LORs Outside of Field

[Chrysanthemum]

I'm having trouble deciding which recommenders to use. My undergraduate degree is in a field that is slightly related to my intended graduate program, but I've had to take several post-bacc classes to be eligible to apply.

I have three professors from my undergrad who I know would write excellent letters, but they would all be for classes that are slightly related. On the other hand, I have two professors from my post-bacc classes who could write decent letters. I've only had them for one class each, though, and have known them for such a short time that I don't see how they would be able to write very much. But they are classes that are part of my intended field, and I have done well in them.

Most programs only ask for 3 letters, so I was wondering how I should divide this up. Here are the options I've come up with:

a. Three excellent letters from professors outside the field

b. Two excellent letters from professors outside the field and one decent letter from in the field

c. Two decent letters from professors in the field and the best letter from my undergrad

d. Use all recommenders for a total of five letters

I want to emphasize that my undergrad classes are relevant to my intended program, it's not like I'm going from one field to a completely unrelated one. I'm tempted to use all five, but I am worried that some admissions committees will frown on this. (None of the programs specify a maximum on the admissions requirements page, but I haven't personally checked with the departments.)

Thank you for any advice!

[TakeruK]

If the two letters from the directly-related field are only profs that taught you courses (i.e. you didn't work with them) then I'd stick with the original three excellent letters. You don't need a LOR to say you did well in their class since your transcript shows that you are performing well in the field you're applying to. However, if you did do something above and beyond the normal class work and this doesn't show on your transcript, then maybe this would be helpful in a LOR.

You could also consider using all 3 excellent undergrad LOR and 1 of your "new" LORs. I get the sense that you shouldn't include extra LORs if one of them is going to be weaker than the other 3 though, since it will "bring down the average", so to speak. But if one of the new LOR can add something that is missing from the rest of your application, then you should include it!