Not sure who to ask for LOC. Professor, CEO, or volunteer supervisor?

[AlbeeW]

Hi guys. This is my first time posting here. I'm trying to apply for a Master's program in either urban planning or environmental science. The LOC is always the part I struggle with the most in every application. My supervisor at work has agreed to write a LOC for me. Here are a few of my choices for whom to ask for the other 2. Any suggestion would be highly appreciated!

1. Professors. 

I'm a rather shy person and was never talkative in class and rarely attended any office hours. I graduated 2 years ago and I'm not sure if my professors remember me at all.  I have 1 professor in mind who lead my interest to urban planning, and I hope she'll agree to write me an LOC. However, most schools I apply for recommends 2 letters from the academics field, and I have a hard time finding the second professor because I know they are very busy and I didn't really work with any of them. 

 

2. CEO of the company.

I work at a small company and the CEO has been very nice to me. My supervisor will write an LOC for me. I'm not sure if another letter from the CEO would be a good option considering my situation.

 

3. Volunteer supervisor at CDFW

I volunteered at California Dept of Fish & Wildlife on and off for 5 months. When I left my supervisor agreed to write me an LOC. I did not do research work at CDFW, but it might be helpful if I couldn't find the second professor.

 

Please let me know what you think would be my best option...Best of luck to everyone applying & studying. Thanks.

[AlbeeW]

Any ideas?

[fuzzylogician]

You should definitely ask the professor. You should really try and find a second one, since your programs explicitly say you should.

If you absolutely can't find another professor, it's very hard to choose among the two options you gave since you don't give us enough details to work with. Does one of them know you (much) longer/better? Have you done work that is relevant to your degree or future career plans with one but not the other? What can each person write about you -- is there something that one knows but not the other or will all the letters basically say the same thing? Does either person have an advanced degree or any other reason to have an opinion as to whether or not you can succeed in your program? You want to choose the letter that is more detailed and confident about what it says. If they would be similar in that respect, then the letter that says things about you that the other letters won't. If it's all the same, then it sounds like it's a toss up. In that case I guess I would choose option 3, so it's one letter from work, one from school, and one from a volunteer experience, because that sounds overall more balanced. But again, depending on how strong these letters will be and how weak a letter from another professor might be, I would try a bit harder to find another professor to write you a letter. 

[AlbeeW]

Thank you fuzzlylogician, your help is greatly appreciated! I just got turned down by a professor but I will keep trying.