Should I ask this professor to write me a letter?

[ccgoal]

Hi,All! Would you please kindly give me some advice on this?
---He is world famous and taught me for one semester and I got an A in his class;
---I'm obviously not the best student of his (I guess so)
---I wrote to ask him to write me a letter and he replied to say yes and also wanted me to provide my background info. I did that, and he advised me to make the draft of the reference letter. That's when I feel confused since I'm not sure whether he doesn't really want to help me write a "decent" letter, afterall, a lukewarm letter could do harm. I replied to tell him that I would send him the draft after I submit my online application, after when can he receive the nofitication mail to submit ref letter. And he kindly replied, saying he is "looking forward to seeing my draft". I got even more confused here...Maybe he wants to write me a "good" letter, but since he is so busy or knows so little about me so that he chooses a safe stretagy? Or he just kindly declines me?
IF so, what would such kind of a letter be like?
Anyway, thanks for all your possible inputs

[asquare]

Do you have any relationship with this professor beyond taking one class with him? Have you done RA work with him, has he advised you in any capacity, does he have anything to share with the admissions committee beyond "ccgoal got an A in my class?" The fact that he is asking you to draft your own recommendation hints that he doesn't know you all that well and doesn't know what to say in a letter of reference. If this is the case, he doesn't sound like an ideal recommender at all. You want the people who write your LORs to know you well and to be able to add new information to the application, not just to reiterate what is on your transcript already.

[bgg]

Actually I disagree with asquare. Unfortunately, having a well known person for a recommender counts a whole lot ( I say unfortunately because not many people have that even if they are very well qualified). Just the fact that adcoms would know the name of one of your recommenders could make the difference between reviewing the application and putting it in the trash if you didn't go to a top econ school for undergrad for example or your application was lacking in some other respect.

So I would say that you kindly ask him to give him a one page essay of your achievements, why you are interested in economics etc but just tell him that you don't feel comfortable evaluating yourself. He can still use your essay as a base for the recommendation but he needs to put the evaluation himself
I think he will understand that...
If not I would still say write a draft yourself and send it to him.

[asa_sl]

Originally Posted by bgg

Actually I disagree with asquare. Unfortunately, having a well known person for a recommender counts a whole lot ( I say unfortunately because not many people have that even if they are very well qualified). Just the fact that adcoms would know the name of one of your recommenders could make the difference between reviewing the application and putting it in the trash if you didn't go to a top econ school for undergrad for example or your application was lacking in some other respect.

So I would say that you kindly ask him to give him a one page essay of your achievements, why you are interested in economics etc but just tell him that you don't feel comfortable evaluating yourself. He can still use your essay as a base for the recommendation but he needs to put the evaluation himself
I think he will understand that...
If not I would still say write a draft yourself and send it to him.

agreee with u 100% . its very difficult to get a letter from well known professor and that counts lot in admission process.

[asquare]

Many, many well respected faculty members encourage applicants to get advice from professors who know you well. Take a look at Susan Athey's advice to "Get recommendations from people who know you well" and "Give professors every possible opportunity to say they don't feel comfortable recommending you to the school you're applying to. If they express any hesitation don't have them send it. One bad letter hurts much more than any good letters can help." Or check out advice from the University of Pennsylvania, which says in part "tudents applying to Ph.D. programs should have 3 or 4 letters of recommendation from faculty in economics, or a closely related field (like math), with whom you have taken classes, worked on an honors thesis, or assisted in research.... Nothing can derail your application to graduate school as effectively as a lukewarm, or negative, letter of recommendation."

The OP is concerned about getting a lukewarm letter from a famous professor who doesn't know him well and doesn't consider him one of the best students. That runs contrary to the majority of advice from well informed, well connected faculty. That's all I'm saying.

[commodore]

asquare could be right, but I have to agree with the others. A letter from a big-name professor is so valuable, if you have a shot you should take it. I would recommend, however, finding a professor you know better to write another, more in-depth recommendation.

[ccgoal]

Thanks a lot! asquare, I see your point, yes, I agree with you that a lukewarm letter would be somewhat harmful, I think I'll try to indirectly mention this to the professor so as to be good for both of us.
BTW, is it possible for you to change the TITLE of this thread? I made an awkward typo by typing "letter" as (the second) "professor".
For bgg, asa__sl and commodore, thanks a lot too, and I'll write to him to discuss further

[YoungEconomist]

Originally Posted by asquare

Many, many well respected faculty members encourage applicants to get advice from professors who know you well. Take a look at Susan Athey's advice to "Get recommendations from people who know you well" and "Give professors every possible opportunity to say they don't feel comfortable recommending you to the school you're applying to. If they express any hesitation don't have them send it. One bad letter hurts much more than any good letters can help."

I agree with this, and a mentor at the community college I transfered from always told us, "Give a professor every opportunity to say no to writing you a letter as you don't want them to feel pressured, as you don't want a mediocre letter of reference."

However, it's rarely that simple. I go to a large public school, and I also transfered there from a community college so I haven't been there as long to meet as many profs as other students, besides at large public schools many classes are taught by grad students. I am applying in a year and I can only think of one prof that knows me well enough to write me a letter of reference (I had two classes with him and he knows I am interested in a Econ PhD as I've got advice from him). I think I'll be able to find 2 more (I am working on an honors project and will have to find a mentor, and I hope I can find one more from either econ classes or math classes). That's going to leave me with exactly 3 LORs, if one of the people will write a lukewarm letter of reference, what choice do I have? I can't just ask someone else as I don't really have anyone else to ask. I am under the impression that you need 3 LORs to apply to PhD programs, so someone be sure to tell me if I am mistaken.

[econphilomath]

I think I agree with asquare in principle and especially for great applicants but given the large randomness involved in the application process, any risk is probably better than none. While at some schools it might be bad, at others the letter might end up being what you need for someone to look at your file (and then read your other letters which have more details about you.)

If is very likely that no one will look at your file if its not amazing, so having or not a famsous so-so letter won't really be binding. If the letter gets your stuff looked at, its well worth the risk.

So in conclusion if you application is really strong, I would not ruin/risk it but if your borderline like most people you need any variability you can get.

Another thing you could do is ask the professor what programs he thinks you might be competitive at. He will be using the info he will put in the letter along with all the rest of you profile when he answers so if he says something like "top ten definitly", your home free!

Thats my 2 cents

[asianeconomist]

Originally Posted by econphilomath

Another thing you could do is ask the professor what programs he thinks you might be competitive at.

This is a good piece of advice. While he gives you his list, if possible, you might try to persuade the recommender to somehow contact his colleagues at those places and ask them to take a look at your profile. Its a long shot though.............