How much weight can a LOR hold? Forum

[Jcochran106]

Please delete thread, thank you

[Rigo]

I'm assuming you're talking about Chicago or Columbia and not TTTT..?

[Jcochran106]

I'm talking T4 and not Yale if that means anything....I'm not planning on revealing the actual school for neurotic reasons.

[Rigo]

Was just clarifying "T4" since "Top 4" isn't a common demarcation.

[toothbrush]

without them.

this is ambiguous and confused me.

also, depends entirely on the substance of the letter and the reality of your relationship. can he/she speak to your abilities, successes, triumphs legitimately? or is he/she someone your dad knows that you have met golfing a few times? with you being vague we can't answer your question; but you (understandably) dont want to reveal more.

will your LOR help you more than doing well on the lsat/ getting 2-3 years quality WE? nah.

[Jcochran106]

without them.

this is ambiguous and confused me.

also, depends entirely on the substance of the letter and the reality of your relationship. can he/she speak to your abilities, successes, triumphs legitimately? or is he/she someone your dad knows that you have met golfing a few times? with you being vague we can't answer your question; but you (understandably) dont want to reveal more.

will your LOR help you more than doing well on the lsat/ getting 2-3 years quality WE? nah.

sorry, I realized that was ambiguous...I meant without posting my LSAT score

[Rigo]

Also, I understand being neurotic and planning for the worst, but there's no reason to be "on the cusp." Get your GPA up a bit and a high enough LSAT to get you off the cusp so you don't have to rely on some wishful admissions quid pro quo.
But can this LOR be a feather to tip the scare if truly on the cusp? Sure.

[Jcochran106]

Also, I understand being neurotic and planning for the worst, but there's no reason to be "on the cusp." Get your GPA up a bit and a high enough LSAT to get you off the cusp so you don't have to rely on some wishful admissions quid pro quo.
But can this LOR be a feather to tip the scare if truly on the cusp? Sure.

I appreciate your insight

[sprinky07]

IMO, it's impossible to determine whether or not it would sway an admissions decision. From the information that you've provided, I think it's safe to say that it shouldn't have a negative impact. On the contrary, would this person stop donating to the school in question if you aren't accepted?

Just focus on what you can control.

[patogordo]

how thick is the paper?

[Rigo]

how thick is the paper?

I wish TLS had the thumbs up emoji.

[Jcochran106]

IMO, it's impossible to determine whether or not it would sway an admissions decision. From the information that you've provided, I think it's safe to say that it shouldn't have a negative impact. On the contrary, would this person stop donating to the school in question if you aren't accepted?

Just focus on what you can control.

No, they wouldn't stop donating and I wouldn't expect them to, after all that school is their alma mater and has provided them a lot of opportunities. I have known this person for 10 years and for the last 4 or so we have both felt that this school is the right fit for me, he wouldn't be writing the letter otherwise. I'm working really hard to finish my last few semesters of undergrad with a 4.0, and will put maximum effort into my LSAT studies. That's really all I can do, I just hope they value his opinion considering how much he cares about the program.

[Jcochran106]

how thick is the paper?

Well it's not written yet so suggestions are always helpful

[Rigo]

Definitely get two letters from professors who can speak to your academic ability and potential. The donor letter shouldn't replace one of those. It should be the third.

[ScottRiqui]

The value of his letter will be in how well he can describe your character, abilities and accomplishments. Anything less that even smacks of an attempt to "name drop" a big donor might actually turn some adcomms off. And I agree that no matter how good it is, it shouldn't displace a well-written academic LoR.

[Jcochran106]

Got all the info I needed, mods can delete. Thank you

[appind]

If the donor is a big one like in your case, it can def make a difference. It's not clear why above posters think it would be negative effect or seen as name dropping. You're not getting his rec out of the blue, it seems you have had a sort of mentor relationship with him. Schools such a HBS routinely admit applicant if there are bigfoot recommenders who make call on behalf of the applicant.

[LSATneurotic]

Got all the info I needed, mods can delete. Thank you

I really hope your relationship with a donor does not benefit your application.