no reference letter

[feyvazi]

Hi all,

In my applications, I have mentioned 3 people that write a letter of recommendation for me. One of them has written a really really good recommendation letter but the other two might write a BAD letter. So I want to ask them not to write a letter for me anymore. Does anybody know someone who has got into a good school with only one good letter?

[asquare]

Most schools make three LORs a requirement. Only submitting one would be tantamount to submitting an incomplete application. Schools might not consider your application at all, and you would certainly be at a very large disadvantage.

What makes you think these people might write bad letters? When you originally asked them about letters, what did they say?

[feyvazi]

I have worked for them for a year and they are not happy with the result of my project. They have said they will write a letter but I do not know how they will write.

[feyvazi]

In addition, I have no other option. Other professors don't know me and probably they will write something worse.

[CalmLogic]

Originally Posted by feyvazi

I have worked for them for a year and they are not happy with the result of my project. They have said they will write a letter but I do not know how they will write.

How unhappy are they?

As you may know, a recommender is not limited to commenting on what you have done in his/her class or the research you have done with them. If you make the professors aware of everything positive in your profile by attaching your transcript, a portfolio of your other work, any documentation of your rankings in college or your awards, etc. they can use that. Along with that, you may also want to send them a note detailing your major accomplishments. For more info, there is a ton of advice on Google about what to submit to a professor when asking for a recommendation letter.

Does anybody know someone who has got into a good school with only one good letter?

No. As asquare said, your application could be considered incomplete:

http://www.urch.com/forums/computer-...many-lors.html (How many LORs) (there are also some links in this thread for suggestions about what to submit to a professor who has agreed to write a recommendation letter)

I assume you haven't taken 2 courses by the same professor (who you haven't already asked for a letter) since that would be a good potential source of recommendation. I also assume you have no work experience. Otherwise, you could ask an employer for a reference.

[feyvazi]

How unhappy are they?

Both profs work on the same project.
They have said that they have not seen a good result from my project (I have been working on the project for one year). I assume if a professor is unhappy about a student, he will not write a recommendation letter (instead of writing a bad one and ruining the application). Correct me if you knew a counter example.
They did not read my resume and my previous stuff. They just ignored it. Might be because they are busy.

[CalmLogic]

I assume if a professor is unhappy about a student, he will not write a recommendation letter (instead of writing a bad one and ruining the application).

That's what I would assume as well. What they seem to be saying is that you will not get a very strong recommendation letter from them but they are willing to give some positive recommendation.

So, in my view, it's not about good vs. bad as much as strong vs. weak. An example of a weak recommendation letter would be "did well in class" with nothing exceptional being mentioned. It may be better, then, to try to have four professors send a recommendation letter in hopes that at least 2 will be strong. A possible way of finding another professor would be trying to remember those professors who seemed the nicest to you or in whose class you had to do a major project that you scored well on.