Notoriously "hard" prof's LOR?

[gellert]

Too late already, but I was wondering about the comm's thoughts on LORs from profs that are notoriously hardcore/harsh.  I have a rather infamously blunt professor who agreed to write me a "strong positive" LOR.  I'm certain that LOR discusses my weaknesses as candidly as my strengths, simply due to who the writer is.  In a world bursting with hyperbolically positive LORs, I wonder if this will end up hurting me.  But at the same time, anyone who reads this person's letter will know who wrote it and what this person is like.  I had a good relationship with them which I'm sure will come across, but I wonder if it'll be sore thumb-y in a BAD way amidst my other two, more traditional LORs (which obv haven't read, but expect are standard this-person-is-perfect-for-ALL-OF-THE-THINGS LOR material).

 

For background: applying in neuroscience and psych.  They tend to be more about the hyperbolic letters than the honest ones, but here's hoping.  I'm too proud of my work with this prof and it was too significant to the construction of my career to replace it with the letter of someone who'd give a great letter but without the significant relationship.  Even so....

 

Thoughts?

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

It's a good question. It's bad enough we have grade inflation. We also have LOR inflation. Everyone applying to grad school has a 4.0 and three LORs saying he/she was the best student the prof has had in 45 years of teaching. 

[IRToni]

One of my LoR writers actually mentioned that himself, because he is also a notoriously hard grader. He said that he himself writes in his letters that he's a hard grader, which might alleviate the effect of his grades on the committee, because his grades tend to be the worst grades on my transcript, but in his classes, they were still pretty stellar.

 

I also think that professors will be able to glean whether someone is exaggorating or not, and will put this into context. If he's writing you a letter strongly recommending you for a PhD, it should be fine, as it's his ass on the line, ultimately. I have to (and do) believe that adcoms know how different profs are, and that some are just less willing to play the game, but might rethink after I get my results... At least I'll have something to blame ;-).