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Jhai · 09-21-2006, 04:34 AM

So, I have five potential people I could solict LoRs from. Four are from my LAC (ranked in the 40s), and one is from a state school I did research at this summer.

1) Econ faculty advisor. Got her ph.d from Stanford. Have taken two (medium level) classes with her, and did research with her the summer after my sophomore year. However, she hasn't had me in a class since my sophomore year either, and I feel that I've really matured as an student & economist since then.

2) Econ professor I've had a four classes (med-adv) with, including an independent study in Advanced Micro (Varian) this semester. She got her ph.d from Minnesota.

3) Chair of the econ department. Ph.d from Southern Methodist. I've had two classes with her, one of which was an independent study on Econ Nobel Laureates. I'm also currently TAing her first-year seminar course (which is actually more about my other major - philosophy - than it is about econ)

4) Probability & Stats professor - I'm actually in my first class with him, but I've been doing really, really well in his class this semester. He also knows me previously from preparing to take the Putnam Exam, and we talk a lot outside of class about geeky math, logic, & philosophy things. He'd be willing to solicte comments from other math professors about me to create a sort of "departmental rec" from the math department about my quantitative abilities.

5) Econ professor at Georgia State University who I did research with this past summer. He actually has a ph.d in public policy, but from Chicago. Very young, though. I think I did good work for him, but nothing empirical (he put me on a more qualitative, historical project) or particularly showy. I don't think he'll be as gushy as the other professors, but I don't think he'll say anything bad, either.

So... thoughts? I'm considering sending four recs, but I think five would be overdoing it.

asquare · 09-21-2006, 05:01 AM

I'd go with 1, 2, and 4. They can highlight different and important things -- research, academics (independent study micro is probably your most advanced core econ class), and math. TAing is less relevant to admissions -- just having it on your resume shows that the department has confidence in you, but no need to have someone reiterate that in a LOR.

crslr · 09-21-2006, 05:22 AM

2 and 4 are obvious choices. I'm not so sure about 1, might tend to 5. You sound like you're not 100% comfortable with the impression you made on 1, and the contact isn't fresh.

Other things equal, it's good to choose people who graduated recently from good places; they'll find the right tone. A solid recommendation doesn't have to be "gushing" - if (5) is someone who tends to sound objective and more reserved, that draws attention to anything positive he does say.

Jhai · 09-24-2006, 03:29 AM

I'm not worried about the type of rec that 1 will give me - she's always been very positive. It's more a fear that she won't have anything particularly recent to say about me, especially as she's on sabbatical this year, so I can't just stop into her office to chat like I have in the past.

I just got an 800Q/690V today, so yay for one less worry about this whole process.

asquare · 09-24-2006, 03:44 AM

Congrats on the good GRE scores -- it's nice to have those out of the way. If you aren't in touch with prof. #1 at this point, then #5 is a better choice. Did #5 know at the time you worked for him that you wanted to go on to a PhD? I'd simply ask him if he thinks he can write you a good letter for econ programs -- there's a lot of overlap between econ and policy at Chicago, but different students follow different paths within the program, so just make sure that he's in the world of economics and feels that he can write you a useful letter.

(And I think it's perfectly ok to discuss with your professors who should write your letters. I had completely frank conversations with my professors about who my choices were -- and some told me to choose someone else over them, either because of connections/seniority, or because of the expected content of the letter. Knowing who my other letter writers were also helped each professor plan what to say, to make sure all bases were covered.)

tripax · 09-24-2006, 06:12 AM

I was in the same boat, and had them each write letters which I sent based on where they were from/had coauthors from/whatever. I don't know if that was a good strategy, but its a thought.

