LORS - how to ask and who to ask

jennybbbbb

Hey 7sagers,

I think it's time for me to ask for some LORS. I understand that most law schools require academic, but what does this actually mean? I have had mainly sessional professors and I did not have a lot of contact with them. I have four professors in mind right now.

One is a professor who I have had a close relationship with, however I did not receive in an A in the class. I am not sure if it is a good idea to ask her.

As for another professor, I have had him teach me one class but he did say that he would love to give me a reference letter. Nonetheless, I went to his officer hours, and I've met him outside of class for dinner with other students as well.

Recently, I took only one class and I did receive an A from the professor and he does know who I am but I did not have a lot of contact with him as he did not really respond to any student's emails. He didn't even attend office hours. Though, I do believe he would give me a good reference letter since he did like me as a student in his class. I did exceptionally well in the class.

Lastly, this professor taught me two classes where she was my TA for one class, and a professor for my other class. She knows me fairly well, however I have not had any contact with her ever since my last class (which was a semester or two ago). The class I had with her was super interactive so she does know me pretty well. Plus I did really well in her class!

Basically, I have done pretty well in their classes but I am not sure how to approach these professors and what LORS are really looking for. I have always been a student that sits in class, engages in the class, and gets A's but I haven't had A LOT of contact with my professors. I am basically a student who aims to do exceptionally well in classes but I didn't have a close relationship with my professors.. which I probably should have now that I am applying for law school.

Not sure how I should email them and what I should include in my email that I am sending to them.

Also, is it recommended to email the same reference letter across schools since some of them ask for only two whereas some ask for 3?

Sorry in my advance if I made this confusing to understand. Just a little stressed since applications are coming up!

hon132

LoRs are for the schools to know more about your character and work ethic, not getting an A in one teacher's class shouldn't matter too much and really depends more on the entirety of what she writes.

Honestly, you'll probably do well with any of them as it seems like they have a fairly good understanding of and can vouch for who you are as a student. As long as the letters are too specific to any particular school, it doesn't matter how many get them, especially if it's through CAS which sends the same docs to each school. Each school also has a maximum number of letters they'll accept, usually one or two more than their required so you should be fine in that aspect.

Alex

@jennybbbbb

Hey, I think a few of those options sounds like they would make for good letters of recommendation!

How to ask:

You can ask in person or send an email.

When you ask/email your professors for LORs, keep it pretty concise, but cover the following 3 things:

1) A refresher on who you are/the classes you took with them

2) Overview of what you've been doing since you took their class.

3) Use point 2 to segue to your plans, i.e., law school with a brief summary as to why you're applying/what your career goals are.

Importantly (so, I guess 4 things to cover!), when you make the ask for the LOR, note that you've attached your current resume for their reference and ask if there is any other information you can provide that would be helpful to them. (You want to make it as easy as possible for them to say yes.)

Yes, you can send the same LORs to each school.

Don't be stressed, but email them ASAP because you never know how long they can take if they're busy.

Good luck!

tcookPHL

I'm having a tough time with this as well. I have been out of school for three years and I would say my job resembles more of how I would do in law school/legal world rather than my academic history. I received great grades, but the nature of my work resembles legal work so I feel like that would speak better to my performance. Not only have I worked extremely close with some of my bosses where they can speak to my work ethic but I also feel like they're name on a piece of paper would weigh more than a professors. I know that's sort of taboo to say, but it's the reality. Any suggestions on how I go about this?

Alex

@tcookPHL said:
I'm having a tough time with this as well. I have been out of school for three years and I would say my job resembles more of how I would do in law school/legal world rather than my academic history. I received great grades, but the nature of my work resembles legal work so I feel like that would speak better to my performance. Not only have I worked extremely close with some of my bosses where they can speak to my work ethic but I also feel like they're name on a piece of paper would weigh more than a professors. I know that's sort of taboo to say, but it's the reality. Any suggestions on how I go about this?

I think if you're able to, it is always best to get at least two strong academic LORs. All the literature and information out there suggests that law school admissions prefer these types of letters. Although professional letters may show good worth ethic, even in fields that resemble legal work, they will always be more interested in how you will perform in an academic setting.

In your particular case, I think you should try to get academic LORs just because you've only been out of school for a few years. If you had been out for 5+ years, and couldn't track down professors to write a recommendation for you, then perhaps just professional LORs would be the way to go.