LOR from Famous Politician or LOR from Professor

[abraxas]

I'm going to be applying to mostly MA programs in IR (Fletcher, Korbel, Georgetown, etc), but also few PhD programs in IR this fall. I have great relationships with History and Poli Sci profs (the former was my major, the latter my minor), but I also had a course with a very famous, very high ranking political figure who was high up in a past Presidential administration. They have agreed to write a letter for me, and I'm hoping that that person's name will be a boon for my application, even if that person doesn't know me very well, which they don't. I figure that the other two letters from profs would make up for it, but I'm pretty much going after this person for an LOR because of their name. I'm wondering if that even makes a difference to grad schools. Does a big name LOR really help that much if the letter itself isn't that great?

[fuzzylogician]

Does a big name LOR really help that much if the letter itself isn't that great?

Unless IR is somehow very different from the norm: No.

This is the equivalent of a question we get more often - "should I get a letter from a famous professor who doesn't really know me or from a less famous professor who knows me well?"

The answer is always to get the letter that endorses you the best. That will come from the person who knows you better - the one who can confidently speak to your abilities and give concrete examples - not the person who could only write vague generalities.

Compare the contents of a letter you would expect to get from the famous professor with the contents of the second letter. I assume the second letter is the hands-down winner. Do you really think a name on the top of the letter can make up for the difference? It would have to be some extraordinary name.

As an aside, it's sometimes possible to have a 4th supporting letter. If that's allowed, you could have the best of both worlds.

As an even further afield aside, I think if I sat on an admissions committee and read a LOR that was really unimpressive but was from a famous person I would think the applicant was trying to cover up some deficiencies--otherwise, why not submit a strong letter instead of name-dropping? But, that's really just my opinion. In the case of famous professors I can see how it's a dilemma, because adcoms are likelier to trust the opinion of someone they know and value more than the opinion of someone they've never heard of. I'm not sure, though, that this logic extends to the opinion of a politician, famous or not. Does this politician have knowledge of your abilities that's relevant to your application? Can he give an informed opinion about how you'll do in an IR program or what your chances of succeeding afterward are like?

Edited July 21, 2010 by fuzzylogician

[Genomic Repairman]

I agree with fuzzy, if its not glowing with personal references, then it comes off just like another stock LOR that says this individual does exist, they showed up to my class, but I have no heart-warming stories of adoration about them. Also another thing to look at is this politician of the same political persuasion and mindset as those who might be reviewing your application. It might sound petty but politicians and academics sometimes are.

[abraxas]

Thanks for the advice guys. Fuzzylogician, this person probably could say something about my ability to succeed in an IR program, given that this person was a senior diplomat and the course that I took with him/her was on international politics. I thought might hold some weight, rather than, say, a History prof I know really well but who has little to do with IR.

[hahahut]

Sorry, just try to present another point of view: I guess we all agree a good LOR is only good if it gives positive comment on the applicant's ability. But would it be an advantage if an applicant is identified uniquely by having a famous name? The applicant could be one of 1000 others or the one with a recommendation letter from, say, Condoleezza Rice. If I were in the admissions committee, even I won't give any special consideration based on a famous name, I would be very curious and give it a good read to see if this applicant has anything special. I might forget any other application right after reading it. But it might come back to me "what happen to the applicant with the famous people's recommendation letter? Did she get in?"

When writing SOP, one important measure is whether or not I have given good details so the reader finishes with an impression of the unique me. Such a recommendation letter could help get a lot attention. It is like making sure the reader gets a shot of espresso. So if the person's recommendation is also relevant, why not?