LOR Question

estrelladhuerta

Hi all! Hope I can get some guidance. As of today I have only requested 2 LOR, one from my current boss and the second from my past professor and tutor. I think these two would hit my work ethic and my academic record. My question is, should I request a third one from another person? Maybe someone I see as a mentor? To have a LOR that represents my personality? Any advise would help, thank you!

Matt Sorr

I'm of the mindset that if you think someone could write you a strong LOR and they'd probably be willing, you should ask. The worst that can happen is they say no. Unless you're in a bizarre situation, asking for a LOR is not going to damage your relationship with a person in any way. So if you have anybody in mind, or multiple people in mind, I'd ask away. I've read that some law schools ask for three letters. Even if none do, however, it can never hurt to have an extra letter or two on hand.

To more directly answer what you're asking, I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to try to find somebody in a different area of your life, like a mentor, to write a letter, unless the person actually knows you and/or you've done some good work with them. The content and quality of the letter matters far more than the particulars of how the writer is related to you. So if you have a mentor in mind that you think could write you a good letter, that's awesome! Ask them to write it and odds are they'll happily oblige. If you don't really have any mentors that truly know you, however, don't stress about finding someone.