Letters of Rec Dilemma

Question

I know I can secure a strong letter of recommendation from my current director, however as a weak point of my application is lack of community involvement, I am having trouble thinking of another recommender that would have a unique perspective on me. Right now I can think of two distinct possibilities for that second letter and am hoping for input on which route to go:

1) Can secure another strong recommendation from the  deputy  director. Drawback is that it would likely be very similar to my director's letter and would provide little additional insight.

2) Can secure a recommendation from a work superior who has seen me in a leadership role, managing people during a high stress but short-term situation. Drawbacks: while this person can shed light on a unique element of my personality, they don't know me as well overall and can really only speak to a couple of limited facets of my personality.

Very eager to hear which of these is the lesser of two evils...

phlaym39 · Answer

Take a look at the school's recommender prompts. They might give you an idea of what you want each recommender to say and you could suggest a framing from each recommender. For example, Rec1 might talk about your dedication to the team and helping others, etc. Rec2 might talk about your ability to solve problems and drive a project forward given difficult circumstances. Maybe that will help you make the decision as to who is better suited.

squigglekins · Answer

Thanks for your reply. Does that mean my primary reviewer should customize his letter for each of my five schools?

phlaym39 · Answer

In general, yes, but that depends on the schools that you choose to apply to. Most schools have different questions that they present to the recommender. However, some schools have agreed on a common set of questions.

Admissionado · Answer

Well, to be honest there are a LOT of other considerations. It's not just position that matters. Like: Who would be more EXCITED to write about you? Who knows you more intimately? Who has seen you LEAD?

These are all top things to consider in my book. And if it such that your director and your deputy director would say similar things about you, then maybe you can work it out with them that they both have different focuses? Anyhow, although it IS helpful to have two very diverse LORs, it's probably more important that you have two STRONG LORs.

Hope this helps,
Jon

Letters of Rec Dilemma

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