i have 3 LORs from the same internship. which to use? Forum

[jdhopeful11]

So I wrapped up my internship with the AGs office and I was fortunate enough to get 3 letters from 3 different people. 2 letters were from regular prosecutors and 1 letter was from the deputy attorney general.

My question is, which letter should I submit? I was fortunate enough to also be given copies of the letters. Would it be inappropriate to use 2 out of the 3 letters? Do any vets want to read the letters and tell me which one they think is best?

[billyez]

I'd send copies of all of those letters to LSAC just to be safe and then decide which one you like. Which one talks most effectively about the work you did at the AG's office? Which one does the best job at portraying you as an exceptional candidate for law school? Which one was written by the person who you worked with the most and conveyed you in the best possible light?

These are questions that you can answer rather easily. I don't think anyone has to read them besides you.

[gdane]

Just use them all. Admissions committees seldomly care about your letters. They just want to make sure that you arent some crazy person and that at least 2 or 3 people have a favorable opinion of you. Get a good LSAT score and good grades.

Good luck!

[billyez]

The above post makes me aware of an assumption I've made - are these the only LOR's you have? If that's the case, then this is an even easier issue. Besides the few schools that only allow you to send 2 letters, there's not going to be an issue here. Although, if possible, you really should try to get at least one academic LOR as some school's note that they prefer to have at least one from a Professor.

[gdane]

The above post makes me aware of an assumption I've made - are these the only LOR's you have? If that's the case, then this is an even easier issue. Besides the few schools that only allow you to send 2 letters, there's not going to be an issue here. Although, if possible, you really should try to get at least one academic LOR as some school's note that they prefer to have at least one from a Professor.

Completely agree. Schools almost always want at least one of your letters to be from a professor or academic source. The other one(s) can be from employers, famous people, etc etc. Absolutely no family members or friends. This looks pathetic.

[sibley]

The above post makes me aware of an assumption I've made - are these the only LOR's you have? If that's the case, then this is an even easier issue. Besides the few schools that only allow you to send 2 letters, there's not going to be an issue here. Although, if possible, you really should try to get at least one academic LOR as some school's note that they prefer to have at least one from a Professor.

Completely agree. Schools almost always want at least one of your letters to be from a professor or academic source. The other one(s) can be from employers, famous people, etc etc. Absolutely no family members or friends. This looks pathetic.

Very pathetic. I 'counseled' this idiotic coworker I had when she was applying to grad programs in social work. She thought it was perfectly ok that one of her letters was from her dad's acquaintance who had a nice title. She was actually boasting about it.

If you can read any of the letters that's a good idea. They don't like you to do that... assumably because they want equal grounds to compare everyone. But if you have access to one or more I'd do it.

[jdhopeful11]

I should have known that this would pop up and sidetrack the specific question that I asked. I have 2 academic letters already written. I intend on using both. I also happen to have 3 lors already in the hands of lsac. So my question is about which letters should I weigh most importantly. Two of of three letters were written by prosecutors with whom I worked very closely with.

One letter is a bit more flamboyant and personal than the other. By flamboyant and personal, I mean it talks about how the office threw me a bday party because everyone loves me, and just the small things that I would do whilst in court that really set me apart from the typical intern. I'm afraid adcomms won't take the letter seriously, however, because of the "loose" tone it carries.

The other letter from the prosecutor who I worked closely with talked about specifically my strengths inside the office (ie research, the type of work I did for her, my cool persona, etc). Although strong, you can tell its a bit more objective and less personable.

The third letter is by the deputy attorney general who was kind enough to volunteer to write me a letter. He basically wrote everything that he heard about me from my supervisor and others in the office (ie that I have a good attitude, work hard, very talented, etc). He also says he had the opportunity to go over my work and was impressed by what he saw. Etc etc etc... This is obviously the most generic letter but it isn't nowhere near as generic as some of the examples I've seen. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being most generic, 5 being least generic, I give it a 2.5. The positive here is that its from someone way up there, that's why I'm concerned about whether or not I should use it despite telling the least about me out of the 3.

[sibley]

I should have known that this would pop up and sidetrack the specific question that I asked. I have 2 academic letters already written. I intend on using both. I also happen to have 3 lors already in the hands of lsac. So my question is about which letters should I weigh most importantly. Two of of three letters were written by prosecutors with whom I worked very closely with.

One letter is a bit more flamboyant and personal than the other. By flamboyant and personal, I mean it talks about how the office threw me a bday party because everyone loves me, and just the small things that I would do whilst in court that really set me apart from the typical intern. I'm afraid adcomms won't take the letter seriously, however, because of the "loose" tone it carries.

The other letter from the prosecutor who I worked closely with talked about specifically my strengths inside the office (ie research, the type of work I did for her, my cool persona, etc). Although strong, you can tell its a bit more objective and less personable.

The third letter is by the deputy attorney general who was kind enough to volunteer to write me a letter. He basically wrote everything that he heard about me from my supervisor and others in the office (ie that I have a good attitude, work hard, very talented, etc). He also says he had the opportunity to go over my work and was impressed by what he saw. Etc etc etc... This is obviously the most generic letter but it isn't nowhere near as generic as some of the examples I've seen. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being most generic, 5 being least generic, I give it a 2.5. The positive here is that its from someone way up there, that's why I'm concerned about whether or not I should use it despite telling the least about me out of the 3.

