Question Regarding Letters of Rec

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jumpman235023

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Hi All,

I know most schools require two letters from science faculty who have taught an applicant. I currently have three letters from science faculty: two from professors and one from a TA. I have other letters I would like to send so sending all three isn't really an option. I am trying to decide which one to eliminate. The TA probably knows me on a much more personal level than the professors but will the title of professor outweigh this? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am ready to submit my application after this is resolved. Thanks!

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Can you run them through HPAC?
 
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I don't think medical schools will allow TA LORs as a science professor requirement unless stated so.
 
You can almost always send more letters than the school requires, so sending all 3 shouldn't be a problem at most schools.

+1

I did this. I almost always sent more letters than were asked for. The only reason against this I could see is that you want to make sure there aren't any average or bad letters and also no big differences in the qualities of the letters (although I suppose you can never be sure without reading them). Point being: if you have some good letters and some ok letters just send the good letters so you will be sure they will read those and not the just ok ones.

I knew my letters were all good so I just sent almost all of them.
 
Hi All,

I know most schools require two letters from science faculty who have taught an applicant. I currently have three letters from science faculty: two from professors and one from a TA. I have other letters I would like to send so sending all three isn't really an option. I am trying to decide which one to eliminate. The TA probably knows me on a much more personal level than the professors but will the title of professor outweigh this? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am ready to submit my application after this is resolved. Thanks!

Upload all your letters, and submit. You can always assign letters to schools later in the cycle (before you fill out secondaries, for instance). That should not hold back your submission.

+1

I did this. I almost always sent more letters than were asked for. The only reason against this I could see is that you want to make sure there aren't any average or bad letters and also no big differences in the qualities of the letters (although I suppose you can never be sure without reading them). Point being: if you have some good letters and some ok letters just send the good letters so you will be sure they will read those and not the just ok ones.

I knew my letters were all good so I just sent almost all of them.

Sending one more letter than they ask for is reasonable, if you have one letter that really, really stands out. However, sending more than that isn't a good strategy... people will ignore all your letters, or think you're trying to compensate for something.

That said, OP, if the TA letter is your only additional letter, go ahead and send it. If you have an employer letter or something else, it's probably best to just hold back on the TA letter. Unfortunately, the title of professor will outweigh the personal attributes in the letter. Of course, if you can get the professor to cosign it, you can use it as a science letter no problem.
 
Right now, I have 6 letters total. 3 of those are going to be sent without question and 3 others are from science faculty (2 professors, 1 TA). I know most schools cap the letter amount at 5 and I don't want to seem as if I'm compensating for something. Is the best plan to just leave out the TA letter to ensure that the professors' letters count?
 
Right now, I have 6 letters total. 3 of those are going to be sent without question and 3 others are from science faculty (2 professors, 1 TA). I know most schools cap the letter amount at 5 and I don't want to seem as if I'm compensating for something. Is the best plan to just leave out the TA letter to ensure that the professors' letters count?

What are the three non-science ones? How strong do you think they are? Is there something the TA will add that the others do not?
 
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