Letters of Recommendation Questions Forum

[2011Law]

I graduate in the fall, and honestly don't have a professor that really comes to mind to ask. I've only had one (upper level) professor that I've taken twice, and though I participated in class I got a B both times. I hope to get him to help me with publishing a paper this semester though, so maybe I can ask him?

There is one professor that I got an A in and participated, but was consistently late (9AM) and I am pretty sure she disliked me because of it. After that there are a number of profs that I either participated in and got a B or didn't show up and got an A.

There is a TA who went to law school and that I got like a 98% in his class for Administrative Law, and was probably the most active student, but am unsure if I should ask anyone with a status of less than associate professor for an LOR.

I plan to work my ass off my last semester and hopefully get LORs from two of my upcoming professors. But when do I need to ask for the letters and when do they need to be sent out? I don't plan on applying early anywhere, as I am taking the LSAT in October, maybe December.

I also did two 3 month internships, one for a state senator and the other for the state party chair. Should I ask for one, both, or neither, since I understand that law schools want someone who can say how smart you are academically and how well you write?

[gdane]

If youre applying for fall 2011, get the letter requests in now. The letters take roughly a week and half to be "uploaded" by LSAC. Factor in the time it takes for the letter to be written and sent out, which can take a while if a recommender forgets, and the whole process takes at least a month.

If youre not applying for fall 2011, then you have all the time in the world.

Ask both the state senator and the state party chair. Its all good. Your letters of recommendation arent all that important if you have a good GPA and LSAT score. Schools just want to see that youre not some crazy charles manson type. Of course make sure that whomever recommends you is sure to say nice stuff.

Good luck!

[2011Law]

I am applying for Fall 2011. So it wouldn't be possible to wait until maybe Thanksgiving and try to ask one of my last professors for a letter? If the whole process takes a month, then the letter should be complete and uploaded to LSAC by the end of December, no? One more time factor for me though, it is absolutely necessary for me to apply to UF as my main safety school, and I read the application deadline for for Fall 2010 was Jan 15. I just emailed them to see when the 2011 deadline is, but assuming it is around the same day, would I be able to ask for letters in November? Off subject, but would I be able to take the LSAT in December if my application needs to be out by Jan 15 and the Dec scores will be sent out by Jan 10?

Edit: Just got emailed back, the UF Law application deadline is March 15.