Whom to ask for letters

[SetV]

Ok, so I've got a few professors I can ask for a recommendation letter. I'm just not sure who to ask.

Professor 1: Will have 2 summers and 2 semesters of research experience with him. He's in the field I'm applying to for grad school, though he's a professor for a different engineering major. I'm definitely going to ask him.

Professor 2: Will have 2 semesters of project experience with him. The project, although not real research, has many similarities to research. For example, we had weekly update reports, had to work in teams, we were basically on our own since the professor didn't know anything about the coding API (it was a coding project). I think besides coming up with data, it was almost an actual research experience. The professor is a distinguished professor, though he's in a different field. Nonetheless, he should be a safe bet for a LoR. He might not be able to talk about any actual research, but I'm sure he'll be able to say some good things about my research potential.

Here's where it gets tricky: I'm not sure whom to ask for the 3rd letter

Professor 3: He co-supervised the coding project with Professor 2. He's a distinguished professor as well, once again, not in my field. I'm not sure if I should ask him since he'll probably say the exact same things as professor 2 (seeing how they co-supervised the same project)

Professor 4: Took a class with him. Had some interesting conversations. I'm possibly taking another class/independent study with him. He's somewhat in my field (my field is pretty interdisciplinary).

Professor 5: Took a class with him. TA'ed a class under him for 3 semesters. I came up with the idea of having undergraduate TA evaluations for the class.

Professor 6: Did a research project under him for a semester. Didn't get to see him much, mainly interacted with a graduate student. The experience was interesting. I thought the graduate mentor was being unrealistic with his expectations. Needless to say, I thought I was seriously disappointing him. Apparently he told the professor I'm very motivated and dedicated. Nonetheless, I rather not ask, I still feel the graduate student would mention several negative things about me.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated. I always wondered, what do adcoms think about letters from 2 professors who basically say the same thing (since they co-supervised)? Would it be better to go with Professor 4 instead of Professor 3?

Edited June 28, 2010 by SetV

[American in Beijing]

Ok, so I've got a few professors I can ask for a recommendation letter. I'm just not sure who to ask.

Professor 1: Will have 2 summers and 2 semesters of research experience with him. He's in the field I'm applying to for grad school, though he's a professor for a different engineering major. I'm definitely going to ask him.

Professor 2: Will have 2 semesters of project experience with him. The project, although not real research, has many similarities to research. For example, we had weekly update reports, had to work in teams, we were basically on our own since the professor didn't know anything about the coding API (it was a coding project). I think besides coming up with data, it was almost an actual research experience. The professor is a distinguished professor, though he's in a different field. Nonetheless, he should be a safe bet for a LoR. He might not be able to talk about any actual research, but I'm sure he'll be able to say some good things about my research potential.

Here's where it gets tricky: I'm not sure whom to ask for the 3rd letter

Professor 3: He co-supervised the coding project with Professor 2. He's a distinguished professor as well, once again, not in my field. I'm not sure if I should ask him since he'll probably say the exact same things as professor 2 (seeing how they co-supervised the same project)

Professor 4: Took a class with him. Had some interesting conversations. I'm possibly taking another class/independent study with him. He's somewhat in my field (my field is pretty interdisciplinary).

Professor 5: Took a class with him. TA'ed a class under him for 3 semesters. I came up with the idea of having undergraduate TA evaluations for the class.

Professor 6: Did a research project under him for a semester. Didn't get to see him much, mainly interacted with a graduate student. The experience was interesting. I thought the graduate mentor was being unrealistic with his expectations. Needless to say, I thought I was seriously disappointing him. Apparently he told the professor I'm very motivated and dedicated. Nonetheless, I rather not ask, I still feel the graduate student would mention several negative things about me.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated. I always wondered, what do adcoms think about letters from 2 professors who basically say the same thing (since they co-supervised)? Would it be better to go with Professor 4 instead of Professor 3?

My instinct would be to try to not get two professors who worked on the same project together, unless you feel that Professor 3's recommendation will be VASTLY superior to Professors 4 and 5. How is your relationship with Professor 5? Does he know a lot about you and your academic interests? It might be beneficial to have a perspective from a professor who has had you as a TA, seeing as that will most likely also be part of your duties as a grad student. Also, it will attest to your potential as a teacher, which is also important. Then again, ,if you feel that any of the other professors' recommendations will be a lot better, pick them. You know your relationships with these people better than I ever could.

[SetV]

Professor 5 knows I'm interested in graduate school, though I'm not sure if I should ask him for a letter. I once asked him what adcoms look for in LoRs. He said that if he were to write a LoR for his TAs, he would use the students' evaluation of the TAs as his basis. So the letter would show what a great TA I am (assuming the students didn't hate me ). But not sure if it'll say much about research potential.

Thanks for the advice. I'll see how the Fall semester goes and decide whether to ask Professor 3 or someone else. Though I'm still curious to know, did someone else here submit two LoRs from professors that co-supervised their project?

[TheDude]

Who chats with you more and seems generally interested to see you and catch up? I'm not being facetious, but you're more apt to get better letters from that person than trying to build some kind of continuity with all 3. I've heard you need a stellar letter, a great letter than a cursory third letter.

[SetV]

Could you explain what you mean? Do you mean I should try to focus to interact on one of Professor 3,4 or 5? Or do you mean I should focus on interacting with just one professor in general?

Also, did you mean someone needs a stellar LoR, a great LoR and a hasty 3rd one? Or did you mean you need a stellar 3rd LoR rather than a 3rd hasty LoR?

[TheDude]

Could you explain what you mean? Do you mean I should try to focus to interact on one of Professor 3,4 or 5? Or do you mean I should focus on interacting with just one professor in general?

Also, did you mean someone needs a stellar LoR, a great LoR and a hasty 3rd one? Or did you mean you need a stellar 3rd LoR rather than a 3rd hasty LoR?

[SetV]

Euhm, I think your response got erased or something.