recommendation letters from CS professors ?

[roni]

I have two recommendation letters from math professors, should I take the third from a CS professor ?

I think she can write more about my programming skills rather than about my mathematical skills.
Do you think it will be helpful for my application ?
Also, she has quite an impressive publication history.
The thing is that the CS course is not very advanced ( "Advanced Programming in C++"), it's basically the second real programming course.


I can take my third letter from other math professors, but most of them are either with no publication history or still PhD students, and I think someone here once said that it's not the best option for the applicant.

I'm actually taking two math courses right now with two amazing professors but since I'm in the middle of the semester, I don't think it's really fair asking them now.

Thanks,

Roni.

 

[Lyosha]

Are you a CS or a math major? What program are you applying for? If applying to a program that cares about previous programming experience (i.e. Baruch), a CS professor's recommendation would be useful. If applying to a more pure-math MFE program (especially if you're a math major...), having a CS prof write your recommendation would be more awkward.

Also, consider which of the professors would write the most personalized recommendation letter. I'm sure admissions committees are all used to sifting through mountains of "Hi, I'm an amazing professor and if there was a way to recommend [your name] more strongly for entrance to your program I would because he is AMAZING at everything math/CS related." that don't really separate anyone from anyone else

 

[roni]

Are you a CS or a math major? What program are you applying for? If applying to a program that cares about previous programming experience (i.e. Baruch), a CS professor's recommendation would be useful. If applying to a more pure-math MFE program (especially if you're a math major...), having a CS prof write your recommendation would be more awkward.

Also, consider which of the professors would write the most personalized recommendation letter. I'm sure admissions committees are all used to sifting through mountains of "Hi, I'm an amazing professor and if there was a way to recommend [your name] more strongly for entrance to your program I would because he is AMAZING at everything math/CS related." type of letters that probably say a) you were in their class and b) you were unremarkable because the professor cannot recall anything beyond what is still in his/her gradebook. I have been repeatedly been told to ask the professors that know you beyond a set of grades for recommendations, and my guess is there's a reason for that...

Actually, I'm a a finance major.
And, I think since I'm neither, to demonstrate my knowledge in both areas, a CS professor's recommendation letter might be helpful.
And what's a pure- math MFE ? I think most if not all want the student to have programing skills...

And, what you are describing is very common because it's hard to have a very close relationship with the professor. Especially, when each professor teaches 1-2 courses.
Nonetheless, I'm trying to have friendly relationships with my professors throughout the semester and keep them more involved about my career goals.
Hope they are more personal than the common generic ones.

 

[Lyosha]

Different MFE programs take different approaches. Some lean heavier on math, and skimp on the programming. A program which does not make you write any "real" (i.e. non-Matlab) code is one that I consider a "pure math" one (with perhaps a slight exaggeration in the 'pure'... my apologies :P). This is an aspect of the programs you apply to that you should research, and decide which way you would prefer to go. However, as I mentioned already, if a program you are applying to has a significant programming component (that doesn't involve Matlab...), then a recommendation letter from a CS professor would be useful.

 

[roni]

Different MFE programs take different approaches. Some lean heavier on math, and skimp on the programming. A program which does not make you write any "real" (i.e. non-Matlab) code is one that I consider a "pure math" one (with perhaps a slight exaggeration in the 'pure'... my apologies :P). This is an aspect of the programs you apply to that you should research, and decide which way you would prefer to go. However, as I mentioned already, if a program you are applying to has a significant programming component (that doesn't involve Matlab...), then a recommendation letter from a CS professor would be useful.

I see,then I'll see if my CS professor thinks she can write one for me...

Thanks for your help...

 

[PennyLess]

I want to borrow this thread and ask a question - does the admissions committee ever check to see what publication history or educational background a recommender has? I would imagine the admissions committee be consisting of people specialized in admissions but not the adademic world. How would they go about doing so?

I have a good recommendation from a respected professor, who also happens to the author of one of the books on Quantnet's recommended readings list. I just keep on wondering about the question above.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

The US education system works mostly on a honor code basis. That's why things like this happened.

Your application is pre-scanned, assembled by the graduate admission office who makes sure all the paperwork is in place. Once complete, they will be sent to the dept where each application is looked at by a few people.

This is where director, faculty, staff look at them and make decision. I don't believe people will go and verify all your information but if you make up something, chance is somebody will see it.

Honestly is the best policy.

 

[PennyLess]

The US education system works mostly on a honor code basis. That's why things like this happened.

Your application is pre-scanned, assembled by the graduate admission office who makes sure all the paperwork is in place. Once complete, they will be sent to the dept where each application is looked at by a few people.

This is where director, faculty, staff look at them and make decision. I don't believe people will go and verify all your information but if you make up something, chance is somebody will see it.

Honestly is the best policy.

Sorry Andy, that my original question was not clear. What I meant to ask was - supposed I have a letter of recommendation from a professor who's a nobel prize laureate. If people from the admissions office do not know ("if") the name of this recommender, would they check to see who this professor/recommender is, in terms of his publication and educational history - and if they then found out that this is a nobel prize laureate, give more weight to his letter? Or would they give the same weight to all recommenders?

I am asking because the OP has implied that the publication and educational history (having a phD instead of graduate student) of the recommender matter.