Another "who should I ask" thread...

[GuruLakshmir]

So I've got two professors so far that have agreed to write me LORs.  One will be very strong, as I've known her and enjoyed working for her for years.  The second will be very weak in comparison, but I asked her because her class was truly my absolutely favorite class ever and the class had less than 10 students, so hopefully she remembers me well enough to write something about me!  It may be of note that both of these professors teach the same subject.

Many of the programs I am applying to require 2 LORs, but I'm having trouble deciding on who to ask for my third.  See, I'm really a very socially anxious sort of person and I've always been a loner.  I don't tend to chat with most profs, nor have I ever attended office hours for any of them.

As far as I can tell, I have 2 main options here.  Note that I'm not sure if either will say yes, but I'm wondering who I should ask first.  What do you guys think?

1. Prof who teaches a slightly different subject as my current letter writers.  I have literally never spoken to this man in person and he definitely does not know me.  The class size was very large.  HOWEVER, once during class, he explicitly stated that he WILL write LORs for people provided you did well in his class, give him a resume, etc.  I'm currently thinking about asking him because of this and I generally enjoyed his class.

2. Prof who teaches the same subject as my current letter writers.  I have actually NEVER had him as a professor, HOWEVER...both him and one of my current letter writers teach the exact same laboratory course that is held in the exact same classroom.  The two profs just teach at different times of the day/week.  I have been a TA for this laboratory course for years.  This means that I have known him for years and he knows me by name.  However, I have NEVER been a TA for his class, only my current letter writer's class.  There have been opportunities for me to TA for him and/or fill in as a sub for the TAs in his class, but I have never done so.  I have a feeling this looks like laziness to him or a refusal to branch out...really, the latter is true because I like sticking to the familiar.  However, he has seen me work alongside other TAs during our dissection of specimens.  I'm very hesitant to ask him and

3.  There are other potential options though...I have had a couple of classes in the past that have been small, so the profs know me by name.  However, I tend to be late to most of my morning classes (which often are the ones with a small class size) unless I really loved the class.  One professor explicitly reprimanded for this and told that I would lose points for it.  I have a feeling this would go poorly, even for the professor that did not reprimand me for tardiness.  The one who did not reprimand me for tardiness was actually a very nice guy, but I did not enjoy his class.

(This is NOT for a research/academic grad program.)

Thanks so much for your help!

Edited September 21, 2015 by GuruLakshmir
accidentally omitted some words

[rising_star]

Of the choices you've listed, #1 is the best. If you're applying to a professional program, maybe you could use a work reference as your 3rd letter? That might be better than some of the options you've presented here.

[GuruLakshmir]

Of the choices you've listed, #1 is the best. If you're applying to a professional program, maybe you could use a work reference as your 3rd letter? That might be better than some of the options you've presented here.

Sadly, my last work would not be a relevant or strong reference (worked a lowly retail job for only 6 months).  I've only had my current job for a few days now as a lab assistant, but I work for a grad student, not a professor.  Neither the grad student or the professor know me at this point and I am not exactly good at the job.

[AlbeeW]

I'm sort of going through the same dilemma myself...but if I were you, I'd go with choice #1. It seems more reasonable, and I doubt the professor will explicitly say " I do not know the student personally". And the admission office might assume the professor is familiar with you.  This is my guess. 

I'd appreciate it if anyone could respond my post on choosing a LOC writer if you have a minute. Thanks!