LOR from fraternity alumnus?

[jdougherty25]

Hey all I'm just starting my application process and hope to complete it in the next week. One major question I have is in regards to letter of recommendations. I am currently chapter president of my fraternity during my undergraduate studies and deal extensively with alumni as a result, especially those on our Board of Trustees. Over the past year, I have worked very extensively with the president of our Board of Trustees and I know he would be able to write me a very great and personal letter of recommendation about my leadership, hard work and other qualities. I know for letters of recommendation you are supposed to ask those who obviously can speak very highly of you and the qualities you possess, but would it be "frowned upon" if I were to have him write a letter of recommendation for me for medical school? The only reason why I ask is because every where I seem to look on the internet it seems to say to only ask those who are professors, volunteer coordinators, or current doctors that you have worked with, they know you well, etc. I guess I just want other people's input on if they have had success with a similar situation or if you all would think this would be fine to do.

Also, a simpler question, I plan on getting 2 letters of rec from separate professors, one from my volunteering coordinator at the hospital I volunteer at, and another from this alumnus. I know you can submit a max of 10 letters, but do you think that these four letters would be sufficient (granted I know all of these people could write me great letters). If need be I feel like I could get one or two more letters, but I don't want too many at the same time. Thanks for all the responses and everything! This whole process is burdensome/stressful as I'm sure you all know.

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[moneytree]

Hey all I'm just starting my application process and hope to complete it in the next week. One major question I have is in regards to letter of recommendations. I am currently chapter president of my fraternity during my undergraduate studies and deal extensively with alumni as a result, especially those on our Board of Trustees. Over the past year, I have worked very extensively with the president of our Board of Trustees and I know he would be able to write me a very great and personal letter of recommendation about my leadership, hard work and other qualities. I know for letters of recommendation you are supposed to ask those who obviously can speak very highly of you and the qualities you possess, but would it be "frowned upon" if I were to have him write a letter of recommendation for me for medical school? The only reason why I ask is because every where I seem to look on the internet it seems to say to only ask those who are professors, volunteer coordinators, or current doctors that you have worked with, they know you well, etc. I guess I just want other people's input on if they have had success with a similar situation or if you all would think this would be fine to do.

Also, a simpler question, I plan on getting 2 letters of rec from separate professors, one from my volunteering coordinator at the hospital I volunteer at, and another from this alumnus. I know you can submit a max of 10 letters, but do you think that these four letters would be sufficient (granted I know all of these people could write me great letters). If need be I feel like I could get one or two more letters, but I don't want too many at the same time. Thanks for all the responses and everything! This whole process is burdensome/stressful as I'm sure you all know.

I was in a frat. I definitely wouldn't get an alumni letter unless a school was interested in how many beers I bonged and ponged. However, it's possible that your frat is classier.

Regarding your 4 letters, they should be sufficient for the majority of schools. It's really hard to definitively say because each school has their own letter requirements. You'll need to do research about the schools you want to apply to.

 

[rkmauria]

I wouldn't get a letter from a fraternity alumnus. It won't have any worth in their eyes. I am also in a fraternity and I do not plan on mentioning anything with the fraternity. An alumnus can be anyone and probably won't hold any credibility to the adcoms. I would just stick to professors, physicians, pIs, etc, to be safe.

 

[Wipeout416]

If he can really write about your leadership etc that sounds like a good extra letter...being a president is really hard work. I think its a good idea.

 

[ceasefire]

I love my frat, however:

On one hand, this letter might be nice to show that you didn't just sleep around in a drunken stupor while in the frat.

On the other, you point out very clearly that you are in a frat and therefore are asking for biases, negative associations, and judgement by the admissions committees and your interviewers (though a small number of people may consider it a positive, especially if it's their frat).

I applied this cycle to many schools.

It seems for letters that you should aim for:
2 science profs (3 is better because some schools only want science)
1 non-science prof
1-3 EC coordinators (volunteer coordinator, physician, mentor, etcetera)

Why so many? Places like Yale allow up to 7 letters, and when I called them, they said that most of their matriculants send in around that many.

 

[Praefectus]

I wouldn't get a letter from a fraternity alumnus. It won't have any worth in their eyes. I am also in a fraternity and I do not plan on mentioning anything with the fraternity. An alumnus can be anyone and probably won't hold any credibility to the adcoms. I would just stick to professors, physicians, pIs, etc, to be safe.

You become an alumnus as soon as you graduate. They probably won't look too kindly to your slightly older drinking buddy sending in a letter. If it did work, I would've done it already.