09-21-2006, 04:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jhai Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Greencastle, IN Posts: 312	Choice of LoRs So, I have five potential people I could solict LoRs from. Four are from my LAC (ranked in the 40s), and one is from a state school I did research at this summer. 1) Econ faculty advisor. Got her ph.d from Stanford. Have taken two (medium level) classes with her, and did research with her the summer after my sophomore year. However, she hasn't had me in a class since my sophomore year either, and I feel that I've really matured as an student & economist since then. 2) Econ professor I've had a four classes (med-adv) with, including an independent study in Advanced Micro (Varian) this semester. She got her ph.d from Minnesota. 3) Chair of the econ department. Ph.d from Southern Methodist. I've had two classes with her, one of which was an independent study on Econ Nobel Laureates. I'm also currently TAing her first-year seminar course (which is actually more about my other major - philosophy - than it is about econ) 4) Probability & Stats professor - I'm actually in my first class with him, but I've been doing really, really well in his class this semester. He also knows me previously from preparing to take the Putnam Exam, and we talk a lot outside of class about geeky math, logic, & philosophy things. He'd be willing to solicte comments from other math professors about me to create a sort of "departmental rec" from the math department about my quantitative abilities. 5) Econ professor at Georgia State University who I did research with this past summer. He actually has a ph.d in public policy, but from Chicago. Very young, though. I think I did good work for him, but nothing empirical (he put me on a more qualitative, historical project) or particularly showy. I don't think he'll be as gushy as the other professors, but I don't think he'll say anything bad, either. So... thoughts? I'm considering sending four recs, but I think five would be overdoing it.

09-24-2006, 06:12 AM	#6 (permalink)
tripax Eager! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ithaca, New York Posts: 74	I was in the same boat, and had them each write letters which I sent based on where they were from/had coauthors from/whatever. I don't know if that was a good strategy, but its a thought. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Program: PhD economics - just starting at Cornell Accepted: Cornell (w/ $), Maryland (no $), Southern Methodist (w/ $), Illinois-Chicago (no $), Rutgers (no $ - notified late) Rejected: Columbia, Georgetown, Brown, Connecticut (accepted to MS track), Minnesota, Northwestern (notified late), Boston College (notified late) Expirience: Iowa State MS in Math and MA in Political Science, BS and BA at Nebraska

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09-21-2006, 05:01 AM	#2 (permalink)
asquare TestMagic Guru Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ann Arbor Posts: 1,381	I'd go with 1, 2, and 4. They can highlight different and important things -- research, academics (independent study micro is probably your most advanced core econ class), and math. TAing is less relevant to admissions -- just having it on your resume shows that the department has confidence in you, but no need to have someone reiterate that in a LOR.

09-21-2006, 05:22 AM	#3 (permalink)
crslr Within my grasp! Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 165	2 and 4 are obvious choices. I'm not so sure about 1, might tend to 5. You sound like you're not 100% comfortable with the impression you made on 1, and the contact isn't fresh. Other things equal, it's good to choose people who graduated recently from good places; they'll find the right tone. A solid recommendation doesn't have to be "gushing" - if (5) is someone who tends to sound objective and more reserved, that draws attention to anything positive he does say.

09-24-2006, 03:29 AM	#4 (permalink)
Jhai Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Greencastle, IN Posts: 312	I'm not worried about the type of rec that 1 will give me - she's always been very positive. It's more a fear that she won't have anything particularly recent to say about me, especially as she's on sabbatical this year, so I can't just stop into her office to chat like I have in the past. I just got an 800Q/690V today, so yay for one less worry about this whole process.

09-24-2006, 03:44 AM	#5 (permalink)
asquare TestMagic Guru Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ann Arbor Posts: 1,381	Congrats on the good GRE scores -- it's nice to have those out of the way. If you aren't in touch with prof. #1 at this point, then #5 is a better choice. Did #5 know at the time you worked for him that you wanted to go on to a PhD? I'd simply ask him if he thinks he can write you a good letter for econ programs -- there's a lot of overlap between econ and policy at Chicago, but different students follow different paths within the program, so just make sure that he's in the world of economics and feels that he can write you a useful letter. (And I think it's perfectly ok to discuss with your professors who should write your letters. I had completely frank conversations with my professors about who my choices were -- and some told me to choose someone else over them, either because of connections/seniority, or because of the expected content of the letter. Knowing who my other letter writers were also helped each professor plan what to say, to make sure all bases were covered.)

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