Search the Community

Hello all, I am beginning to think / prepare to apply to graduate programs this cycle. I think that I have a profile with a decent chance of admit for a top ten school (high grades in econ & math at a T15 undergrad, full time research assistant for 2 years, etc.) However, I am having trouble choosing my third LOR writer. Given that the other two letters will come from senior, well-published professors, which should I choose between: (1) A senior lecturer at the T15 undergraduate school who helped advise my thesis and regularly advises honors econ students; or (2) An associate professor at a relatively unknown university I RAed for a few years ago (have not kept close contact) who publishes frequently in top field journals with a few articles in general interest journals. My prior is that both letters would be of similar quality--strong but not excellent. Additionally, both potential recommenders received their PhDs from top five programs. I guess my main question is how disadvantageous is it to have a recommendation from a senior lecturer compared to a professor? Would that outweigh the lecturer being in a better position to make relative comparisons between me and other top students at my undergrad?