Letters of Recommendation Forum

[ingoodkompany]

So I’m going to have one letter of recommendation from my Legal Writing professor which should be strong. Given the covid mandatory P/F however, I only have 3 other professors to really choose from and none of them I was especially close with. While I did well in all the classes, I’m hesitant about receiving a lukewarm letter from any of them. For context, I was pretty quiet in class unless cold called and never went to office hours.

So to my question, is it looked down upon to get a letter from an UG professor? I assume it doesn’t carry nearly as much weight as a law professor, however I have a professor I took multiple classes with/TA’d for/was my senior thesis advisor who would likely write me a very strong recommendation. What’s the consensus on a situation like this?

[KPUSN07]

I'd say break whatever mental barrier you have and find that other professor you feel would be sympathetic to your cause.

An undergrad letter may not hurt based on Spivey's transfer podcast saying schools could put a little more emphasis on the undergrad record.

[janereacher]

I agree with KPUSN07 - you just need to go ahead and ask. I got two LORs from law professors. One class I never went to office hours and only contributed when cold called. Getting one of the top grades on the final was enough for a good LOR. Also, to the extent I was allowed to include additional letters, I used the LORs from undergrad professors that were still in my LSAC account. I can't say how much they helped but they were strong letters. I wouldn't substitute a law professor letter with an undergrad letter but you can certainly supplement your law professor letters with additional undergrad letters.

[kvh0996]

It can never hurt to ask, especially if you did well in a class. Also attaching a resume or a letter about you and your interests helps them get to know you better.

[KPUSN07]

I agree with KPUSN07 - you just need to go ahead and ask. I got two LORs from law professors. One class I never went to office hours and only contributed when cold called. Getting one of the top grades on the final was enough for a good LOR. Also, to the extent I was allowed to include additional letters, I used the LORs from undergrad professors that were still in my LSAC account. I can't say how much they helped but they were strong letters. I wouldn't substitute a law professor letter with an undergrad letter but you can certainly supplement your law professor letters with additional undergrad letters.

Are you transferring this year or transferred previously? Curious how you feel the LoRs affected your chances (and what your grades are).

[janereacher]

I agree with KPUSN07 - you just need to go ahead and ask. I got two LORs from law professors. One class I never went to office hours and only contributed when cold called. Getting one of the top grades on the final was enough for a good LOR. Also, to the extent I was allowed to include additional letters, I used the LORs from undergrad professors that were still in my LSAC account. I can't say how much they helped but they were strong letters. I wouldn't substitute a law professor letter with an undergrad letter but you can certainly supplement your law professor letters with additional undergrad letters.

Are you transferring this year or transferred previously? Curious how you feel the LoRs affected your chances (and what your grades are).

I transferred last year. I honestly have no idea how the LORs affected my chances. I never got any indication about that from anyone. I just knew going in that my undergrad letters were very strong so I figured it wouldn't hurt to include them. I suspect they may have helped to bolster the overall story about myself, my abilities, my interests, and my goals. One letter was from a professor I did research with. My pre-transfer stats were: 3.9 GPA, T1 school, top 2.5%