Hi! I graduated undergrad in December 2021. I have some professors I've spoken to about law school, but only one that really remembers me / can speak to my work. There are others that I had classes with, but I assume I would get rather cookie cutter letters from them, because it's been so long since I was their student. I have positive work relationships with my manager, director, and the CEO of the nonprofit I work at. If I am submitting three letters of recommendation for a school, how many should be professional vs academic?
Bonus question: for my professional letters what do you think would hold more weight for a school: letter from a manager who knows me very well or letter from a CEO who knows me but can't speak to the exact day-to-day of my work?
Apologies for the long post! Thanks for your thoughts.
3 comments
Once you've been out of your most recent higher ed experience by three-ish years, admissions officers no longer expect to see academic letters of rec. So to that end, if you have one academic letter and one (or more!) professional letters, you're good to go!
And regarding the question about professional letters, the key is the content rather than the job title. I'd personally prefer to hear directly from a manager regarding what you bring to the work environment.
I also agree that strength is better than relationship. If the people who know you best are not current professors, it is better than having a less genuine letter from someone from a long time ago. I know schools will have to understand bc this happens to a lot of people. I second the advice that you may need ONE. You can also choose which schools receive which letters, so if in their instructions they do not explicitly ask for a Prof. you can send them your stronger ones and save the academic one for the schools that have the requirement.
hey friend! we're in a very similar boat. i graduated the same time as you and i was also wrestling with who to ask for rec letters from. the advice ive gathered is this: law school admissions can expect us to have more professional rec letters than academic ones since we have been out of school for some time. i would tell you to ask the professor that you said really remembers you for a letter. most schools request at least one. i would also recommend you ask your manager instead of your CEO because the manager can very directly speak to your actual work ethic and write with good detail and anecdote. the CEO title can add value of course but from what i've been hearing, it is not a substitute for depth. hope this helps. good luck!