Choosing Professors for Recommendation Letters

[ghstx22]

So I will be applying for political theory, but at my undergraduate school there are not that many political theorists. I have a great relationship with one, with whom I have done research and who I will definitely ask to write one of my letters, and I have a fairly embryonic relationship with another, though I have only taken one small class with him fairly recently. I have other professors, such as my advisor, who is a comparativist, and another professor, who is an economist, that I am confident could write me good letters of recommendation, but if I need 3 letters, who should I ask? Will it be looked down upon if I have 1, or even 2, letters from professors who are not political theorists given that that is my chosen field?

[upam]

You want people who can speak to your ability to research and get through grad school - they definitely don't have to be in your sub-field. I actually had two non-academics as letter writers who both could speak to my research skills and drive even though they aren't strictly political scientists.

 

Use the individuals who can write the strongest letters for you. Often helps to directly ask - can you write a strong rec for me - rather than just asking if they will. Gives a more comfortable out if they don't know you well enough.

[aulait]

Oddly, none of my letter writers were political scientists. I knew a couple who would probably have done it, but I felt more comfortable with the impression I had made on some of the economists, so I asked them instead. I think, above all, you want the people who will write the best letters for you as an individual. Besides, a lot of people switch subfields in grad school/are interested in more than one, etc. Don't you think your prospective schools would like to know that you're strong in more than one tiny aspect of the discipline? Narrowing is what the SOP is for.

[ghstx22]

Thank you guys for responding. Just out of curiosity (and I really hope this does not come off as rude since I am just stressed and looking for answers), were both of you fairly successful in your own applications?

[aulait]

You can see upam's results in the signature box--results that I would call extremely successful. I applied to almost as many, and got offers from UPenn (where I will be attending in the fall) and from Rochester. This means I also got many, many rejections of course, but it's the rare soul who avoids that particular displeasure. 

 

Honestly, it sounds like no matter what you do, you have some great options for letter writers. Maybe you can narrow it down based on who's the most reliable? One of my letter writers kind of made me panic by not submitting his letters until the last minute. If one of the profs you mentioned has trouble getting grades back on time, you might want to consider omitting him/her. And lastly, if you really can't decide, I know a number of schools allow for an optional fourth letter.   

[upam]

I think my applications were as successful as I could hope for, though obviously that also included quite a few rejections. Interesting point I wanted to mention (though I wouldn't suggest it) on of my letter writers actually hadn't even finished his Phd at that point, though he has a decade and a half of experience.

 

Though I did realize - for four schools I did turn in a 4th letter of rec from an associate prof that I know, have somewhat worked with and whose classes I have audited. But I haven't ever technically taken one of his courses etc. Not sure if this was helpful, but he's solid in one of my subfields of interest. Otherwise, I had an assistant professor I worked with for four years and two other mentor type figures that aren't strictly in academia. I had another former professor I'd asked, but logistically he was going to be difficult to get letters from and I decided not to worry about it. For better or worse.

 

Main point would be - pick those who know you best and you think there is a chance will fit each letter to each school (I know most of mine did). Make sure you provide your school list with due dates for all of them and send the access links to them as soon as possible (many schools let you do this before you actually submit your application, though I had at least one school that made you submit the app first). Also my academic writers all requested to see my SOP(s) and we chatted about my interests. I see the non-academic writers constantly, so a formal conversation never happened.

 

When it comes to late letters - I think at least one of my letter writers submitted a letter late on every single application. I decided not to worry about it (they had several months notice, but are busy people). I was told that this rarely impacts your application, esp since most school don't start reviewing packets immediately.