4 LORs? Forum

[imjustjoking22]

I have four different profs who are willing to write me LORs, and I'm wondering- should I send all 4 in with my apps, or save one for if I am waitlisted or something like that? If so, which one?

Quick breakdown:
#1: Prof at JC I went to - can speak to significant personal prob/how I dealt with it as a student (death of immediate family member) along with academic ability/interest.
#2: Prof in my major, 3 classes with this teacher (all As), + personal friend.
#3: Prof in my minor- taught a difficult UL class that I was in with virtually no background in the subject and succeeded at, also personal friend
#4: Prof in my minor, took 2 classes with, A- and A (but taken PNP, so this will include that I got an A). I didn't know this prof too well (had only spoken a couple of times about papers) but recently had a long meeting/went over a paper I wrote, so I feel more confident that this prof knows me well enough. Definitely the weakest relationship of the four, but only because the others should be very strong.

Thanks!!

[tourdeforcex]

save 1. save weakest.

[imjustjoking22]

And then will I have the opportunity to send it if I'm waitlisted? Do you recommend to save one as an extra boost at the end or just because four would be overkill?

[Tiago Splitter]

And then will I have the opportunity to send it if I'm waitlisted? Do you recommend to save one as an extra boost at the end or just because four would be overkill?

Both.

[Bildungsroman]

Scrub the JC recommender. 3 LORs is the sweet spot.

[soj]

Scrub the JC recommender. 3 LORs is the sweet spot.

+1
You could use the JC recommendation as a LOCI package, but it's probably from a long time ago and won't have much sway.

[imjustjoking22]

See, here's where I'm feeling really lost. I would save the JC recommender, but he may be one if my best recs- knew me very well/was very impressed with me as a student, showed a lot of enthusiasm for writing me a rec... Plus, the personal bit, which is that my mom passed away right before finals and I still got it together enough to come back and pull straight As. Her long stay in the hospital and me needing to drive home frequently to care for her was the reason for the only rough part of my GPA (which has made me a splitter) so I figure it might help for the admissions people to hear from someone who was there during that part of my life (and like I said, it should be a very strong rec academically as well).

Further thoughts? I really appreciate the advice.

[MumofCad]

I'm sending 4 so I feel you. I would only send 4 though if each is adding something significant and different to your application, usually in the case of non-trads where they might have significant time since UG, post-graduate work, etc. In this case, you have 4 academic references and the 4th sounds like it would probably be weak. I would send in the first 3 and leave it at that.

[PhilEconCS]

Forget #4. It doesn't sound like you have interacted with #4 anywhere near enough to justify getting a LOR from that person. #1 may be from a JC, but that prof will still be able to say more good things about you.

[thederangedwang]

disagree with above posters....closeness trumps rank...save your fourth letter...send in 1, 2 and 3.........a detailed letter from a TA would be better than a form generic letter thats 2 paragraphs long from a nobel prize winning prof (maybe a bit exaggerating but somewhat true)

[094320]

..

[soj]

upon rereading OP, i've changed my mind. yeah, go with 1-3. save #4.

[imjustjoking22]

I'm sending 4 so I feel you. I would only send 4 though if each is adding something significant and different to your application, usually in the case of non-trads where they might have significant time since UG, post-graduate work, etc. In this case, you have 4 academic references and the 4th sounds like it would probably be weak. I would send in the first 3 and leave it at that.

Yea, I figure the first 3 have more diverse things to add... I don't think the 4th will be weak necessarily, but it may not really enhance my app at all (except for the whole PNP thing, which I have been irked about).

disagree with above posters....closeness trumps rank...save your fourth letter...send in 1, 2 and 3.........a detailed letter from a TA would be better than a form generic letter thats 2 paragraphs long from a nobel prize winning prof (maybe a bit exaggerating but somewhat true)

Well, the fourth shouldn't be generic, the prof knows me well in the sense that we have met to discuss papers, the class, etc- it just happens to be that the other 3 are personal friends as well, so they are extra invested in me doing well, you know? But I guess if I have four coming in then in the off-chance that one is not submitted on time/etc I will just let that make my decision for me.

4 is overkill in the beginning. Do first three, save the fourth for waitlists.

So how does that work exactly- if I'm waitlisted, do I just send the last to the admissions office or something like that? (sorry, idiot newbie here).

[094320]

..

[imjustjoking22]

So how does that work exactly- if I'm waitlisted, do I just send the last to the admissions office or something like that? (sorry, idiot newbie here).

It'll be clear once you start using LSAC and you'll understand what I'm about to tell you after you have, but "assign" it to schools after you've been waitlisted.

Awesome, thanks!!

[094320]

..

[imjustjoking22]

So how does that work exactly- if I'm waitlisted, do I just send the last to the admissions office or something like that? (sorry, idiot newbie here).

It'll be clear once you start using LSAC and you'll understand what I'm about to tell you after you have, but "assign" it to schools after you've been waitlisted.

Awesome, thanks!!

Np, also, the answer for that is in the FAQ: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=131727

Oops! Will look harder next time, I didn't realize WL LORs were a normal thing to do