Better to have a LOR from undergrad than grad prof?

profile427

I still find it intriguing that there is more weight placed on my performance in undergrad, versus grad school, so now I have to wonder: is it better to submit a LOR from an undergrad prof versus a grad prof, even though I've been out of undergrad for -- eegads -- almost a decade!?!

What say you?

ddakjiking

I think a LOR from a grad program will be just fine since your time from UG is distant. But from what I hear, as long as your recommender doesn't write in their LOR like "profile427 would make a horrible lawyer, etc" or something along those lines, you'll be fine. It's more of a formality in the application process and your LSAT+Undergrad GPA will reign.

Pacifico

Go with whomever could give you a better recommendation that would be the most in depth, authentic and personal. For example, if you did an undergrad thesis for some reason and worked closely with one professor for a year or more and you crushed it and they loved you then even ten years later I think that's still a valuable person to recommend you. If you're like me and blew off far too much of undergrad but then crushed grad school a decade later, I'd say go with any professors you were able to make a really good impression on. After our local campus got shutdown I have had to finish up my masters online and so I had a grad professor I never met write one of my mine because I aced his class and he was the only professor that ever formally recognized me for academic excellence in the program (at the time I didn't even know it was a thing they could do). And as @ddakjiking said, the emphasis on undergrad is for UGPA reporting purposes only. That and the fact that there is a ton of grade inflation at the graduate level are the major reasons people act like graduate school is of secondary importance in general. In this case, it's probably the best way to go for your LOR.

profile427

Thanks for your input!