LOR Forum

[h2oplyer7]

So a lot of these schools I am applying to are asking for letter of recommendation from current professors. Any advice on what the professors should write? I am preparing the letters for both professors, and I was curious what would be best.

Thanks!

[Frm312]

I am also curious about this, my professor wants me to draft a letter for her

[zor]

Also interested in this, if anyone has advice. I am a little uncomfortable with the idea and am not sure what to say.

[lasersgopewpew]

YMMV, but because I have good relationships with my recommenders, I felt comfortable being very up front with them about what I wanted and needed the letter to say.

For one (legal writing), I didn't ask for anything specific, except I told her that I wanted it to "glow" and if she felt she could not write a glowing letter, that I understood and would ask someone else. She was happy to, but I had spent all of fall semester laying the groundwork for that (she also gave me an unsolicited recommendation to another professor for a research position). I did ask her to hammer home that I had done well in her writing class, that she had made the recommendation to the other prof, and that I was generally good at research and writing.

My other professor (Contracts, Corps) was a Climenko fellow at Harvard, and knowing that, I asked him to write something to the effect that he believed I had what it takes to compete with elite law students. Because I want to work in M&A/Securities (and he worked at Cravath) I asked him to draw upon his experience and that I was both enthusiastic and capable of doing the work in Biglaw. I was also straightforward about the fact I needed the letter to sing.

For both, generally, I asked them - if they agreed - to speak to my being hard working, engaged in the material, personable, and professional. I also asked them to address that I was focused and goal-oriented, and had a vision for how I wanted the rest of my education and career to go.

I think, for the most part, professors get that the letters need to be good. But, if you don't think you have the kind of relationship that would allow you to ask as much, then you may want to reconsider who you are asking. I know this is harder if you don't know your potential recommenders as well, but, you may be cruising for a lukewarm or fill-in-the-blank letter if you haven't spent much time trying to get to know the professors you're looking to ask.

[zor]

lasersgopewpew: I think we're all here talking about writing the recommendations ourselves for our professors who agreed, not getting lukewarm recommendations from them. My writing professor is writing one for me and I have no concerns about that, but my doctrinal class professor said she'd be happy to rec me but I have to write it because she had to do too many. I checked with other students about this and was assured it's fairly standard.

My issue is that I'm struggling to come up with things to say for that kind of professor, where you were one of 100 kids in the class, maybe you talked sometimes and maybe you saw them for office hours a few times, but mostly you did really well in the class. I guess I could repeat my resume?