Letters of Recommendation - who to ask?

raevco25

I have read many discussions on letters of recommendation, but wanted to get some input on who to ask with my specific situation. I go to a small college, and with it being my junior year, there are about 4 professors that I have had for multiple classes who I am pretty close with and know would write great recommendations for my law school applications. I also interned for a member of the House of Reps in DC last year and will intern this summer with a rights and liberties organization located in DC. Additionally, I work on campus and play golf at my school, and I know that both my coach and my employer would be willing to write recommendations that would be very well done. I have seen before that letters from professors are better, but my two internships seem like they would look pretty good for admissions, and I wondered if employers or coaches could be added for some diversity as well. I am pretty early in the process and will take my first LSAT in June, but I wanted to be thinking about who to ask in order to give them plenty of time. Thanks for any suggestions and advice!

jessica.jaeger14

One piece of advice I heard was that you should ask a fair amount of people and then have them send you a copy of the letter too. That way you can read over the letters and decided which ones are the best. So maybe, reach out to all the individuals that you think would write good letters and once they are done, decided which letters actually showcase you the best.

tami2021

If you are still in school or just out, academic letters hold the most weight (according to most law school admissions counselors). You probably should also avoid letters from "important" people from short internships, the experience would show on your resume anyway. Your professors are likely to know you better, write stronger letters, and again, academic letters are more valuable from someone in your position.