Q about ELORs for illinois (attn previous applicants!)

[Annamalita]

Did anyone get rejected from Illinois for not having a letter of rec from a professor?

I'm applying this year and I already have 3 eLORs. One from a Goat Farm owner who I volunteered for and then two from veterinarians. Illinois is the only school I am applying to that specifies that 1 letter should be from a professor. I was wondering how important this is? Is this a make or break thing?

Previous applicants, who did you have write your letters? I want to get by with the three I have and not have to find a fourth recommender who is a professor but if my application gets thrown out bc I don't have a letter from a professor I obviously don't want that... so in that case, I would find a professor to write me one.

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[Gwenevre]

Are you still in your undergrad? Since Illi specifically says to have a professor write a letter, I think it's a hard requirement. If you can't nail down a prof to write you a letter, what about your adviser?

 

[Annamalita]

I graduated last year and took a gap year to get more experience.. I can have a professor write me a letter I just feel bad asking since it has been so long and it seems totally out of the blue. I don't feel like it will be a very personal/strong letter. I guess I just would like to find out if people have specifically been declined bc they didn't include a professor's letter of recommendation.

 

[Gwenevre]

You might be able to call admissions and get a clearer answer, since you're a semi-nontraditional student

 

[Annamalita]

Yeah, I emailed them and they basically just listed their list of specifications for the letters to me even though that is what I was asking about in the first place.

"A minimum of 3 letters of reference must be submitted to VMCAS electronically. Illinois requires that"

• One of the letters be from a practicing veterinarian familiar with the candidate
• One of the letters be from a professor or instructor familiar with the candidate
• None of the letters be from a relative, by blood or marriage.

So I didn't get much help from them. But I'm thinking maybe I will call them and explain my non-traditional situation. Thanks for the suggestion Gwenevre

 

[Annamalita]

You might be able to call admissions and get a clearer answer, since you're a semi-nontraditional student

Thanks again so much for the advice, I just called and it was SO much more informative than corresponding through email. Illinois was very helpful and explained to me that those are simply just guidelines and not to worry (in my situation specifically at least) and that my application will not be discarded because I am missing a letter from a professor. YAY!! So much weight has been lifted off of my shoulders phew!