A quick question about LoR and Resumes Forum

[tre531]

I have 1 for each. Thanks for any insight you all can provide!

1) I am a finance major that took many numbers-heavy courses that did not include much (if any) writing. However, the one course in my university's business school that is heavy on writing (all majors take it) was a 300 member section that was dependent on TA grading. Therefore, my former TA knows a lot more about my writing ability than does my actual professor. Would I be hurting an admission's board impression of me if the perceived "best" letter I could obtain was from a TA who is only 1 year out of school and thus does not hold much authority? Other professors could attest to my work ethic and effect on classroom environment, but I do not feel these would be as strongly worded or as specific as the TA's letter nor would they contain as much law school-relevant endorsement.

2) I know 2 page resumes are perfectly acceptable for law school, but is it detrimental in any way to limit mine to just a 1 page resume? I feel my resume is very strong in its current state and do not want to add any useless facts.

[ChemEng1642]

1) The TA recommendation letter should be fine. I think it is common knowledge that you should get a letter from someone who can best speak to your capability. I would also like to point out that you don't necessarily have to get a letter of recommendation from someone who teaches a writing-based class. Perhaps you can also get a recommendation letter from a professor in another class.

2) It is not detrimental at all to have a one-page resume.

[Christina AA]

Good advice above. Also, think more broadly about which recommender(s) can speak to strengths applicable to law school. Lots of legal work involves quantitative/business tasks, and so although it is nice that you can get a good rec from your writing TA, don't ignore others who also can sing your praises.

I don't think length matters on resumes at all, unless they are shorter than a page or longer than two pages. Make sure the resume highlights your achievements and doesn't just list activities/jobs.

Good luck!