alferec said:
I was wondering how important the letter writer is for the letters of recommendation. I have two from non-PhD writers...will that be ok? One is a doctorate candidate and the other is a med student (who was my lab instructor).
I don't really know the real answer, but I would personally feel more comfortable with people in "higher" positions.
However, the first rule is to pick people who will wrtie you a strong letter AND who know you fairly well. If the people you've chosen fit this criteria, and nobody in a higher position can, then go with these two.
I had awesome results at one school I applied to (I got in sans interview). I think my references really helped.
One referee was my personal OD. I've been a patient of his for a long time and have volunteered in his office AND he was always pestering me to consider optometry when I was younger (which leads me to wonder if OD's get a "commission" for every person they get to enroll, lol).
My second referee was my research supervisor. I did my 4th year project with him and worked for him last summer. He has also taught in a couple of the courses I've taken. All his grad students say he writes fantastic letters of recommendation.
This brings me to another point. I think it is important to choose someone who knows HOW to write a strong and persuasive recommendation. There are certain items, words, or phrasings that would probably jump out at the admissions committee. Professors or supervisors who have many students who've won external awards and funding are probably a good bet since this indicates they have experience writing effective recommendations.
Pick someone who writes well and in a professional manner. If the grammer or syntax is not up to par, it will detract from all the good things the person has to say about you. If your gpa and other aspects of your application make you a "borderline" candidate, then references might be more important. Given two candiates who are on the border of being in or out, the person with the stronger references might win out.
