is a nice letter from a bit of a controversial teacher better than a neutral letter from someone who doesn't know you?
does the recommenders reputation matter?
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Depends on what you mean by "controversial".
If the person is roundly disliked by a large number of academics, then their support of you may not help and could even hurt.
If the person is roundly disliked by a large number of academics, then their support of you may not help and could even hurt.
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It depends on what you mean by controversial.
It also depends on what you mean by "someone who doesn't know you". Is it someone who you saw occasionally and made an A in their class or is it someone who wouldn't recognize you in the hallway? Big difference between the two.
It also depends on what you mean by "someone who doesn't know you". Is it someone who you saw occasionally and made an A in their class or is it someone who wouldn't recognize you in the hallway? Big difference between the two.
controversial: they made the news over some politics and got some people riled up about social issues
doesn't know you: you got an A but they probably have no clue you were in the class
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how well known is this person? if its someone that was on an insignificant news channel a long time ago for example, i doubt it would matter. like i feel the chances that people know of that person are slim...
no they're not well known and the coverage wasn't significant but i know people feel strongly about politics so i'm just a little concerned since it comes up when you google them
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It depends on what side of the issue they are on. If they are openly promoting racism, sexism, Islamaphobia, etc. I would stray far away from getting a letter of recommendation from them.
As for the other individual: If they had no clue that you were in their class, they probably won't have much to say and the letter will be weak. If they are your only option, I would recommend making an appointment to meet with that individual and bring your CV along with your personal statement so that they can get to know you.
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That doesn't sound good. It sounded like you asked a stranger professor to write you a LOR and never took a class with him/her before.
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From what I've heard from deans of top schools, they value LORs much more than you think. In your case, I don't think political controversy would be an issue at all.
The neutral letter will add 0 to your app. May actually hurt if it sucks. The nice letter may add close to 0 to your app. Only the rarely exceptional letters add anything valuable.
Who it's from tends to matter more when you're applying to residencies/fellowships.
