lukewarm LOR

[SlyManuel]

Slowly freaking out due to the fact that one of my letters of recommendation wasn't the strongest, it seemed very generic in my opinion. I taught that this would be my strongest letter but it is not. This professor was appalled when I told him that I want applying to grad school since I don't think I have the strongest record or clearly defined research interests. The professor single handedly ended up convincing me, and I applied to a few programs. However, he forwarded me a copy of his LOR and it is not what I was hoping for. It terrifies me because he is my program's expert in the area that I am interested in. 

I know that I have a really strong letter since my other professor also sent it to me, and I am not worried about the third one since thanks to that professors recommendations and nominations I have won multiple scholarships. 

Am I alone in this? Am I over thinking? 

Sorry for the rant. 

[lemma]

Some professors just don't write great rec letters. The only way you really find out is by getting the letter. 

If you have two other great letters, it should be specific enough... One of my three letters was pretty generic (very supportive but only an anecdote or two beyond that). It didn't end up hurting, probably because the other two were nuanced. I got into my top choice program with a very high rank, so it worked out fine. 

[SlyManuel]

1 hour ago, lemma said:

Some professors just don't write great rec letters. The only way you really find out is by getting the letter. 

If you have two other great letters, it should be specific enough... One of my three letters was pretty generic (very supportive but only an anecdote or two beyond that). It didn't end up hurting, probably because the other two were nuanced. I got into my top choice program with a very high rank, so it worked out fine. 

First, congrats on getting into your top choice, that is awesome!

I have 2 of the letters, one the professor wanted me to proof read for accuracy (she's had it for a year), and this one, the professor knows that I like to keep record of just about everything so he sent it to me. It is very generic! We are talking about a professor who sought me out for projects, I took most of the classes in my major with him, he was recipient to a prestigious award at my institution and he chose me to be there, since each awardee was allowed to bring one student to the ceremony. I am just baffled that he used a clearly prewritten letter that he has used in the past and did not add a single thing to show that I am qualified for graduate work after constantly saying that I should apply. Had I seen the letter earlier, I would have asked another professor since I have two other that could provide strong letters.

It just sucks that now the decision waiting process became even more stressful.