LOR from prof a few yrs ago

[socalrulez]

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So it looks like I'll be able to get a non-sci LOR from a humanities course but the instructor is still a PHD candidate. I was wondering if most schools would be willing to accept this to fulfill the non-sci requirement. I know that many of you will say that these letters might not have as much weight as a professor's, but I'm in a situation where I feel that I'm lucky enough to even get a non-sci LOR.

The other option is to ask a LOR from a former instructor (who is now a professor at a different university). It was around 4 years ago, and I'm wondering if you all have any reservations about this approach. Thanks.

 

[lifetothefullest]

I'm not sure whether specific schools would accept a letter from a PhD candidate or whether it would hold as much weight, but is there a way to get a professor to co-sign? For instance, I've known department heads to do that or professors who supervised the PhD candidate's teaching.

 

[socalrulez]

For the class I took usually the professor is the instructor, but seeing as she was the sole instructor for that term, I'm doubtful that she could get any faculty to co-sign the letter. She does have a faculty advisor, but I'm afraid that if I ask for her to get her advisor to cosign that it might reflect poorly on how much weight I give her letter without that extra signature. Kinda like saying, thanks for writing a LOR for me, but until you get your advisor to sign it, it's next to worthless for me.

 

[lifetothefullest]

For the class I took usually the professor is the instructor, but seeing as she was the sole instructor for that term, I'm doubtful that she could get any faculty to co-sign the letter. She does have a faculty advisor, but I'm afraid that if I ask for her to get her advisor to cosign that it might reflect poorly on how much weight I give her letter without that extra signature. Kinda like saying, thanks for writing a LOR for me, but until you get your advisor to sign it, it's next to worthless for me.

Now I'm confused. Is the person who taught your class a "professor" or a "PhD candidate"? "Professor" is a title. It also matters how you say it. Of course she'll feel offended if you say, "Oh, by the way, your faculty adviser needs to cosign because your word isn't reliable." There are tactful ways to get the same result. But otherwise, if she taught the whole class, I don't see why her word would be less reliable than a faculty member's.

The guy who taught you four years ago might be an option, but since it was so long ago, it might not characterize you as an applicant right now. If I was reading that, I'd think "alright, this guy looked good four years ago, what is he like now?" But if you already have 4-5 LORs from current instructors, then that might not be an issue.

 

[socalrulez]

Sorry for the vagueness, trying to keep an element of anonymity.

Person who taught my class is a PhD candidate, and in control of whole class, from lectures, to grading, office hrs, etc. This tends to be the case at my school for classes taken in the summer (which was when I took this class). In the school year (fall/spring), one of the professors who has been teaching for decades takes over. Since I never had contact with the professor, I don't know if I'll be able to get his signature since he wasn't overseeing the class.

If I end up going with the older LOR possibility, but do in fact have 4-5 recent LORs (smattering of sci/ECs), will I be good? At this point, I'm just trying to not be excluded from applying to certain schools on grounds of missing a specific LOR. Any insights on how flexible schools are if I use a physician's LOR to replace the "nonsci"?

 

[lifetothefullest]

I doubt somebody could figure out even which school you went to, much less who you were, if you initially gave a more detailed description of your situation as you did just now. Assuming that they would even bother to figure out who you are.

Generally, you want to get a LOR from somebody who can speak to your abilities and someone who knows you well. That's probably why a physician LOR may not be such a good idea.

 

[socalrulez]

But if I'm collaborating with my physician on a clinical project and have gotten to know him quite well over the past year, would it be a good idea? He told me he already wrote a LOR even before I thought about asking him, and he's offered to read my PS, review my app, etc.

 

[lifetothefullest]

But if I'm collaborating with my physician on a clinical project and have gotten to know him quite well over the past year, would it be a good idea? He told me he already wrote a LOR even before I thought about asking him, and he's offered to read my PS, review my app, etc.

If you're doing some sort of clinical research with him and he has gotten to know your abilities, then why aren't you already getting a letter from him? That sounds like a good idea at face value.