LOR from a PhD student

[Waffle]

Hi,

As the application process has now begon, I am currently structuring my LOR plan but one problem remains.

I should have a LOR from the managing partner of a small consulting firm and another one from a professor that knows me well; the problem concerns the third letter.

I'm an international student and in my university, seminars are thaught by PhD students. The problem is that seminars are one of the only chances a student has to establish a sounder relationship than it would be possible in courses taking place in auditoriums.

The question is thus: Is is "accepted" to get a LOR from a PhD student who teaches several seminars? In this case, the person knows me pretty well: we've worked on organizing conference together; he's been advising me for my school choices; and I got good grades with him.

If not, I would have to get the third LOR from another teacher whom will know me a lot less. In other words: what's more valuable between a good LOR from the PhD student and a weaker LOR from a known teacher?

Thank you!

[orst11]

This is a fairly common situation and a lot of the time the Phd student will help write the LoR and get a professor to sign it, since most of these seminar type courses are somewhat monitored by a given professor. This is actually somewhat normal at large universities. Really, most PhD students know that a letter from a professor would hold a lot more weight when the letter is received by admissions committee, so I would see if you can arrange something like that.

Edited September 2, 2011 by orst11

[BassAZ]

I'll just point out the red flag in this - while not to diminish what the PhD student has accomplished in their career, the point of LORs is to hear from someone who has had success in the field, achieved a higher standing and is accepted in the field as some kind of authority, and is able to convey to the adcoms that you have been evaluated fairly and found success under them.

Again, not to push too far but what has this PhD student achieved? How well known are they in the field? Will this person be looked upon as your peer instead of an authority in their field?

As Orst said, it might be better to approach this student and ask if the overseeing professor might be able to sign it.