Deciding which Professor(s) to ask for a Recommendation

[Twilque]

I'm trying to decide which of my professors to ask for recommendations. I'm currently a senior, and I'm applying to medical school in next year's cycle.

Professor 1:
- I got an A in the course (median A)
- Course was about bacterial disease
- I took the course in the spring semester of my junior year
- I didn't really interact much with the Professor... never went to office hours, did not ask questions during class, and I went to class much less frequently in the second half of the course because the final exam was optional (I did not take it)
- I was in the optional discussion, which involved a presentation. I did decently on the presentation. Other than that, I did not talk much during the discussion, only a few times towards the end.
- I did well on the first exam and the final paper, which the Professor themself graded
- Professor knew everyone's name, which means she probably remembers me, but also probably noticed that I stopped going to class towards the second half of the course

Professor 2:
- I got a B/B+ in the course (I got a B in Physics 1 and a B+ in Physics 2)
- I took Physics 2 over last summer, and I had a lot of interactions with the Professor over zoom tutoring (like multiple hours per week), and I think we had a good rapport. They will definitely remember me more than Professor 1

So... I've been leaning towards asking Professor 2 for a recommendation, because I've engaged a lot more with them as a student. However, since I did below the median, I'm not sure if it would be better to get a recommendation from Professor 1 even though I wasn't really that engaged in that course... Also, Professor 1 had a more specialized course that felt more like a med school class than general physics. So... would Professor 1 or 2 be better? And/or both? I'm also planning on asking at least one of my STEM professors this semester for a recommendation. Is two a good amount, or would three be better? I also will be getting recs from my labs, but those are not strictly STEM.

I'm also wondering how many recommendations to have from non-STEM professors. Will schools care about having multiple, or do they really just want one? I've asked a non-STEM professor already, however, there is another one who I have a pretty good rapport with. I would like to use both letters, but I'm not sure if I will need to choose a single one for most schools?

Thanks!

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[cj_cregg]

I personally am never impressed by letters where all the professor can say about the student is that you worked hard, showed up on time, got X grade in the class which is the top X% of students, and maybe reiterates some of the information that I already know from your resume or personal statement (because they asked you for it before they wrote the letter). It sounds like that's what professor 1 would give you. The point of a LOR is to tell us about your personality - work ethic, ability to work well with others, leadership skills, passion for service or research or whatever your thing is, etc. It is not just about your academic performance - I already have your MCAT and transcript for that. Do you think professor 1 could do that? I don't think it would hurt to ask professor 2 if they could write you a strong letter or if your getting a B would weaken your letter. You can get a B in a class and still get a stellar letter of rec because of your personal characteristics. Do you not have any other options for science letters?

Schools have their letter requirements listed on their website and will tell you how many non-STEM letters you need and how many letters total you can submit. It doesn't hurt to get both letters and use it where you can. I will say, my school requires only 3 letters, but allows up to 5, and people will commonly submit more. It is very rare that I feel all 4-5 letters are strong enough that it is worth having included all of them. Your case might be an exception to this if you truly feel like you had a better rapport with your non-science professors. If you can get a couple glowing LORs from non-science professors that would balance out an impersonal or lackluster letter.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

First, what are the strictest requirements among those programs on your wishlist? If one school says you need two professors who taught you in lecture courses, then regardless of your lack of a relationship, you are stuck fulfilling this requirement for this school.

Second, agreeing with @cj_cregg , the most effective letters come from true mentors and champions of the student. I can usually tell after about 10 seconds of a first-reading how strong the letter will be before passing it forward to another screener for a deeper reading. Whenever I read or write letters, I highlight the relationship with the applicant to understand the lens through which the student is being viewed. If you were just a name and a grade, that's all the professor should discuss.

Your hunch is on target regarding which letter feels better, but the argument is moot if these are your only options for 2 science professor letters.