Self-study
Hello! As I start to think about my application materials for the next cycle, I had a few questions about LORs.
I know I need a letter of recommendation from a professor, but I am unfortunately not that close to any and don't really have time to build a relationship with one. Has anyone dealt with this situation, and if so, how did you go about getting a strong LOR from a professor?
I am an RA and my supervisor has already written me a strong LOR speaking to my character and work ethic. Would it be a good idea to ask them for a LOR for law school, or would their letter carry less weight since their work isn't law-related?
Thank you so much in advance!
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5 comments
@AlL816 - I'll let some other users give you advice from the applicant's perspective but I hope I can give some insight from the admissions officer's perspective!
What we really want from the LoRs is a sense of what you bring to the classroom or professional environment. To that end, the letters should be written either by professors or supervisors.
Most schools require two letters and two is usually more than enough (ie, don't freak out if you see that a school "requires two but accepts up to three" and you wonder if it would be better to submit three - a third letter rarely helps because it's likely that we're going to read the same things on the third letter that we read in the first two letters).
And - here's the whammy for you - if you're applying either while you're a senior in college or within a year or two of graduating, you really should have at least one (if not two) academic letters. As someone who didn't really attend office hours during undergrad or seek out relationships with professors, I am here to share a sigh with you.
So what can you do? Well, it's mid-April so you have a few weeks left in the semester/quarter. There's no time like the present to start going to office hours. Even if it's just some little chit-chat about your final paper or upcoming exams, this will help. You don't have to have a super deep relationship with a prof for the LoR to be effective. Even this is effective - 1) just chatting with them two or three times before the end of the semester, 2) following up after final exams to thank them for the great class, and then 3) getting in touch over the summer or early in the fall semester about an LoR.
I'm saying this in my best and most positive "coach voice" - you can do it!
Regarding the RA supervisor, it would be alright for them to also write you a letter of rec for law school. It would be very normal to see that letter plus an academic letter.
@JacobBaska This is super helpful, thank you so much for sharing your perspective! I’ll make an effort to connect with professors before the semester ends and follow up after. It’s also reassuring to know that pairing an academic letter with one from my RA supervisor is totally fine too. This definitely makes the process feel a lot more manageable, so I appreciate it!
@JacobBaska hi! What is your advice if you're >10 years out of undergrad and operating in senior leadership roles already? I have community based leadership programs I am in -- of which I can get a LoR, I also have a best friend from college who has gone on to be an attorney and can speak to my character/study habits/fitness for law. I have maybe one professor I keep in touch with and one former manager I could ask, but the ask would be out of left field.
@cworth1512 So this thing I wrote above? This one right here: "And - here's the whammy for you - if you're applying either while you're a senior in college or within a year or two of graduating, you really should have at least one (if not two) academic letters." You're at the opposite end of the spectrum. Once someone is a few years out of their most recent college experience (either undergrad or grad), admissions officers really don't expect to see LoRs from academics. There's no hard and fast rule, but I'd put it at 4-5 years. It's just not reasonable to expect applicants to be in touch with their former profs after that kind of time.
So in your case, what admissions officers are expecting are professional LoRs. We want to understand what you bring to the office setting. A manager, supervisor, etc. would be the best person to reach out to about this.
I would try to get two professional letters before reaching out to the community based leadership programs. Submitting an LoR from that program should be in addition to two professional letters or an oh no, I can't get two professional letters and I need a second letter situation.
@JacobBaska thank you!