Do academic celebrities count more?

[radquish7]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with/ knowledge about how important having letters from famous professors is? Does this help push your app through? Can it cause admissions com. to take a second look at your app even if you don't have the highest GRE/GPA of the bunch? A source (professor and chair of a department) told me once that in his department all they look at are letters of rec and who writes them...

[JerryLandis]

Letters of recommendation are very important, and a relative of mine who is a professor advised that I seek letters from the most well-known people in my department. Just make sure the person actually knows you and would have something positive to say! In my case, it turns out that my recommender who is relatively young and not "famous" is actually close friends with someone in one of the departments I am applying to, a person I could well end up working with if lucky. I had been deliberating between asking him for a (probably very good) recommendation, or asking his extremely well-known colleague for a (decent but not great) recommendation, so I'm glad I chose him now. Or rather, it makes me feel better considering the more well-known of the two clearly forgot who I am and said he'd rather not write me one.

[fuzzylogician]

All things being equal, a letter from a famous professor will get you much further than one from an unknown professor. Certainly, if an authority figure within your field is eager to endorse your candidacy (write a strong letter, call friends, mention you in conversations with admissions officers at your prospective schools) - that's a hands down winner. These people's endorsement carries much greater weight than that of an obscure professor at an unknown university. Unfortunately, though, things are seldom this simple. In most cases you will be weighing a stronger letter from a less known professor against a decent-but-not-great letter from a known professor. That's a hard call and will come down to the individual factors - how famous is the professor? how much weaker will a letter from her be compared to your other option? There's no simple rule of thumb that covers all the cases.

[fred987]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with/ knowledge about how important having letters from famous professors is? Does this help push your app through? Can it cause admissions com. to take a second look at your app even if you don't have the highest GRE/GPA of the bunch? A source (professor and chair of a department) told me once that in his department all they look at are letters of rec and who writes them...

I had a similar decision to make, instead mine was between a well known prof in my field and a ph.d candidate that taught a course I was in (highly relative to my field of interest) and who I served as a research assistant under. So the decision was particularly difficult because the one person who really knew my strength and weakneses both academically and in research wasn't even really a professor. However, the one thing that swayed me was the cover letter my LOR would have to fill out which required they rate me on my academic ability, my ability to engage in graduate level research, etc. Clearly the latter would be better qualified to rate me, and probably do so higher, so I went with the Ph.D candidate.

Edited November 9, 2009 by cabenson

[captiv8ed]

These people's endorsement carries much greater weight than that of an obscure professor at an unknown university. Unfortunately, though, things are seldom this simple. In most cases you will be weighing a stronger letter from a less known professor against a decent-but-not-great letter from a known professor. That's a hard call and will come down to the individual factors - how famous is the professor? how much weaker will a letter from her be compared to your other option? There's no simple rule of thumb that covers all the cases.

Why is this so often the case? I have seen the assumption often. Do famous people not usually work with students? Also, in what capacity do people usually know these professors if they know them enough to ask for a letter but not well enough for the letter to be really strong? I am not being snarky, just curious.

Edited November 9, 2009 by captiv8ed

[fuzzylogician]

Why is this so often the case? I have seen the assumption often. Do famous people not usually work with students? Also, in what capacity do people usually know these professors if they know them enough to ask for a letter but not well enough for the letter to be really strong? I am not being snarky, just curious.

Superstars tend to have more people want to work with them. They tend to travel and present more, maybe serve on more committees and overall have less free time. More people sit in on their classes so it's harder to get one-on-one time with them, especially as an undergrad. It can also be harder to impress them because they get to collaborate with all these brilliant people. At least that's been my experience with superstars. Sometimes it can be much easier to work closely with new faculty than with these very famous people, though you can still take some of their classes and maybe write them a paper, and then the question is - do you get the letter from the famous person who doesn't know you as well (because there were 50 other people taking her seminar) or from the less-known professor who you worked closely with and therefore knows you a lot better. I got letters from both and it worked out great for me, but if I had to choose I don't know what I would have done. There's no easy answer.

[LateAntique]

One of my recommenders is a big name. He has taught at a variety of institutions and is now the chair of our program. I'm fortunate enough to be doing an independent study with him this semester after having had a seminar with him last semester. I've been told by my other professors that it's his rec that I absolutely needed to get if I could because it would mean a lot to various adcomms. I can see the logic behind 'celebrities' carrying more weight. They publish more, present more papers, serve as editors for journals, and just have more connections overall. The big name professor who is writing me a letter is a no nonsense kind of professor and really expects a lot of his students (though he gives a lot too), so a rec from him is a signal to an adcomm that I've met his standards, thus I will probably meet theirs as well.

[melusine]

as some may recall, i too had a big name, that dropped me in (as of yet) completely unexplained and unjustified circumstances.

i almost cry everytime i see this thread!

you guys are so lucky.....

[LateAntique]

as some may recall, i too had a big name, that dropped me in (as of yet) completely unexplained and unjustified circumstances.

i almost cry everytime i see this thread!

you guys are so lucky.....

I see mine every week for our ind study. What's your story? Why did they drop you? Did they tell you that they couldn't write you a letter anymore or they just didn't get back to you?

[anthrogradhopes]

Can you use a letter from a professor who teaches in the department you're applying to?

I'm currently at a small liberal arts college but am taking classes at a university whose graduate program I intend to apply to. Is it acceptable to use a rec from the professor I'm taking the course with at the university when I submit my graduate application to that university?

[JerryLandis]

I don't see why not. I am applying to the masters program at my undergraduate institution, and my letter writers are all faculty members there. In fact, one of my LOR writers is the person who is in charge of processing postgraduate applications and reading letters of recommendation. He didn't even have to mail his letter, just put it into his own file!

[melusine]

I see mine every week for our ind study. What's your story? Why did they drop you? Did they tell you that they couldn't write you a letter anymore or they just didn't get back to you?

they didn't tell me anything. our last communication was (after a month of silence from them and emails into the void from me) a phone conversation where they said : " i had a problem wth my email. i still totally want to help u. send me everything!!"

that was a month ago. i have since had 3 profs at my uni (who have the rec's email) forward my messages with no result. the person is on another continent so it's not like i can go talk to them in person. also: def. a superstar (tv interviews and all) and as it turns out, likes to throw away promises and crash ppl's dreams.

yes. i'm still very bitter,

[coyabean]

they didn't tell me anything. our last communication was (after a month of silence from them and emails into the void from me) a phone conversation where they said : " i had a problem wth my email. i still totally want to help u. send me everything!!"

that was a month ago. i have since had 3 profs at my uni (who have the rec's email) forward my messages with no result. the person is on another continent so it's not like i can go talk to them in person. also: def. a superstar (tv interviews and all) and as it turns out, likes to throw away promises and crash ppl's dreams.

yes. i'm still very bitter,

Oh God!!! I am soooooo sorry. I seriously and without reservations suggest bodily harm in this case. Someone must be the example!

[samjones]

melusine, that totally sucks! ugh. its probably even harder to take because it totally could be the fault of bad telecommunications and not just the prof being a huge flake. although it could also be that they're a flake or an awful combination of both. ugh.

[modernity]

I agree that this is horrible. I know professors don't owe us anything, but I still think its horrible when they disappear like that. Well, at least a lesson for us if we become professors ourselves?