Letter of rec from a med school dean

[Youngm2194]

I have the opportunity to receive a letter of recommendation from the dean of a large public state university's medical school. How is this viewed by adcoms? Sorry if it sounds stupid but I'm curious how they view a rec from the actual dean, especially if you apply to the same school the dean is from....thanks for the help

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[GiveMeThatMD]

Couldn't hurt.

 

[tartandtangy]

That sounds awesome. Roll with it.

 

[DrDorianTurkleton]

That does sound awesome. If there is anyone that knows the qualities of a medical student, it's a medical school dean. However, if I understand the adcom process correctly, I think that he would have no formal vote on your acceptance/rejection at his own school since it would be a conflict of interest. So don't assume it'll 100% get you in although it will definitely be seen in a favorable light I think.

 

[LivingLikeLarry]

Well the real question you should be asking is, how well does he/she know you?

Even if Obama wrote your letter of rec, it won't matter much if they haven't had plenty of time to get to know you/experiences to discuss that demonstrate why they're recommending you in the first place.

 

[thegooddoctor2015]

That sounds awesome. Roll with it.

Lol love it! Sounds super awesome, if you've got it, flaunt it!

 

[Goro]

Ditto. It will especially help at that Dean's school.

Couldn't hurt.

 

[gyngyn]

Ditto. It will especially help at that Dean's school.

I have never seen a medical school dean do this, frankly.
They use influence in a much more nuanced way.
This would be hard to interpret

 

[Goro]

Getting a whiff of legacy, colleague?

I have never seen a medical school dean do this, frankly.
They use influence in a much more nuanced way.
This would be hard to interpret

 

[gyngyn]

Getting a whiff of legacy, colleague?

Especially in this case, they would be more likely to give a call, not an LOR.
An actual LOR is practically unheard of.
It begs the question: so why don't you take him yourself?...

 

[Spector1]

Sounds promising. The question is how personal will the letter be? Can he speak to your character from personal experience? If not it, it might just be a really bland template letter with an impressive name on it.

 

[JustaDO]

Well the real question you should be asking is, how well does he/she know you?

Even if Obama wrote your letter of rec, it won't matter much if they haven't had plenty of time to get to know you/experiences to discuss that demonstrate why they're recommending you in the first place.

I think if the POTUS writes you a LOR, it doesn't matter how well they know you at that point.

 

[gyngyn]

I think if the POTUS writes you a LOR, it doesn't matter how well they know you at that point.

We get LOR's from Governors, Senators and other lofty elected officials all the time.
They are pretty low on the influence totem pole.
The pres doesn't do this...

 

[mathnerd88]

I think if the POTUS writes you a LOR, it doesn't matter how well they know you at that point.

Haha, he probably wouldn't have even written it. He probably would've gotten some other person to write it for him and then stamp his name/sign his name on the letter.

Still, getting a letter from POTUS would have been extremely impressive in my opinion. It may get an interesting response from an interviewer who could ask how you did it.

 

[JustaDO]

We get LOR's from Governors, Senators and other lofty elected officials all the time.
They are pretty low on the influence totem pole

Which would make the POTUS letter that much stronger for one's application due to the rarity of it if not just for the sake of "how do know the POTUS?"

 

[gyngyn]

Which would make the POTUS letter that much stronger for one's application due to the rarity of it if not just for the sake of "how do know the POTUS?"

This is an entire hypothetical.I submit that if the Commander in chief had a real recommendation, he would pick up the phone, not write an LOR.
If OP really has a med school dean's LOR, it is difficult to predict how it will be interpreted.
I can't say it will be an entirely positive effect.

 

[JustaDO]

This is an entire hypothetical. It's almost a misuse of power...

True, but it would be no different then having your family donate a wing to a school, and then getting accepted. Sadly connections can trump merit in this day and age.

 

[gyngyn]

True, but it would be no different then having your family donate a wing to a school, and then getting accepted. Sadly connections can trump merit in this day and age.

You might be surprised.
Many donors realize that everyone is their friend when they want something.
I had this conversation with a donor today. They know they are being played.

 

[ngc 2170]

everyone is their friend when they want something.

Words of wisdom no matter what the topic at hand

 

[Goro]

I've seen LORs from nobel Laureates and US Senators. They never, ever help marginal candidates.

We get LOR's from Governors, Senators and other lofty elected officials all the time.
They are pretty low on the influence totem pole.
The pres doesn't do this...

 

[sunshine02]

Just out of curiosity, if an adcom writes an LOR, is she still allowed to vote on the student during committee?

 

[Oh_Gee]

Well the real question you should be asking is, how well does he/she know you?

Even if Obama wrote your letter of rec, it won't matter much if they haven't had plenty of time to get to know you/experiences to discuss that demonstrate why they're recommending you in the first place.

*ring ring
adcom: Hello?
POTUS: Let me be clear. I want X to get into your school. They would bring change... and hope to this ... great country

 

[gyngyn]

Just out of curiosity, if an adcom writes an LOR, is she still allowed to vote on the student during committee?

Absolutely not.

 

[greenroses]

An adcomm can always just claim to not know the person and still vote. Doesn't that still happen?

 

[gyngyn]

An adcomm can always just claim to not know the person and still vote. Doesn't that still happen?

One is expected to recuse oneself is they are a mentor or family member.
Merely knowing someone is usually insufficient cause.

 

[Ukpremed]

I was told by an adcom "most people on the committee get mad when they see a political letter, don't you dare send us one".

 

[Goro]

Excellent question! In our committee, the writers have been able to vote. Other committees may have policies that fore the writer to recuse oneself.

Just out of curiosity, if an adcom writes an LOR, is she still allowed to vote on the student during committee?

If they didn't know the person, then why would they write the LOR??

An adcomm can always just claim to not know the person and still vote. Doesn't that still happen?