How to ask for recommendation?

[zogoto]

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So my situation is a little out of the ordinary, so I'm wondering how I should get a rec. from this class I'm TAing. I took the class last semester and did very well, so I was offered a TA job this term. The class has two professors who each teach half, but it's a lab class, so their is an instructor (non-professor) who runs the day-to-day lab instruction (whereas the professors mostly talk about the biology behind the experiments we do in the lab). I know the instructor VERY well. I know both of the professors fairly well. The first one seems to like me and thinks that if I go into research I would be really good (and he always tries to get me to quit my current lab and join his), and the second one is an MD/PhD who I can really relate to since we both come from math backgrounds and are now studying/planning to study biology/medicine.

So should I approach one of the professors, ask him to be the main "writer," have the instructor who I know the best write a letter which the main writer professor incorporates with his own letter along with some words from the other professor? Sounds complicated but I want to have the best rec. possible. Who all should sign the rec? Just the two profs, or is it better to just have one prof, or the instructor and the two profs...? The instructor seems to want to sign it, and since she probably will write the majority of it, it makes sense that she signs it.

What do I do???? 😕

 

[Mobius1985]

This happens all the time. Ask the instructor who knows you best to write the letter, and ask her to have one of the professors co-sign (not the one who wants you to go into research).

 

[zogoto]

Why not have both sign it? The one who wants me to go into research would support me 100% if I told him that I wanted to do straight MD. Plus, the instructor told me that he typically signs recs no matter what they say. Is it better to have all three sign it or just 2?

Also, wouldn't it be better if the prof said something too? The one with the MD could say stuff like "this guy will make a great doctor for this and this and this reason." How should the rec be worded? From the point of view of just one person or "we" or what? Obviously some stuff it'll be obvious came from the instructor, other stuff from the professor.

 

[Mobius1985]

In my experience, most professors would rather just co-sign something, but if all three of these people know each other well enough to cooperate, agree to write you a group letter because they whole-heartedly support your career goals, and will get the letter done in a timely manner, then go for it. One of them has to coordinate your letter. Theoretically, you can't oversee the letter or know what they wrote. The more people involved, the better chance something won't go right, though. Good Luck.