Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are my most recent hurdle to overcome (the enxt will be a personal statement, which I have been dreading since I thought about it and have been putting off until my vacations in a few weeks).

Based on an analysis of the people near me I have the following options/planned recommenders:

1. My Economics advisor, had me in class as a sophomore in a 300 level econ class, I earned a very high A (I believe the highest grade in the class) I participated a lot, we have spoken numerous times and seem to get along. I believe that she respects me as a student. She has talked to me about pursuing a PhD in economics and has already said she would write a letter.

2. I already have a general letter submitted to LSAC from an administrator that has written me letters of recommendation for school awards and fraternity awards before. I have had her in class for an honors seminar (Grade: A) but this class wasn't academically challenging. She also sat on a board that I was a part of. I have seen the letter (I waived my right, she showed it to me anyway) and it is solid.

3. The Director of an area of student affairs that I have been really involved in. He cotaught 6 hours of classes that I took and is the sole teacher for another 4-6 hours that I am taking this semester. These classes are not super academic however I believe that he will testify to my academic promise and skills. He also has a good understanding of things I do on campus and me as a person. He ran the camp that I worked at this summer as well. He has said he would write me a letter.

4. Another administrator is the advisor for my largest EC's. I speak with her very often and she has a good understanding of my personality and my life. Like recommender #3 she understands who I am. I have not had her as an instructor however I believe she can probebally testify to my non-academic qualifications (mediation, ability to understand problems and seek solutions, leadership skills, etc.) and is the most likly to "show not tell" meaning that she has the most specific examples to draw from. I think she can probebally testify to some of my academic abilities just from our conversations and interactions as well. She is a good writer and has said she would not mind writing me a letter.

5. My current boss at the insurance company said he would write as many letters as it takes to help me out. He sought me out and I honestly believe that he would write the best letter possible that a boss can write for somebody doing non-legal work. He can talk about how I interact with clients, funtion in an office, my research skills, dedication, problem solving skills, etc. I am confident he will write a good letter.

Review: I have a solid stable of people to pull from for letters of recommendation but I need to develop a more solid plan. 2,3, and 4 all know me the best out of any possible writers however they are all in a similar general field. I plan to use these letters in combination depending on the school and the theme of my application package for a given institution. If 3 writes a letter that is half-academic half extra curricular I would be in good shape.

I also lack a second pure academic recommendation. Online advice seems to be that if you are coming from undergrad you should have academic letters. I am hoping that the fact that these people legitimately know me (more than a professor I had for a class and got a good grade from) will make up for this defect. Despite this, I do plan on looking for another academic LOR writer to boost the application. I think that with this list I can put together a solid 3-4 letters per school and can mix and match to meet what I am trying to show to each school. I will also have an additional targeted letter for Northwestern from another administrator.

Considering that you are only allowed 4 general letters, the current plan is this:

#1 is clearly going to every school as a general letter

#2 will has already been submitted as a general letter

#3 is going to be a general letter hoping to mix academic and EC's.

#4 Will be a "targeted" letter that is actually several copies of a general letter. I will be targeting this letter towards all schools that mention leadership in what they are looking for (lots) as well as schools that act for a demonstration of values/ethics (only a few, but two schools I am super interested in), this should have been a general letter but necessity made #2 a general and it will be easier to get multiple copies from #4. This is the most complicated one because it will be sent to a majority of schools but will be targeted individually.

#5 Will be targeted to schools that care about work experience. 5 will not be going to schools that only take three letters (except for mabye Northwestern) and is more likly to be used as a waitlist letter.

I will save my fourth general letter for an academic recommender if I can find one. The others will be getting information by the end of the month.