Don't send out all three, obviously. But each of them appears to have its strengths. I'd favor the first letter you mentioned because I think it would stand out more than the other two but I'd also base my decision largely on my feel of the school to which I'm sending it.

[billyez]

This really isn't something you should dedicate that much time thinking about. I had about six rec letters, and I determined which set I would send to each school by making sure the entire package covered everything I wanted to. If those academic letters are standard fare that covers the reasearch you've done or just how well you've done in class and nothing beyond that, then it would be fine to use something light like the first letter. Look at the totality of what you're going to send. I'm afraid we can't do that for you. I point to the questions I asked you to examine them with in my first post to also think which about which letter you could use.

But you since you ssem so concerned about this, I'd pick the second letter. But that suggestion isn't as helpful as you might think since I don't have all your letters in front of me and I don't know where you're going to send them.

[jdhopeful11]

This really isn't something you should dedicate that much time thinking about. I had about six rec letters, and I determined which set I would send to each school by making sure the entire package covered everything I wanted to. If those academic letters are standard fare that covers the reasearch you've done or just how well you've done in class and nothing beyond that, then it would be fine to use something light like the first letter. Look at the totality of what you're going to send. I'm afraid we can't do that for you. I point to the questions I asked you to examine them with in my first post to also think which about which letter you could use.

But you since you ssem so concerned about this, I'd pick the second letter. But that suggestion isn't as helpful as you might think since I don't have all your letters in front of me and I don't know where you're going to send them.

Ok why in Zeus's flaming butthole would it matter what schools I'm sending the letters out? Whether the school accepts 3 or 4 is irrelevant because I am basically asking to weigh the value of the 3. I am hoping that the dilemma you all are proposing exists when 2 of these LORs need to be used, then is it 1 or 2 to compliment 3 and my academia ones of course.

If that's not it, then why can't you jdhopefuls just give me a straight answer, this doesn't have to be complicated, like somebody already mentioned - THEY ARE ONLY LORs. Let me rephrase the question for all you mental midgets - If I had to pick two LORs out of the 3 to compliment my 2 academic LORs to let's say, Georgetown, which would they be? 1, 2, or 3!!!!?

[billyez]

Your tone is rather unnecessary. There are some schools that limit the number to 2 or 3, in which case it's obviously important that you look at your letters not as just single recommendations, but in terms of their totality. These letters don't exist in a vacuum.

Since you decided to quote my post, I take it that I'm the one that, somehow, got on your nerves. This is odd, because I've already given you what you need to make this decision. Look at my first post. Look at each letter. Assess each letter based on how they answer those questions. Which ever one does best in your opinion is the one you should pick.

Also, at times it does matter which school your sending these letters too. If a school has a well-known public interest bent, like American University, I would make sure that I sent the letter I got from the Public Defender's Office. When I applied to UCLA, I'm pretty certain I made sure that the Professor who attended UCLA had his letter sent with my application.

You need to calm down and be mature about this. This is your application. It's your decision. No one should choose what letters you send out but you - you're the one most capable of figuring it out anyway.

[jdhopeful11]

These letters don't exist in a vacuum.

I can't believe this clown. Look I'd appreciate it if you stop responding to this thread. This isn't the first time I've applied to law schools, I am WELL AWARE that the number of letters schools accept varies, and that if you have a letter from an alumni to send that one in pronto. DUH. Thanks for enlightening me Cojack. Your advice is something I'd give to a college sophmore who's thinking about applying sometime down the road.

Since you can't think abstractly about a question, I am going to rephrase it in another way, with hopes that somebody with experience can actually interpret it without giving me a wannabe smartass response. Would adcomms value a more personal LOR which covers aspects of my hard work? Or would they favor a letter that focuses solely on my work, and lacks the personal touch of the former. Billyez you've lost your privileges to respond to this I've already blocked your posts on my privacy. Thank you. God.

[manbearwig]

These letters don't exist in a vacuum.

I can't believe this clown. Look I'd appreciate it if you stop responding to this thread. This isn't the first time I've applied to law schools, I am WELL AWARE that the number of letters schools accept varies, and that if you have a letter from an alumni to send that one in pronto. DUH. Thanks for enlightening me Cojack. Your advice is something I'd give to a college sophmore who's thinking about applying sometime down the road.

Since you can't think abstractly about a question, I am going to rephrase it in another way, with hopes that somebody with experience can actually interpret it without giving me a wannabe smartass response. Would adcomms value a more personal LOR which covers aspects of my hard work? Or would they favor a letter that focuses solely on my work, and lacks the personal touch of the former. Billyez you've lost your privileges to respond to this I've already blocked your posts on my privacy. Thank you. God.

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Seeing as how you're being a douche on this site, I hope these will help you find the answers you want.

[jdhopeful11]

Thanks dick. That was actually the most helpful response yet. I'm def going to make good use of those free consultations.

[slamp]

I would weight the letters you described in this order, from best to worst: 2, 3, 1. Adcomms will care about your capabilities and accomplishments, but not necessarily that the people in the office liked you enough to throw you a birthday party. Use #2 for sure, #3 if you just want to seal the deal, and avoid #1. The 3rd beats out the 1st because it's from someone in a higher supervisory capacity that can explain your contribution to the office as a whole, even if it is somewhat generic.

I would also say that you come off as an ignorant and arrogant little shit. Good luck applying again.