LOR – A COMPLETE GUIDE

A Letter of Recommendation or LOR is an important part of many university applications, particularly for competitive undergraduate, postgraduate, MBA, master's and doctoral programmes. While an SOP explains the applicant's own academic interests, experiences, goals and motivations, an LOR provides an independent perspective on the applicant.

One of the most common questions students face is - Who should write the LOR? Would it be a professor, employer or someone else? How many recommenders are required? What should they emphasize on? And how much assistance should a student provide?

There is no single answer for every application. The appropriate recommender depends on the programme, the university's requirements and, most importantly, the nature of the relationship between the recommender and the student.

PROFESSOR OR EMPLOYER - WHO SHOULD WRITE THE LOR?

The first consideration should be relevance and firsthand knowledge, rather than the recommender's designation.

For an academic programme, a professor who has taught the student, supervised a project or closely observed their academic work can provide valuable evidence of the learner’s intellectual ability, subject knowledge, analytical thinking, research skills and classroom participation.

Let’s say, a student applying for a master's programme in computer science may benefit from an LOR from a professor who supervised a significant programming or research project. The professor can discuss how the student approached complex problems, handled feedback and demonstrated innovative thinking with technical understanding.

An employer or manager may be more appropriate when the application is closely connected with professional experience. This is particularly relevant for MBA programmes and master's programmes where work experience forms an important part of the applicant's profile. A project manager can discuss qualities such as leadership, teamwork, communication, responsibility, problem-solving, initiative and the applicant's contribution to a workplace project.

However, seniority alone should not determine the choice. A famous professor or senior executive who barely knows the admissions aspirant may provide a much less useful recommendation than a relatively junior professor or direct manager who has worked closely with the applicant.

The ideal recommender is, therefore, someone who can provide specific, credible and firsthand observations. Students should also check the university's instructions carefully, as some programmes may specify academic recommenders, professional recommenders or a combination of the two.

HOW MANY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NEEDED?

The answer depends primarily on the university and programme. Some applications require two LORs, while others may request three or have different requirements for academic and professional programmes. Some institutions may even make recommendations optional.

Therefore, students should not automatically assume that submitting more letters will strengthen an application. If a university asks for two recommendations, providing two strong and relevant LORs is generally more meaningful than trying to add unnecessary recommendations. The important question is not simply how many people can recommend you but what different and useful perspectives can these recommenders provide.

For instance, two professors who both taught a student in similar courses may produce highly repetitive letters. On the other hand, one professor can discuss academic and research abilities while an employer may talk about professional performance and leadership. When multiple LORs are required, students should ideally consider whether the letters collectively provide a broader picture of themselves.

WHAT SHOULD THE RECOMMENDER EMPHASIZE UPON?

A good LOR should not simply describe the student as ‘hardworking’, ‘intelligent’ or ‘excellent’. Such general adjectives have limited value unless supported by specific observations.

An academic recommender may discuss educational performance, intellectual curiosity, analytical and critical-thinking abilities. In addition he can also state subject knowledge, research aptitude, ability to understand difficult concepts, quality of assignments or projects, classroom participation, potential for advanced study etc.

A professional recommender can emphasize on job competence, leadership, initiative, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, ability to manage responsibility, contribution to projects, adaptability, professional growth etc. The recommender should ideally support these observations with specific examples. For example, saying that a student has ‘excellent leadership skills’ is less informative than describing a particular project in which the student coordinated a team, resolved a problem and successfully delivered the work.

Authenticity is one of the most important criteria. A professor should not state details about a student's professional career that they have never observed. Similarly, an employer should generally avoid making detailed claims about the student's academic performance unless they have genuinely had an opportunity to observe it.

And most importantly, LOR should state the applicant's relationship with the recommender, like in what capacity he knows the candidate.

HOW LOR CAN COMPLIMENT THE SOP?

SOP is the student's voice. It explains the applicant's background, academic interests, reasons for choosing a programme, career objectives and sometimes the experiences that shaped those objectives.

LOR is someone else's perspective. An LOR should ideally provide evidence that supports or adds another dimension to what the student has presented in the SOP. Suppose a student writes in the SOP that a particular research project developed their interest in artificial intelligence. Although, the LOR does not necessarily need to repeat the same story, the professor who supervised the project could explain how the student actually approached the research - demonstrating unusual curiosity, independently exploring a problem, responding well to criticism or contributing an original idea.

The SOP might say - this experience strengthened my interest in research. The LOR can provide the external evidence behind that statement by explaining what the recommender observed during the research experience. Similarly, if an applicant describes leadership ambitions in the SOP, an employer could provide a concrete example how the applicant has already displayed leadership in a professional setting.

In this way, the two documents answer different questions. But when these documents complement each other, the admissions committee receives both the applicant's self-perspective and an independent perspective.

A strong LOR is, therefore, not necessarily the one containing the most impressive adjectives. It is the one that gives the admissions committee credible, specific and relevant evidence of the person behind the application.

HOW MUCH SHOULD A STUDENT ASSIST THE RECOMMENDER?

Students often misunderstand their role in the LOR process. They should not simply hand a completely written letter to a recommender and ask them to sign it. At the same time, expecting a busy professor or employer to remember every relevant detail about the student's work may also result in a vague letter.

The best approach is to assist without taking over the recommender's role. A student can provide useful background material such as updated résumé or CV, academic transcripts, details of projects completed with the recommender, relevant achievements, programme details, university requirements, application deadlines, a brief description of future academic or career goals, specific experiences the student hopes the recommender will consider.

It can also be helpful to remind the recommender about particular projects, assignments, presentations or professional responsibilities that they personally observed. However, the student should not encourage the recommender to make claims that are inaccurate or outside their knowledge. The student can essentially provide the raw material and context, while the recommender provides the independent assessment.

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