LOR for non-trads

[Caprica6]

So I have been out of school for five years and will be applying for this cycle. There is no way I can get a strong LOR from a professor I took classes with. I'm planning on getting two of my letters from PIs (I do research) and one from a clinician I worked with. I'm planning on contacting schools directly to make sure this is okay, but was wondering if anyone here can speak from personal experience?

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[ChairmanMao]

So I have been out of school for five years and will be applying for this cycle. There is no way I can get a strong LOR from a professor I took classes with. I'm planning on getting two of my letters from PIs (I do research) and one from a clinician I worked with. I'm planning on contacting schools directly to make sure this is okay, but was wondering if anyone here can speak from personal experience?

I don't think you can fulfill the recommendation letter requirement by having only people that you've worked with (PIs, attending physicians) writing for you. My understanding is that most schools require at least one (some places require 2) letters of recommendation from a science professor or faculty that has taught you. That would make sense considering that you will be taking a lot of science classes in medical school and the admissions committee needs to know how well you can handle those types of classes and how you stack up against other people in those classes.

This is why it's usually a good idea for you to build a long-term relationship with a professor at your school and stay in touch with them after you graduate. Taking post-bac and upper level courses after you graduate is also a good idea. A lot of people take these classes to get recent recommendation letters and to show the medical schools that they're still capable of handling science classes even though they've been out of school for 5-15 years. If you're hurting for recommendation letters, sign up for summer science classes right now and ask for a recommendation letter from the science professor.

 

[Caprica6]

My old undergraduate school does have a commiteee that does letter packets. I am waiting to hear back to see if I can still use it even though I am no longer a student. Does anyone know if this exempts the LOR requirments of 2 science professors, etc.? Anyone who has used this option find it helpful or not?

 

[ChairmanMao]

My old undergraduate school does have a commiteee that does letter packets. I am waiting to hear back to see if I can still use it even though I am no longer a student. Does anyone know if this exempts the LOR requirments of 2 science professors, etc.? Anyone who has used this option find it helpful or not?

Let me get this straight: does your undergrad school committee keep old letters of recommendation that your professor wrote for you from 5 years ago? If they already have those letters of recommendation from at least 2 professors at your school, then it shouldn't be a problem. They can just send out those recommendations along with the committee letter to the medical school.

However, if your undergrad committee doesn't have any letters of recommendation from your professors, then you are certainly not exempt from the LOR requirement. At most schools, a committee recommendation letter basically summarizes your academic accomplishments (Caprica graduated with a 3.8 in his class, which corresponds to the top 10% of the class) and states that you graduated in good standing (no academic probations, dishonesty, cheating). They do not provide a personal account of your academic motivation, individual class performance, or interpersonal skills and are not intended to be a substitute for a LOR from any science faculty. At most, they might summarize key points from your faculty LOR, however, in order to do so, they need LOR from people who've taught you.

You should either try to get in touch with a professor from your old school or sign up for some science classes and do well in those and get recent letters of recommendation. Getting a LOR from a science prof is necessary for you to meet the LOR requirement at most medical schools.

 

[Helen Wheels]

I can't say how this will be viewed or how this will go but I am in the same boat and will be applying this cycle. I completed undergrad 14 years ago, went back for science pre-reqs later which I finished 6 years ago. A family member's illness delayed my application until now. I won't have any academic letters. I am going to have to ask many of the schools to make exceptions, I don't know if this will hurt my application or not. I have noticed on some school's web sites (Georgetown, OSU, Wake Forest, Tufts) that they do say if you have been out of school five or more years you can use employer or other letters so I think we might be okay.

 

[dragonfly99]

I would ask the schools directly about whether they will accept the committee letter only, with no letters directly from professors. I'm not sure chairman mao is entirely correct in this analysis. However, I would DEFINITELY ask and not just assume they will let this slide. You may indeed need to get at least one new LOR from a science professor, in which case you might need to take a class this summer. I applied @age 25 and I think I did have 2 LOR's from former professors, one from my boss, and one premed committee letter or something.

 

[Caprica6]

I am definately going to ask individual schools. From websites my understanding is most requirements are either a committee letter OR the 3 letters from professors. If my old undergraduate lets me use their service they only require 1 professor letter, which will be easier for me to get than 3. One maybe, three impossible.

I guess it just frustrates me because I took all my pre-reqs when I was in school and did well in them and other upper division science classes (As/A-s). Im currently scoring mid 30s on my practice MCATs so I can obviously still do the work. I'm in a profession that keeps me up on my science. My PIs obviously can write much stronger letters than a professor from 5+ years ago. I wouldn't see the benefit in taking one class at a CC or undergrade school. I work at a graduate university and have opportunities to take graduate classes as an employee, but the problem with that is each lecture in the course is taught by a different professor. Not a good way to get LOR