Letters of Recc

[Francophile1]

Hello All!

As I am thinking who to choose for my letters of Recc for the next application cycle for Comp. Lit. I came across a bit of a dilemma. I have two very solid faculty members who I have established a good relationship with as well as got very good grades, but then at the same time I am still wondering about the 3rd one. The third one could be either a professor with whom I have only taken 1 class (and not in my major) or a lecturer in my major for 2 lower division french classes (language courses). Please provide your opinion which one do you think is more suitable.

Also, since I've never done this before, I am also wondering if people who are applying to 10 or more schools all have the same 3 reccs for all applications? don't know if asking 1 prof. to submit 10 reccs is kinda a lot?

I appreciate in advance all the answers!

Edited January 27, 2011 by katerinaver

[Medievalmaniac]

In terms of asking professors to submit multiple recommendations - if you know how many you need, then I would certainly disclose that number to them as you are asking. But with the invention of the online submission form in the Applyyourself system, this should not be a hardship - you write a recommendation letter, then upload it into the system. Once the letter is written, ten uploads will take about ten minutes. I shouldn't think it would be a problem. If it is, then they should tell you so when you request the recommendation.

In terms of who to ask for the rec- you should always ask for a recommendation from the professors who are most able to speak to your strengths as a scholar. I can assure you that a detailed, thorough recommendation from an assistant professor will carry more weight with an adcomm than a rec from, say, J.R.R. Tolkien, Professor Emeritus in English at Oxford, that says "Janey is a fantastic student. I recommend her fully for your program. Sincerely, J.R.R. Tolkien." Unless a big-name professor has specific ties with the department in question and/or has a track record of only sending really great applicants, that rec is pretty much useless - remember, s/he who is well-known in your field may be just another member of the MLA to people on the adcomm. You my be a medievalist who knows and adores Larry Benson's work; the adcomm may be comprised of 17th, 18th, and 20th century American studies professors. That's why letters of recommendation should speak to your strengths across the board as an English student, as specifically as possible.

Now, if you could get the above-mentioned Tolkien to write you a one page evaluation of you as a super-promising linguist and an extremely strnong reader with a penchant for comparative work, then THAT letter would definitely be the one to get (not to mention, involving an inexplicable instance of time-travel, but I digress...)! But in your situation, it seems your better choice is going to be the second professor. You have taken more classes with him/her, and therefore s/he is more familiar with you as a student.

[Francophile1]

Thanks for the input. First of all just wanted to clarify some things. I go to a state school now so for the most part my professors are not that "well" known. I am applying to comp. lit but am a French major, so most reccs are from language profs. The first prof I mentioned is from the humanities dept where I took one course and got an A but also established a good rapport with him through my participation in the class and then later on when I asked him for several scholarship/study abroad reccs. The second one, as I mentioned taught 2 french lower division language classes and again, I had a good rapport with her also (the same way as with the first one). the only difference is with her I took two classes. So I guess what I'm wondering here if the only difference is the amount of classes I took and the major/non major factor...which one should I choose?

Thanks...

[crutch]

A professor once told me that part of his job was to write reference letters and that I shouldn't worry about inconveniencing him or other professors by asking for letters. So, I've never worried about asking for references, and this year my referees each submitted 12 letters. Most were submitted online, but 4 were mailed physically. None of them seemed to mind being asked to do so much because, as the above poster stated, uploading a letter takes two minutes tops. Each professor also took the time to read over my writing sample, my purpose statement, and my CV. Two of them actually took the time to send back comments on the sample and SoP, which I used to edit both pieces of writing.

I also agree that you should choose the professor that is most familiar with your work. However, if a well-known professor that isn't very familiar with your work currently - you've only had them for one class or something - is willing to look over your statement and writing sample, you could still go with them, since they would then be familiar with your work as well.

[bigdgp]

In terms of asking professors to submit multiple recommendations - if you know how many you need, then I would certainly disclose that number to them as you are asking. But with the invention of the online submission form in the Applyyourself system, this should not be a hardship - you write a recommendation letter, then upload it into the system. Once the letter is written, ten uploads will take about ten minutes. I shouldn't think it would be a problem. If it is, then they should tell you so when you request the recommendation.

In terms of who to ask for the rec- you should always ask for a recommendation from the professors who are most able to speak to your strengths as a scholar. I can assure you that a detailed, thorough recommendation from an assistant professor will carry more weight with an adcomm than a rec from, say, J.R.R. Tolkien, Professor Emeritus in English at Oxford, that says "Janey is a fantastic student. I recommend her fully for your program. Sincerely, J.R.R. Tolkien." Unless a big-name professor has specific ties with the department in question and/or has a track record of only sending really great applicants, that rec is pretty much useless - remember, s/he who is well-known in your field may be just another member of the MLA to people on the adcomm. You my be a medievalist who knows and adores Larry Benson's work; the adcomm may be comprised of 17th, 18th, and 20th century American studies professors. That's why letters of recommendation should speak to your strengths across the board as an English student, as specifically as possible.

Now, if you could get the above-mentioned Tolkien to write you a one page evaluation of you as a super-promising linguist and an extremely strnong reader with a penchant for comparative work, then THAT letter would definitely be the one to get (not to mention, involving an inexplicable instance of time-travel, but I digress...)! But in your situation, it seems your better choice is going to be the second professor. You have taken more classes with him/her, and therefore s/he is more familiar with you as a student.

I LOVE that you used Tolkien as your default big name professor!