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I know this topic has been addressed many times but I could not find help with my specific circumstance. I have been out of school for one year (2 by the time law school rolls around) and am worrying about LOR(s?). Right now I can get one good one from a professor, 1 from a legal internship I did in college, and 1 from the legal job I'm at now. Are those three adequate for top 14 schools or would it be better to have a second academic recommendation from a professor that doesn't know me very well?

And if I should secure a second academic rec, how important is the subject I took the professor in? Would a math professor be a worse choice than a politics professor even if the math professor knew me a bit better?

pinballwiz24 wrote:I know this topic has been addressed many times but I could not find help with my specific circumstance. I have been out of school for one year (2 by the time law school rolls around) and am worrying about LOR(s?). Right now I can get one good one from a professor, 1 from a legal internship I did in college, and 1 from the legal job I'm at now. Are those three adequate for top 14 schools or would it be better to have a second academic recommendation from a professor that doesn't know me very well?

And if I should secure a second academic rec, how important is the subject I took the professor in? Would a math professor be a worse choice than a politics professor even if the math professor knew me a bit better?

1 academic/1 internship/1 current employer should be fine for T14. Might as well get a second academic LOR if you can, though. Pick the prof that will write you the best LOR. A math prof is legit, because they can highlight your analytic abilities and problem solving skills.

Totally fine for schools ranked 4-14 according to TLS groupthink.

Tom Joad wrote:Totally fine for schools ranked 4-14 according to TLS groupthink.

Hah. TLS Groupthink.

If you can get another academic LOR that would be helpful. After all, you've only been out of UG for 1-2 years, right? That's not really a significant portion of time. But, if you really don't feel like there's a professor you can find to get that type of letter then that's what it is. Academic/Internship/Employer will be fine.

You should be fine getting a second academic letter of recommendation one year out from school if you had any sort of relationship with a professor. Get the recommendation from a professor who can speak to your work ethic, analytic abilities, and performance the best. It's fine if you get a science or math one so long as the professor knows how to write a non-Math graduate school style letter of recommendation.

Tom Joad wrote:Totally fine for schools ranked 4-14 according to TLS groupthink.

this implies not good for HYS? lol? i've never read anything about those schools that would indicate that his LORs are insufficient or anything lol

I was a big dum dum in college and neglected to ingratiate myself form strong relationships with professors, just doing my work and calling it a day. As such, I managed to get one LOR from a professor (could maybe get one more but unclear). I've got multiple professional recs, though.

The question being: how bad is this? I know some schools don't care or maybe even prefer professional LORs to some extent (NU jumps to mind), but are there any that are notoriously fond of the academic over the professional? I'm obviously going to try for another academic rec, but it might not happen.

THX

shinton88 wrote: The question being: how bad is this? I know some schools don't care or maybe even prefer professional LORs to some extent (NU jumps to mind), but are there any that are notoriously fond of the academic over the professional? I'm obviously going to try for another academic rec, but it might not happen.

THX

To this poster and OP - try really, really hard to get a second academic letter. You took classes with a wide variety of professors - you should be able to find one that will write you a good LoR (pick a class in which you received an A). The law schools are expecting to see 2 LoRs from professors (until you have substantial work experience, which takes a lot longer than 1-2 years), and you generally want to give the law schools what they expect.

That said, if you can't make it happen, don't fret. If you have a solid LoR from another source, it'll still work.

bp shinners wrote:
To this poster and OP - try really, really hard to get a second academic letter. You took classes with a wide variety of professors - you should be able to find one that will write you a good LoR (pick a class in which you received an A). The law schools are expecting to see 2 LoRs from professors (until you have substantial work experience, which takes a lot longer than 1-2 years), and you generally want to give the law schools what they expect.

That said, if you can't make it happen, don't fret. If you have a solid LoR from another source, it'll still work.

Noted, thanks. I'll see if I can work my charm on the holdout.