Which LOR writer would you choose?

[Cat Time]

Hi!

I plan to apply to Master's of Education programs (I have done no previous grad work), with a focus on education policy and in particular the issue of increasing the post-secondary enrollment of those from low-income groups, with a sub-focus on how post-secondary institutions can facilitate this.

As an undergrad I mainly took political science and psychology classes, with very little coursework relevant to education. My interest in education is something I developed independently of organized academics and have continued to develop professionally, and now I am looking to pursue a Master's of Education. I have chosen two letter of recommendation writers who I believe are well suited to the task, but I need one more and am struggling to find a suitable writer. Pretty much every professor (I already have a professional reference) either taught me in something unrelated to education and/or had essentially no involvement with assessing my work (the joys of huge class sizes).

This leaves me in a tough spot, and I'm wondering if anyone could give me their opinion as to which of the options (listed with some pros and cons) sounds best.

1. A professor of a childhood and adolescence psychology course I took

-I finished first in the class (120+ people)

-Loosely tied to education in that we talked about how cognitive abilities change from birth to adolescence, as well as how this impacts learning (this is one of the professor's interests).

-I had very little contact with the professor (all assignments marked by TA). Our conversation was limited to brief discussions about the material on exams and an error that resulted in incorrect final marks originally being assigned to each person in the case.

2. A professor of a policy making course I took

-I got a high A, though I was not first in the class (about 45 people) as was the case with the above course

-We discussed certain attempts at K-12 education reform in the US, although this wasn't a major part of the course and no assignments were tied to this. The professor also got their PHD from one of my goal schools.

-TA marked most work. I had more discussion with the professor in this course than the above course, but don't feel that I  came across as particularly impressive.

3.  A professor of a history course I took

-I earned an A+ in this course and what was supposed to be an 8 page term paper turned into a 36 page pager with the instructor's permission (the paper discussed the role of formal education in shaping the ideologies of civil rights leaders, though the focus of the paper was broader than education). Following the course they sent me an email suggesting that I look into honors history programs.

-On the other hand, I took this course about 6/7 years ago and it was a first year course (one of my LOR is already coming from someone I only took a 200 level course with)

4. A professor who I took two political science courses with (intro to comparative politics and the politics of immigration)

-A+ in both classes and the professor knows me the best out of any of these options. They actually wrote me a letter a few years back for another program; admissions results were solid, though I eventually chose not to pursue that.

-Material was, for the most part, not tied to education (their interests are in immigration policy), but there was minor discussion in one course about how early education outcomes have a long lasting and pervasive impact.

-Professor has a reserved personality (I don't know if this is at all linked to how highly they praise students in LOR) and I worry that they may be annoyed that I'm now asking them for a new letter to a different program.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Cat Time

[magnanimous]

I don't think it's necessarily a huge problem that you don't have undergrad experience in Education, as long as you can discuss in your SOP why you want to pursue the degree, what about the field you have particular interests in, and how you think the coursework that you've had already has led to that. I would suggest getting a letter from either 1, 2, or 4.

In the case of professors 1 and 2, did you have extensive contact with the TAs? I've heard of professors and TAs writing joint letters and both signing (because oftentimes students get to know the TA of a large class way better than they get to know the professor, and vice versa), or the professor having the TA write the letter since they know you and your work better and then just signing off on it.

For professor 4, I feel like they might be able to write you the best letter because, as you mentioned, they know you best, and you wouldn't have to go through TAs like I suggested in the other two options. Since it's been a few years since you asked for the last LOR from them, I don't see why they would be annoyed by you asking for another one, but then again you never know. If you feel like they would be able to speak positively about your work ethic and academic strengths regarding the program, then I would definitely ask this professor.

[Cat Time]

Thanks for the response!

Unfortunately I had virtually no contact with the TAs in courses 1 and 2. I am also learning towards option 4, as they are the only professor whom I took multiple courses with and they know my work better than the others. I guess they don't really fit in with my education narrative, but I imagine (or at least hope) that it's fairly standard for people to pursue a master's in education without having much underground experience in that area.

[knp]

It really depends on the profiles of the letter writers you've already chosen, no? Number 4 might be best if you have two education letters, but not from people who know you as well. Number 1 might be best if your existing letters have less to do with education already, so you want to make sure that all three letters have at least some connection to the field. Etc.

[Cat Time]

One of my LOR writers was my supervisor in an education-related job (program coordinator in a university) while the other was my instructor for a course on psychological development from infancy to adolescence, with a focus on methods of learning. That means the latter is very similar to option 1 in the poll, but the writer I've already chosen knows me better and states that I'm their brightest student ever, which I doubt the other would. On the flip-side, the one I've already chosen taught me in a second year course while the other taught me in third year course.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Cat Time

[Vulpix]

I definitely don't think it matters if they can't speak about education, although you should ensure that they at least write about your transferable skills as it may relate to being successful in ed school.

For HGSE (and all my schools), I submitted 2 LORs from undergraduate professors, and 1 LOR from a supervisor (in the school I teach in).  What made these strong was not necessarily their ability to speak about education, but their ability to speak about me.  I had the chance to read my supervisor's rec, and she wrote FOUR PAGES (I think this atypically long for a LOR), sharing anecdotes about really personal and deep things that I did as a teacher for/with students that showed a more human side of me than the rest of my application had the chance to explain (i.e. going to students' homes when family members died, taking a kid to a Broadway show, mediating a conflict at school related to Islamophobia, etc.)... Point is, she could write about really specific, positive things that HGSE would never have otherwise learned about me.  You want to find professors/supervisors who can and are willing to do something like that for you.  And if you don't think they will come up with these things independently, definitely suggest to them a list of things that you think they can speak about, either topically or maybe assignment-wise... attach your papers, highlight the best parts, remind them about who you are and things you learned together.  

I agree that the last professor sounds like the best of the 4.  

My last piece of advice is to make sure that you pick 3 people who will all be able to say something deliberately different about you.  I had one history professor (my major), one education professor, and one supervisor.  My history professor spoke about my writing and research skills, my education professor spoke about my fellowship in curriculum design and conference that we presented at together, and my supervisor spoke about all the aforementioned goodies.  I also made sure to tell them directly (in a polite, requesting way!) that I had other people writing about other things, and I was hoping that you, in particular, could focus on _________________.  Of course, I never anticipated my supervisor would be that thorough, and I still really don't know how much/what the other professors wrote, but I at least know I gave them the kind of guidance that would look good in my complete application!

Edited March 16, 2016 by Heather1011

[Cat Time]

Thank you for another helpful response Heather! You're awesome

[emylauren2794]

I'd go with professor number 4 simply because he knows you the best and the professor who didn't really have that much interaction with you isn't probably the best choice to have a LOR written for. Good luck

[Love3]

I agree with number 4. Don't stress about the field so much. It's more about a person who can speak to your ability to succeed in school. I'm going for school psych: one of my recommenders was my psych thesis advisor, one of my recommenders was my supervisor when I worked in an autistic support classroom and my last was my sociology professor. Although sociology has little to do with school psych, I chose her because I took her for two classes in which I did extremely well in and I was actively involved in the classes. I trusted her to write a solid recommendation over other professors or supervisors that were closer to my field of choice. 

[Cat Time]

Thanks for the input, Emy and Love! I was leaning number 4 and the helpful advice here has soldified my opinion ☺