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I know that letters do not make or break you and generally don't matter, but I'd still like to know which of these recommenders would show the best.

1. Professor in my Cheme program that has a PhD and postdoc from MIT.
2. Professor in my Cheme program with PhD from Princeton.
3. Senior Attorney at Law firm where I have worked for over 3 years.
4. Professor at law school where I want to apply and has been my instructor in a legal/consulting clinic that I have participated in.

Is it best to have just college Professors or is it better to have them come from different capacities? Will it be very beneficial for me to get a letter from the professor at the law school I want to attend?

Also note I think each of them would evaluate me equally favorably.

No One cares where the recommender went to school. The answer is to choose the one who knows your work and character the best. Choose the one who you think will take the task most seriously of writing a non-standard letter. That said, someone who already works at the school is probably a bonus.

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VasaVasori wrote:Among 1 and 2, pick the one who knows you the best, for sure.

I mean, put yourself in this situation: you're deciding to admit one of two applicants, one with an LSAT of 170 and the other with an LSAT of 171. The former applicant has a letter of recommendation from someone you know personally as a colleague and whose input you trust. The latter applicant has a letter of recommendation that is good, but you don't know the guy who wrote the letter. I'd probably admit the first one for two reasons:

I'd rather be the applicant with the 171, as I'm more likely to get in than the 170 guy.

But that's just me

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Pick which ever Rs can provide the most support and really expound on your skills. I think you want depth and supported claims as opposed to generic claims with no examples to back them up.

A Harvard admissions rep came to my school and essentially gave off the impression that they don't even necessarily care to even look who wrote the LOR.

Also, she made is seem as though someone who can vouch for your writing skills, such as an english professor, is favorable since writing is a huge aspect of law school.

As another side note, not supported by the rep, but academic > professional.

christinenyoung wrote:As another side note, not supported by the rep, but academic > professional.

This.

Also, I'd go with the law professor over the second ChemE professor - the two chem letters are likely to overlap. If a school lets you send in 3, then send in the 3 academic letters and save #3 for LOCI/waitlists.