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I recently met with a professor regarding a letter of recommendation to transfer. He said he would happily write one for me. However, things got awkward in the conversation and he asked me why I was transferring and if there was anything the school could do to keep me. I got choked up and nervous and didn't want to put him down as a professor and the school he works for. I said that my reasons were mainly to be closer to home (east coast MD). He then proceeded to ask me if the rankings were what mattered? I told him no, I just wanted the opportunity to be closer to home and be with my friends and family. While I do really care about being closer to home and pretty much all the schools I am applying to are east coast schools, my #2 WashU isn't. I'm worried that his LOR will include my desire to return home. WashU doesn't require a LOR so should I not add his LOR to my application? How important are the LORs? I have the GPA to get in, I am patent bar eligible, and am a URM. I already have two LORs but they're from undergrad. What should I do?

You need law school LORs. The profs just write a generic LOR. They don't need to know where you're sending out transfer apps to. Just get the letters and move on.

The professor is recommending you in your academic merit, not on any other tangential factor.

Ditto the fact that the professor is recommending you on academic merit. Btw I transferred without any recommendation letters, so it is possible. I did get a recommendation letter after transferring, from 1L professors.