Yet another LOR advice post!

[negarey]

Hey everyone,

 

It's getting down to the wire and I'm having trouble deciding who I should ask to be my third letter-writer, and I was hoping someone here could give me advice!

 

A bit of background:

I graduated in 2010, and I'm applying to Master's programs in English, specifically 18th Century British. I feel very confident about my first two letter writers, the first one is someone I worked very closely with on an honors thesis who is within my field and has been a wonderful mentor to me. The other is someone I've taken many classes with and who is very familiar with my work.

 

My predicament is this: I have three very different people that I could ask to write the third letter. Should I ask:

 

1) "The Community College Professor" who I took three or four classes with about 6 years ago, who was pretty familiar with my work at the time. I got great grades and all of that jazz, but it might take a minute to remind him who I am.

 

2) "The Single-Course Professor" -- I've taken one course with him, and I did pretty well. The course was not in my direct specialization but it is casually linked with the novel I wrote my thesis on.

 

3) "The Possibly Only Moderately Positive Professor" -- This is a woman that I took a few Victorian courses with, and I did well in most of them but had trouble with one of them due to medical issues -- which Letter Writer #1 (my mentor) is addressing in her recommendation. She would be the best option if I did better in her courses, but alas. Should I write to her and feel things out, maybe explain my situation? I got a C in the final course, which was an honors course, but (I'm pretty sure) I got an A and an A- in her other classes.

 

I'm sorry this is such a long post, but I'm kind of perplexed. Any help?? Thanks in advance!!

[fuzzylogician]

Well, why don't you find out what all the options are before you make a decision? Reach out to the third professor and get a feel for the kind of letter she might write for you. Beyond that, I think the second option is very weak, so if it's between A and B, I'd choose A. 

[ToomuchLes]

I concur with fuzzylogician. You should email your third prof and see what kind of letter she'll write for you. Moreover, try to contact all three, discuss your plans and determine which prof would be willing to give the strongest letter. 

 

Nevertheless, Ive heard from a few profs that even though there is a fixed number of LOR accepted with your application, dont let that restrain you in collecting more. As long as those extra LOR are beneficial, you can ask the profs to mail it to the institutions youre applying to. 

[negarey]

Thanks for the responses!

 

I think a lot of my fear about contacting the third prof surrounds the language entailed in "feeling it out." I don't want to sound too self-deprecating but I do want to somehow acknowledge that I know I performed below the letter-of-recommendation-standards. I also have a reason for the difference in aptitude (mental illness), but I don't want to use it as a crutch or an excuse as I wasn't aware of it at the time.

 

LeventeL, I didn't even know I could submit more than three! So maybe I will reach out to that other professor as well and see how it goes.

[fuzzylogician]

LeventeL, I didn't even know I could submit more than three! So maybe I will reach out to that other professor as well and see how it goes.

 

That depends on the schools you should apply to -- you should find out if they will accept more than three letters. Some won't, or they will only read the first three that arrive so it'd be a shame if the strongest letter was submitted last. 

 

As for contacting professors, I would keep it very professional. The first email should be brief but offer to give more details. Introduce yourself (if you think they may not remember you), explain how they know you (what courses you took, etc), tell them what you've been doing since you graduated and that you're now applying for graduate school in X, and ask if they would be willing to write you a letter of recommendation. Offer to provide more information as needed (if your know how, you could create a simple website that hosts e.g. your CV, a copy of your transcript, and papers you are proud of, and give a link in the email; otherwise, you can email these docs later). I wouldn't address any faults or deficiencies, and if it comes up later you'll just deal with it as things happen. Having a low grade in one class shouldn't be that much of a problem, since you got high grades in the other classes. So the best you can do for yourself is provide these professors with the details and the context and see what they are willing to do with it. You have nothing to lose by trying!