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Mexican female
LSDAS GPA: 3.92
UGPA: 4.00 (my school caps at 4.00 cumm)
LSAT: 172

Thanks in advance for your input.

enebea wrote:Mexican female
LSDAS GPA: 3.92
UGPA: 4.00 (my school caps at 4.00 cumm)
LSAT: 172

I'll be a senior in ug this Fall. I'm interested in applying to Stanford, Columbia, NYU, UC Berkeley, UPenn, and Georgetown. I am concerned about my LOR's. I don't know if the professors who know me best academically can write me a "strong" LOR. I have already spoken to two of them about a LOR, but I still feel worried. I was wondering if it's inappropriate for me to ask if I can read it before they send it off? Could a weak LOR lower my chances of getting into a school?

Thanks in advance for your input.

I am not sure about asking them to read it before they send it off -- even if you do, what do you do if you don't like what they say? I don't know how they would take it. Why don't you think they would write good letters? Not their thing? I had a professor who wrote me a letter which was about one line. And I was one of her favorite students and a good friend. So that can certainly happen, but is that what you are worried about here?

^ Yes, I am in a similar position. I am a research assistant for one of my professors, and I have taken two of his classes and received A+. However, he is very lazy when it comes to things not related to his research. I don't know how much time he would actually put into it. The other professor I am very good friends with, and have also received A+ in her classes. I have never read anything she has published, but when she writes e-mails she uses the ellipses way too much. "x is one of the best students I have ever had in 30 years............I highly recommend her......" < That's how she writes. :\

Honestly, not to completely diminish their importance in your application, but as a URM with your numbers, I don't think LORs can hurt you very much at all. I would say you'll be in at least one of HYS.

Congrats on the GPA and score.

You can either waive your right to see your LOR's or you can keep it. However, from what I have read, AdComms look down upon not waiving your right considering that if you don't then the recommender may write in a biased way.

Thanks, Kiersten. I am just concerned about the aspects of applications that are not necessarily in my hands.

bk187, I will waive my rights to see the LOR. Thanks for the heads up. Would you guys discourage giving the professors a stamped enveloped addressed to myself?

The LOR has to be signed and sealed. If you mean that you would get the LOR and then open it yourself then send it to LSAC, you won't be able to do this without breaking the seal.

^ No, I meant in addition to them sending the LOR directly to LSAC.

I am just worried about the aspects of my application that can hurt me. I did not even know about URM until I visited this forum. I should have been more concise with my question, sorry. Despite being a URM with my numbers, can a weak LOR hurt? (Kiersten has chimed in 'no')

Unless the recommender writes a scathing letter, it won't hurt. Because of your stats (3.92/172/URM) you seem to be a lock for one of YHS. Once your numbers are correct for Y/S, they seem to care more about softs than other schools do. Even then, I don't think a weak LOR is going to make or break you.

As for sending a LOR to both you and LSAC, I believe that violates the waiving of your right to see it. There is a possibility of doing it and not getting caught, but I would not recommend it. The chance of this backfiring has a better chance of hurting you than having a weak LOR will.

Okay, great! That settles it. Thanks so much for your advice.

/\ +1

Not worth getting caught. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of UG are you in? Large state school or small liberal arts? No-name v Ivy? If your professors can ride on the school at which they teach, it might make up for things like excessive ellipses.

Hey numbers twin!!!

You're in everywhere.

<3

Kiersten1985 wrote:Not worth getting caught. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of UG are you in? Large state school or small liberal arts? No-name v Ivy? If your professors can ride on the school at which they teach, it might make up for things like excessive ellipses.

I'm at Arizona State, majoring in Political Science and Philosophy. I really don't know why she loves the ellipses so much, haha.

GAIAtheCHEERLEADER wrote:Hey numbers twin!!!

You're in everywhere.

<3

oh haiiiii, wassup I hope you're right!