Letter of Rec Question: Can I Get a Letter of Rec from a Former Grad Student

[Outmoded]

Hello all,

I'm starting to think about who I will be asking for letters of recommendation. I have a few professors that I know will be more than happy to write them, one's I've worked with before and I'm not really concerned with asking them or what they'll say. I've been working as an undergrad researcher since I was a freshman (4 years now! wow!) and have worked with, and published with, a few grad students. They have now since received their PhD and are doing very well for themselves (One is a senior researcher at Dow and another at Boston Scientific). They are people I worked with for years and know me both on a professional as well as a personal level. Is it acceptable for one of them to write a letter of recommendation and is it advised? I think that they would provide some depth to my application with a more personal letter. Is that a dumb idea and should I just stick with the professors?

 

Thanks!

Edited April 12, 2016 by Outmoded
I wanted to clarify a sentance, I thought it was unclear after reading it again.

[eternallyephemeral]

It's not a bad idea to have these people write your letter of recommendation, but unfortunately it does not hold as much weight as a letter from a faculty member (a professor).

However, you should decide if you want a more personal letter from someone in industry that was your graduate student supervisor, or you want a (probably still well-written and nice) reference letter that might not be as personal from someone whose position and name holds more weight.

I would choose the professors if you've worked for them and they know you more than just a face in one of their classes. Part of professors' jobs is to write reference letters, and they are on both ends of the application process, so they know what people want in a reference letter.

That's just my opinion though, and other people might say go for the students who know you best.

[TakeruK]

When you did the undergrad research, although you worked with a grad student directly, there was probably a professor in charge of the lab, right? One common thing that happens is to have the graduate student write the letter and the professor signs it or write notes about you to the professor and the professor bases their letter on the grad student's notes. This way, you get the impact of the close working relationship with the graduate student as well as the weight of the professor's name. This is something you would have to ask the professor and grad student if they are okay with. If you have a good relationship with the former grad students, then maybe asking their advice on what to do next is a good idea.

[Eigen]

As mentioned, you're probably better off going with faculty. 

You would probably be OK with researchers who have since received their doctorates, but I wouldn't base your application on someone judging them as "less knowledgable" about what you need or less appropriate to write your letters.

[drivingthoughts]

@Outmoded I agree with the above, having an actual professor write the recommendation is always better - but... As a graduate student and TA, I have written a couple of recommendations for people as part of their PhD application and both got in. In both cases, they were international students who didn't build strong repoire with their professors, and both of their applications required an insane 5 references, so I was just one spoke in a large wheel. It probably helps if they have some kind of professional title to add to their name, even if it's not "Dr."

**You are correct in how important it is for folk to write directly about you and your experience, so make sure you pursue that no matter who writes for you. For everyone who wrote for me, I gave them a list of schools, with write ups of why I wanted to go to them, who my contacts were at each school, why I thought I was a good fit, my intended research, my academic record with each professor, etc. All so they could write me a solid 2-3 page letter. 

Best of luck!