questions regarding letters of recommendation

[zellyen]

Hi new to SDN here,

my questions relate to the letters of recommendation.
1. my sister is pre-optometry and she says that one of the letters that they need should be from a volunteer supervisor position. now, i have done volunteer work but it is mostly shadowing and helping out in a dental clinic. but she says that doesn't count as it counts towards the "dentist" portion and doesn't really show off well-roundedness (if that makes any sense) is this true?

2. i checked a lot of requirements for the schools and no where do they say they need a letter from a volunteer position. Instead, i see schools requiring 2 to even 3 science professors' letters. What I want to know is, what is the general case here?

and sorry if i don't type in caps and punctuate correctly or what not, this isnt the SATs lol

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[4thMolar]

I don't know of any dental schools that require a recommendation from a volunteer supervisor. There are dental schools that do require a recommendation letter from a dentist, which you can possibly get from the dentist you shadowed. Generally, most schools will require recommendations from 2-3 science faculty , a general dentist, or a non-science faculty member. Shadowing and volunteering in a dental clinic is the right thing to do, and it definitely goes toward your dental experience.