LOR From Retired Professor Question

[beckyclog]

Hey guys, so I reached out to my old Spanish professor for a LOR since it was a small class, and we formed a close connection. It turns out that she was just teaching while she was getting her Master's; she has since graduated and no longer has access to letterhead through the university. She also mentioned that she wasn't sure if she could write the letter since she wasn't officially the professor on paper, but rather more of a Teaching Assistant I guess (but she is the one I had contact with and she taught our Spanish conversation class).

Does anyone know if she can still write my letter for a non-science LOR, and how to go about the letterhead issue or official title of her position?

Thanks so much in advance!

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[LizzyM]

Is she employed anywhere? She can use the letterhead of her current employer, or she can make some letterhead with her name, degree, and home address using a cute font, maybe in a color, at the top of the page, then write the letter. With electronic letters, this can really be done easily.

She would open by saying that she has known you for X years (or months) and first met you when she was a teaching assistant for Professor Juan Carlos Diego's course SPAN 204 Spanish Conversation. She might describe in role in one sentence and then describe what she saw and heard in her role. You exhibited x, y, z characteristics and were consistently x, y. x.

This shouldn't be a problem in terms of a non-science letter.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It's a non-science letter, so it's likely not "required" by most schools. What value does this letter provide to your application narrative?

If this candidate was a graduate TA, I'm not sure how much weight you could get. We prefer letters from those appointed as lecturers, and graduate students don't tend to have a lot of experience to compare you to other students (this person was one of the best students I have had in 20 years!). Again, what insights does this instructor have that help your application?

 

[beckyclog]

Is she employed anywhere? She can use the letterhead of her current employer, or she can make some letterhead with her name, degree, and home address using a cute font, maybe in a color, at the top of the page, then write the letter. With electronic letters, this can really be done easily.

She would open by saying that she has known you for X years (or months) and first met you when she was a teaching assistant for Professor Juan Carlos Diego's course SPAN 204 Spanish Conversation. She might describe in role in one sentence and then describe what she saw and heard in her role. You exhibited x, y, z characteristics and were consistently x, y. x.

This shouldn't be a problem in terms of a non-science letter.

Yeah, that makes sense! Since finishing her master's, she's trying to get more involved with non-profit work for migrants in the US; not sure if she has a letterhead from her job currently. I just wasn't sure if homemade letterheads were accepted.

 

[beckyclog]

It's a non-science letter, so it's likely not "required" by most schools. What value does this letter provide to your application narrative?

If this candidate was a graduate TA, I'm not sure how much weight you could get. We prefer letters from those appointed as lecturers, and graduate students don't tend to have a lot of experience to compare you to other students (this person was one of the best students I have had in 20 years!). Again, what insights does this instructor have that help your application?

I see. I know some schools look for non-science LOR and wanted to have one from a professor who knew me well.

We formed a close connection during her class; it was a 10 person classroom with Spanish-only conversations regarding various health issues in the world. I thought a letter from her might help touch on my cultural competencies and level of growth using a second-language, which is also important for me to continue because I am from a town with a diverse population and plan to return home to work in my community. She taught this class for around 4-5 years I think, with 3/4 different classes per year (so about 150-200 students total maybe depending on class size).

We recently reconnected over zoom and she completely remembered me and all of my class contributions, even with the class being so long ago and having many students come after me. In the class, I was always one of the first people to get a conversation going (completely in Spanish) and would have no issue talking about potentially controversial ideas that we touched on.

She wasn't a typical "TA" who just helps out a professor, she was fully in-charge of our Spanish conversation class; there was just a head professor who oversaw the entire department. I have heard some people will ask TAs to write them a letter and have the professor sign off on it even, is that a possibility or what do you think is my best move? I do think this letter would be a good contribution to my assets as a whole.

 

[chilly_md]

I have heard some people will ask TAs to write them a letter and have the professor sign off on it even, is that a possibility or what do you think is my best move? I do think this letter would be a good contribution to my assets as a whole.

You could try this. It would work since a professor signs off on it to approve.

 

[Opuntia]

One of the doctors I spent a lot of time shadowing retired and didn't have official letterhead on which to write his letter. He submitted just a normal word doc, I guess, and only one school (WashU) reached out and asked him to verify a few things. Was ultimately accepted. No other schools seemed to have an issue!

 

[LizzyM]

Given that letters are now uploaded into a secure portal accessed through a link sent to a specific email address makes it harder to fake a letter than back when it was signed on paper and popped into an envelope that was mailed to the school. It made sense in those days to expect letterhead and sometimes the writer's signature across the flap of the envelope. Not so much anymore.