which rec should i use!?!?

[readeatsleep]

hello all;

i am in a philosophy M.A. program now and am applying to political science Ph.D programs. i have 4 recommendations at my disposal:

1 from the chair of the philosophy department of my graduate program (very famous person, mediocre rec)

1 from the chair of the political science department of my graduate program (very famous person, decent rec)

1 from a political scientist at a well know political science program (not a famous person, will be an excellent rec)

1 from an intellectual historian at my alma mater (not a famous person, will be an excellent rec)

so! some programs allow 4 letters of recommendation, and for these programs i have no conflict. however, others only allow 3 letters. initially i thought i would have to choose between the two lesser known recs, which is tough because they will both be excellent. however, i am beginning to think that i may abandon the chair of the philosophy department, since his rec will only be so so.

is it important that 2 of my 3 recs come from professors at my graduate program? do you think an excellent rec from an undergrad professor will be better than a lackluster rec from a superstar at my grad program?

thanks for any advice!

Edited November 10, 2009 by readeatsleep

[fuzzylogician]

hello all;

i am in a philosophy M.A. program now and am applying to political science Ph.D programs. i have 4 recommendations at my disposal:

1 from the chair of the philosophy department of my graduate program (very famous person, mediocre rec)

1 from the chair of the political science department of my graduate program (very famous person, decent rec)

1 from a political scientist at a well know political science program (not a famous person, will be an excellent rec)

1 from an intellectual historian at my alma mater (not a famous person, will be an excellent rec)

so! some programs allow 4 letters of recommendation, and for these programs i have no conflict. however, others only allow 3 letters. initially i thought i would have to choose between the two lesser known recs, which is tough because they will both be excellent. however, i am beginning to think that i may abandon the chair of the philosophy department, since his rec will only be so so.

is it important that 2 of my 3 recs come from professors at my graduate program? do you think an excellent rec from an undergrad professor will be better than a lackluster rec from a superstar at my grad program?

thanks for any advice!

I'm confused as to what the poll is asking me to choose between. Is the third rec from someone from your undergraduate or graduate program? How long have you been out of undergrad (this will have a bearing on how relevant the excellent rec is going to be)? Are we choosing any 3 of the 4 options or have you decided on one or more of the recs?

I am inclined to suggest going for two excellent recs and one mediocre from a famous person, but I'm hedging because I feel it depends on how seriously the excellent rec from a ug professor will be taken - if it's talking about what you did one year ago or five, if it can attest to your ability to do research at all or in specifically poli sci, if what it says about you as a student can be verified by the other recs as still true and consistent (I assume it can). So, I'm going to go with 3,4 and 2; but if there's a chance the ug letter will be disregarded as irrelevant, I'll go with 1,2,3.

That's my two cents.

[dzk]

So, I'm going to go with 3,4 and 2; but if there's a chance the ug letter will be disregarded as irrelevant, I'll go with 1,2,3.

Agreed.

[mudlark]

I think that the distinction between whether they taught you at the undergrad or grad level is more important than the reputation of the professor (especially since you have one decent rec from a well known person). A prof from your undergrad can only talk about your potential for graduate work, not your accomplishments at the graduate level. Most people I know only use recs from their most recent degree. In order to keep using my honours supervisor as a letter writer, I made a point of going and taking a grad class with her on exchange (well, for that reason and for the amazing class, of course). I vote you go with your grad instructors.