Recommendation letters from Undergrad and Graduate Schools

taytay91

I have a question regarding LORs coming from international applicants. I did my undergrad at a university in London, United Kingdom and recently finished my Master's degree in Korea.

What concerns me is the differences in undergraduate education systems which cause difficulties for applicants like me. We only had 8-10 hours of lectures and the emphasis is put on individual coursework. One class per course taught usually by Ph.D. students/researchers every week was pretty much what I had for 'contact' with academics which makes it harder for me to get specific and strong recommendation letters from undergrad contacts. On the other hand, as I came back to Korea to do my Master's degree, I had better contacts with my professors and did projects and TA works.

So what I'm wondering is if it would be wise to ask for at least one undergrad LOR despite the fact that I did not have much contact with professors during undergrad years. I often hear that undergrad matters more than grad school experience. And there is this academic tutor (not a professor but rather a Ph.D researcher who taught a class which I got the best grade, although the grade was irrelevant to what this tutor thought of me since I only took 1 final exam at the end of the year under the UK education system) who wrote me a recommendation letter,albeit quite generic, to get into the graduate school. But I can guarantee that I'll get more specific LORs from professors whom I met during graduate school years who can comment on both my academic and work abilities since I had to study and work as an assistant for several professors.

So.... it would be great to hear some of your thoughts!

Thanks in advance.

samantha.ashley92

Hey! I would get your LORs from people who know you the best. You can write an addendum to send in with your application explaining the situation.

AudaciousRed

Agreed. Better written by someone who knows you and can speak well to that affect.