Big name professor LORs...does it help?

[uclaussr]

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Hi, i am debating if i should ask a doctor i work for, for a LOR. I do administrative work for him but he's really nice and even referred to me as "gift". He is the director of Infectious Diseases department at the hospital affiliated with my top choice school. Would this letter help me a lot or would it just be another letter?

 

[apumic]

Yes... they can be helpful but it all depends on a number of factors. It sounds like he knows you. Does he know your work well? How long has he known you? If he is affiliated w/ your top choice and he can write an excellent letter, then he is for sure a good guy to have write a letter!

 

[bobsmith]

Sure, having a big name professor helps but the name alone won't get you as far as a very strong letter from a less well known professor that knows you better.

So I would think about what exactly the professor would be able to say about you in the letter. If he's saying things like "this student is without a doubt one of the hardest working/brightest I've met" then it'll help, while things like "I wouldn't have had a clean desk without this student" wouldn't really contribute too much to your app, no matter how big his name is.

 

[Morsetlis]

Dirty desks kill people every year.