.

For my third recommendation, I am struggling between:

  1. Stats prof. Fairly famous Stanford PhD alum and well connected. In particular, he knows one very famous professor in Stanford's program who I would love to do research with. They were colleagues at Stanford and are apparently on good terms. The problem is I only took one semester of a non-research course with this prof. While I got an A in his class, and we are on very good terms, he will not be able to comment much on my research. I believe he thinks highly of me overall, but especially in non-academic ways. He is a more "well-rounded" individual (I go to a top 2 liberal arts college) and we have developed a good mentor-mentee relationship outside the classroom.
  2. Math professor. I took a one semester non-research course with this prof. However, next semester, he will be supervising my research on a very cool topic (Topological Data Analysis) that perfectly exemplifies my interdisciplinary interests between Stats + CS + Math. The research is also motivated by a real-world social issue so there is an an important altruistic angle here, too. I have a great relationship with this prof and have a similar mentor-mentee relationship outside the classroom.

For all other schools that I'll be applying to, the clear choice is Prof 2. But I'm conflicted on who to choose specifically for Stanford due to Prof 1's background.

So in summary, Prof 1 is very famous but won't be able to comment much on research. Prof 2 is basically a 10/10 recommendation. But, if I already have two 8.5+/10 letters (thesis advisor + graph theory), would a third letter that says more of the same add more value or be redundant? Whereas Prof 1 might be able to comment more about my character and specific fit with Stanford's program, possibly even connecting me with that dream advisor? Or maybe I should still go with Prof 2 and just ask Prof 1 to reach out to the school on my behalf?

Anyway, I'm nitpicking at this point and would really appreciate any input ?

Thanks

Edited by ilovebeachhouse
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stanford says in their FAQ you can submit an extra letter if you want.  I think this may be one of those rare cases where it makes sense to have both.  I think the Stanford connection can only help you - nothing says "this person can handle the program" like someone who has been through it themselves. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use