Which would be a better LOR?

[pillowsnice]

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I have two professors from which I can choose to write me a LOR. One doesn't know me as well, but I took advanced classes with him and did well. He most likely remembers my face, but since I took the class a while ago, I'm not sure he remembers much else. Obviously, I would meet with him and talk further about med school..etc. Past students also say he writes pretty good LOR's, but I feel like its because they knew him better. Another is a professor that I TA'd for. He knows me well and I did well in the class, but he doesn't speak the greatest english so I'm not sure what kind of letter he would write. Which should I go for? Thanks!

 

[FMDoge2020]

I would do neither since:

1)You don't know the professor. Unless you actively participated in class, he probably doesn't know you either asides from the letter grade of yours.

2)If you have to question someone's writing ability, then you should not go to that person for recommendation. However, someone who doesn't speak English well does not necessarily write badly.

Do you have other options? If not, you still have time to build relationships with your professors.

 

[pillowsnice]

I would do neither since:

1)You don't know the professor. Unless you actively participated in class, he probably doesn't know you either asides from the letter grade of yours.

2)If you have to question someone's writing ability, then you should not go to that person for recommendation. However, someone who doesn't speak English well does not necessarily write badly.

Do you have other options? If not, you still have time to build relationships with your professors.

I should have probably mentioned that I already asked the first professor last year for a LOR and he said yes, but I decided to apply this cycle instead of last cycle so he said to contact him again when I am ready to apply. I just feel like he might have forgotten me by now and since I didn't know him extraordinarily well the first time, I'm unsure if he remembers anything now. But in the meantime, I have TA'd with the second professor, so he probably knows me better, but I'm not sure how he writes letters.

 

[FMDoge2020]

I should have probably mentioned that I already asked the first professor last year for a LOR and he said yes, but I decided to apply this cycle instead of last cycle so he said to contact him again when I am ready to apply. I just feel like he might have forgotten me by now and since I didn't know him extraordinarily well the first time, I'm unsure if he remembers anything now. But in the meantime, I have TA'd with the second professor, so he probably knows me better, but I'm not sure how he writes letters.

I think you can ask the first professor: Would you be able to provide me with a strong recommendation for medical school? After you meet with him. One of the professor I asked reply with honesty that he simply does not know me enough as a person.

It also depends on how your meeting with him goes. Does he care about your experiences? Did he actually remember you? How does he feel about you after your meeting? Were you able to leave a good impression after the meeting?

The same answer remains with the second professor: If you don't even trust his English ability, why bother asking him for a recommendation?

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

How's your relationship with professor #2 (the one for whom English is not his first language)? I agree that ability to speak English and ability to write it aren't always related. If he's a university professor, I'm willing to bet he has a strong command of written English.

Ultimately, I would go with the professor who you think could write you a better letter. (Usually, this is whoever knows you best.)

 

[Catalystik]

I have two professors from which I can choose to write me a LOR. One doesn't know me as well, but I took advanced classes with him and did well. He most likely remembers my face, but since I took the class a while ago, I'm not sure he remembers much else. Obviously, I would meet with him and talk further about med school..etc. Past students also say he writes pretty good LOR's, but I feel like its because they knew him better. Another is a professor that I TA'd for. He knows me well and I did well in the class, but he doesn't speak the greatest english so I'm not sure what kind of letter he would write. Which should I go for? Thanks!

Just a comment:
An LOR written with less-than-sterling English writing skills would not be held against you.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Just a comment:
An LOR written with less-than-sterling English writing skills would not be held against you.

While what you are saying is true, one thing to also think about is it could potentially be difficult for a letter to be written in a way truly be a ringing endorsement of you/ the type of LOR that can really make a difference, when the writer's english isnt good enough that they cant avoid basic mistakes and they dont have that level of control of the english language. Part of a truly strong LOR is knowing how to express an applicant is an exceptional candidate and that's where you can start to wonder if someone with poor grammar/language skills might have some limitations with that.

Mimelim wrote something interesting on this subject a while ago where he offered a somewhat alternative perspective to this(post 5 specifically).
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/great-lor-but-grammar-mistakes.1138319/

It's not so about an applicant getting "blamed" per se for a letter not being of great quality grammar wise, it's more an issue of these types of letters could potentially struggle to convey the types of sentiments and analysis that a truly meaningful LOR has that is the type that can make a difference.