Chooisng Recommenders

[ibndlikebeckam]

I graduated in May from a school of almost 60,000,  and pretty much all of my classes were huge lectures or online. I got an A+ in one of my upper-division online classes, but he declined to write me a LOR. My other choices are a communications class that I took in person and did alright in, or another online class that I did great it, but had limited professor interaction. Would it be better to go with the class I took in person since she might actually remember me?

Also, I've been working 30+hours for the last 2 1/2 years, in which time I've been promoted twice. Would it really be terrible to replace one of the academic LOR with a professional LOR?

[EarlCat]

Some schools require at least one, if not two academic LORs.  It's even more important for you being a recent graduate than for someone who has been out of school for 5 or 10 years.  You've kinda put yourself in a bad spot by not really getting to know some of your professors.  Definitely add your employer LOR, but I don't think it will replace the academic ones.

You might ask if you can send your recommender either a draft letter (filled with personal anecdotes of your interactions with him/her) or at least a list of points you'd like your recommender to make.

['blueskies]

In addition to what Earl said, also provide them with copies of papers you have written for that class; maybe also your resume, a copy of your transcript, and a copy of your personal statement (I had two recommenders ask for that)

[ibndlikebeckam]

Thanks for the advice. My com professor said she would be glad to write it, and just to let her know what specifics to include. 1 down, 1 to go!