EconomBarry Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 In general, how would LOR writer's specialty impact the influence of the letter? For example, if I am interested in doing macro or finance, how would a strong letter from a professor in fields like labor or micro theory be viewed differently comparing to a semi-strong letter from a professor in macro-finance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chateauheart Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 (edited) No impact in general. Most grad econ programs don't admit by field, nor do they have quotas by field. Even if they do, it might not be the case that anyone on the admissions committee is in your field. Even if someone in your admissions committee happens to be in your field, it might not be the case that (s)he recognizes your letter-writer or hold him/her in high esteem. There are exceptions - in my application season, the above actually happened - but I suspect it is extremely rare and it's best to maximize letter quality. Edited January 8, 2019 by chateauheart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubrus Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 I echo what chateauheart said. My strongest letter writer was a prominent macroeconomist but I had listed my interests as empirical. The best school I got into had an admissions committee filed with microeconomists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicahan Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I think the field itself doesn't matter. But I guess it's more related to your RA experience. You tend to get letters from someone you have worked as an RA for. Most of the time, the letter will be really strong if you have intellectual contribution during your RA experience, which happens more often when the field of the professor aligns with your interest. But I do notice that the fly out list(for prospective grad students) from one of the top 10 schools have a column indicating field of interest. Not sure if that indicates anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutonic Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 I think the field itself doesn't matter. But I guess it's more related to your RA experience. You tend to get letters from someone you have worked as an RA for. Most of the time, the letter will be really strong if you have intellectual contribution during your RA experience, which happens more often when the field of the professor aligns with your interest. But I do notice that the fly out list(for prospective grad students) from one of the top 10 schools have a column indicating field of interest. Not sure if that indicates anything. That's probably only so that they can line up current PhD students who work in similar fields to receive you during the campus visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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