Sci T.A's writing L.O.R's

[je ne sais quoi]

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I know some schools specifically condone this and even suggest it, but does anyone know which schools won't accept it? Some schools ask for sci 'instructors' ( well technically they're instructing your lab right)...and some say sci 'professors'....Anywho, if anyone had a particular encounter where a school didn't accept that letter as valid or knows of any schools that don't accept this, please let me know! It's almost that time.......
Thanks

 

[water88]

You really should get Ph.D. professors to write your recommendations. I don't think any schools 'suggest' grad students writing recommendations. They all would rather have professors.

 

[enfuego]

All my TFs are PhD students, and my advisor said they won't cut it. It defiitely should be a professor.

I know it sucks - at my school, we have a lot more interaction with our TFs than with our lecture professors, so TFs usually know you better. But I expect professors will consult with their class's TFs about your performance/character/etc if you give them enough time to write the LOR.

 

[je ne sais quoi]

i believe u of d mercy, and, unc chapel hill wrote it on their FAQs pages

i hope theyre not the only two....

and ya, it makes more sense bc TA hav more interaction with u than a prof with 500 students that u talked to during office hrs maybe once a wk/month if not less

 

[license2kill]

I agree. You should have recommendations from full instructors with PHD.

 

[Hysteria24]

USC requires letters from lecture professors only (no lab instructors or TA's). One way to circumvent that requirement (per an admission person) is to have the professor of the class co-sign the letter that was written by the TA/lab instructor. In this way the letter is written in greater detail (by the person who knew you better) and backed by the professor (the one that counts).

 

[doc toothache]

I know some schools specifically condone this and even suggest it, but does anyone know which schools won't accept it? Some schools ask for sci 'instructors' ( well technically they're instructing your lab right)...and some say sci 'professors'....Anywho, if anyone had a particular encounter where a school didn't accept that letter as valid or knows of any schools that don't accept this, please let me know! It's almost that time.......
Thanks

Instead of worrying which ds accept or don't accept letters from custodians rather than professors with or without a Ph.D. who were instructors, why not concentrate on getting LORs from a bonafide source?

 

[GreekDDS]

I wouldn't have got one, and wouldn't have given one out when I was a T.A.. I have heard of going though a T.A. to get one from the Prof.

 

[bigstix808]

i know i wrote a LOR for a student of mine for grad school (not med, dent, etc) and she got in. i'm not a PhD but simply a MS, but i still lecture bio majors. i guess whatever i wrote did the trick or they just werent as "pickey" as dschools.

who knows....but i would go with AT LEAST someone teaching your lecture and/or a PhD.

 

[jay47]

I got one from my TA in Ochem. He was a PHD student, and he got his advisor to co-sign it with him.

I know that a lot of schools "require" writers to have a Professional degree, but I think that's BS, especially coming from a school with 46,000 students where one professor may write like 150 LORs every semester. There is NO way they can get to know students on a personal level AND write a good letter (at least any of the professors from my school).

I opted to have my TA, who I knew was a very intelligent as well as academically talented student, write me a letter. I feel as if he could write a much better letter, that is, a much more detailed and personal letter than could any of my professors. Even though he was a TA, I know he wrote a better letter than any of my professors could.

I got in, although I don't know how much any of my LORs had to do with that.

 

[karrotcake]

So I'm in a bit of a snag. I worked in a professor's lab and was planning to have her write my LOR, but she passed away in the fall. The grad student that works for her and whom I worked closely with too offered to write me a grad student letter of rec, but do you think schools would accept it in my case? (He usually helps the professor write LORs and she signs it anyway).

Just wondering on you guys' opinions/suggestions/advice.

 

[doc toothache]

I got in, although I don't know how much any of my LORs had to do with that.

A 4.0 and 21; this one is a head scratcher.

 

[je ne sais quoi]

Thanks for the helpful info guys

...custodians rather than professors with or without a Ph.D. who were instructors, why not concentrate on getting LORs from a bonafide source?

most of the 'custodians' as you refer to them, that i know and have studied under,have or are working on thier PhDs, which is more than many of my professors in other subjects, hence why I'm considering them for potential LORs. If I had the option of doing otherwise, this question wouldn't exist.
Theres a difference between should and could. Ideally, one would have LOR from several science professors, but I don't have that option if I want to apply this cycle, and thankfully some schools understand that, and are probably more interested in the quality of the letter as long as it fits a certain criteria ( they taught you science). Some schools are more strict than others in that criteria and I was trying to get a clearer picture on which schools they were.

 

[doc toothache]

Thanks for the helpful info guys
most of the 'custodians' as you refer to them, that i know and have studied under,have or are working on thier PhDs, which is more than many of my professors in other subjects, hence why I'm considering them for potential LORs.
Theres a difference between should and could. Ideally, one would have LOR from several science professors, but I don't have that option if I want to apply this cycle, and thankfully some schools understand that, and are probably more interested in the quality of the letter as long as it fits a certain criteria ( they taught you science). Some schools are more strict than others in that criteria and I was trying to get a clearer picture on which schools they were.

The reference was actually to the real McCoys. If you think that "the quality of letter"is more important than the academic standing/experience of the person writing it than get your letter from a lab TA who could be of the same age and level of experience as yours.