Do committees look into the backgrounds of your recommenders?

[drownsoda]

I ask this just out of curiosity, because it would seem like the more "esteemed" your recommender is in the field, the more highly the committee would value their input on you, but do grad programs look into your recommenders' histories?
 

Two of my letter writers were people whom I worked closely with and really trust— one a professor, and the other an internship supervisor— but my knowledge on their backgrounds and academic history is very low. My other recommender, however, was a professor who I took multiple courses with during my undergrad, and he's a pretty well-respected guy— a Columbia and Northwestern graduate, has lots of publications, is working on a book, and is notoriously one of the hardest graders in my department— but committees would have no way of knowing this. 

 

I guess I'm just wondering if they view all of the letters as objectively as possible, or if they look into the recommenders' backgrounds when considering what they have to say about the applicant. I'm guessing they probably don't, and I'd doubt the recommender would bring up their own credentials, since they're supposed to be writing a letter about the applicant— so at the end of the day, does it really matter who writes your letters as long as they have positive things to say about you?

 

I truly feel like the letter from my aforementioned professor (the hard grader) could have a huge impact on my application if for no other reason than that I was highly regarded by him (which he reiterated when I asked him for a letter), but I'm wondering if his credentials would make his opinion of me stand out more to a committee or not, and whether or not they'd even know his credentials in the first place.

Edited January 2, 2015 by drownsoda

[isilya]

Take this with a grain of salt because I haven't been accepted anywhere yet and I don't totally know the process, but what I've heard is that it matters but only to a certain extent. One of my letter writers is very well known in my subfield, and collaborates with a ton of people outside the university. I don't think it's a coincidence that I've been invited to interview at a department where he collaborates with my POI. I also don't think it's a coincidence that I got into a summer program to work with another of his collaborators last year! Because he's well known and collaborates with a lot of people I'm applying to work with, I think his recommendation holds more weight since those departments trust his opinion. Just my experience though...

[drownsoda]

Take this with a grain of salt because I haven't been accepted anywhere yet and I don't totally know the process, but what I've heard is that it matters but only to a certain extent. One of my letter writers is very well known in my subfield, and collaborates with a ton of people outside the university. I don't think it's a coincidence that I've been invited to interview at a department where he collaborates with my POI. I also don't think it's a coincidence that I got into a summer program to work with another of his collaborators last year! Because he's well known and collaborates with a lot of people I'm applying to work with, I think his recommendation holds more weight since those departments trust his opinion. Just my experience though...

 

That totally makes sense as far as the connections go. My professor is a Columbia and Northwestern graduate, has publications and is pretty active in the field, although I don't believe he has any connections to any of the schools to which I applied. It makes sense if your letter writer has a direct connection to the university, in which case the committee members may know of him/her.

[shadowclaw]

I know that if one of your LOR writers happens to know someone in the program you are applying to, it can be really good for your application. Unless they know someone in a negative way, of course If they know each other well enough, your LOR writer will likely be contacted for some extra info unofficially.

Even people who aren't writing for you but know people on adcomms at other universities can be helpful. The graduate coordinator of my masters program is pals with the graduate coordinator at another school and apparently helps many of our students get into the PhD program. One of my committee members who isn't writing a LOR for me also told me to keep her up to date with my program list in case I apply somewhere that she has friends.

There's no guarantee that these connections will get you into a program, but people respect the opinions of good friends, and a good word can go a long way.

[rising_star]

I doubt they're going to Google your letter writer to find out their credentials if they don't already know them. It wouldn't make sense unless they think there's something fishy about the letter. The scenarios described by isilya and shadowclaw are different though. If your letter writer is someone known to them (big name in subfield, went to grad school with them, has been on a grant with them, etc.), then that's a different story. The informal call for additional information is talked about fairly often around here and I certainly know it happens. In some cases, those calls extend beyond your letter writers to others in the program that might know you (which is why it's good to be on favorable terms with as many people as possible!). 

 

As an aside (just to make your head whirl more), it's possible that the adcom reviewing your application will know this person's (your letter writer's) credentials because they served as a reviewer for a grant the person I applied for or as an outside reviewer on the person's tenure/promotion case. There's, of course, no way for you to know this. Which is probably why you shouldn't worry about this one (but you probably will anyway).

[cafe_au_lait]

I am in chemical engineering and I'm just assuming that the admissions committees will know who my letter writers are. And that the fact that they are successful will help.

Maybe it's different in other fields though.

[reposae]

Admissions committees will check if your references are tenured (if they are professors). I believe they weigh them more heavily if they are.