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- Jan 2, 2012
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I figured I should start this thread/support system. Good luck studying!
jesus christ guys going overboard with the letters I stopped at 6.
I stopped at 3. LOR are useless
I stopped at 3. LOR are useless
LORs are one of the most important factors in the final decision (post-interview). Matter of fact a survey of medical schools showed that interview recommendations and LORs were even more important post-interview than GPA and MCAT scores.
https://www.aamc.org/download/261106/data/aibvol11_no6.pdf
I agree with the "post-interview" statement. But almost every applicant has the same rec letter - "this student is awesome, i know him personally, they're brilliant, etc etc."
LORs are the backbone of your application especially when it comes to the final decision post-interview. You could be the perfect candidate but if your LORs are weak or red flagged then your entire application could be jeopardized. Through out your academic career you will meet individuals that will seem like the perfect applicant but not get into medical school because they randomly went up to professors they barely knew and got LORs that most likely worked against them. A lot of applicants do not understand the significance of these letters of recommendations but trust me to ADCOM they mean a lot. Your LORs should be personal and you should know these professors pretty well. Please do not desperately go to a professor that barely knows you and get a LOR from them. Most likely you will end up hurting yourself as stated before. I can't stop emphasizing the point of personal LORs because every year I hear of applicants going up to barely known professors. The key is to make many office visits, interact in your class and to really engage intellectually and professionally with your professor. This will give your professor an opportunity to get to know you and write a very strong letter. I had 2 science professors that I took multiple classes with and really got to know on a personal level. Another important note is that most undergrad schools issue prehealth committee letters. These committee letters are essential to obtain IF your school issues them. Now you're probably wondering why the hell would I need a committee letter? well some schools such as VCU will automatically reject you if you do not obtain the committee letter if available at your undergrad school. The link below is from VCU medical school that explains why committee letters are so essential.
http://www.medschool.vcu.edu/admissions/md/documents/lettersofrecommend_instructions_2009.pdf
If you're too busy to read the link above then here's a few points about the committee letter. The importance of a committee LOR is that the prehealth committee is a representative of your school and your school should know you best. Plus committee letters consist of essential things such as Institutional actions, academic dishonesty cases, student's relationship with faculty, extra curricular activities at the school, awards in the academic school in a more in-depth manner. These committee letters are also used as the foundation to compare students from the same academic institute. Therefore, not obtaining a committee letter when available can be a major red flag, it makes medical schools think that you're hiding something. During my interviews many of my interviewers discussed and even quoted the strong recommendations made by these professors. One essential LOR that is ironically not discussed a lot is a LOR from a Physician (MD if applying to Allopathic and DO if applying to Osteopathic). As you can obviously tell a LOR from a professional in the profession you want to work in can make a pretty big difference. A lot of medical schools are worried about students running into the medicine profession without knowing much about it. Therefore, your application can go beyond the "cookie cutter" by having extensive shadowing and having a letter of recommendation from a Physician simply saying something along the lines of Mr. X shadowed, was extremely competent, showed a lot of interest in medicine, was compassionate towards patients and I highly recommend Mr. X be accepted into medical school.
Do you think AAMC with count "nutritional biochemistry" towards the BCPM. It wasn't health course. We just looked at metabolism, fat breakdown mechanisms, no more or less science than my biology courses. How do I petition to make it count?
ughh I just want to know if I ****ed up or not. If I did good then I will have a great summer, just researching, doing activities and applications. If I did bad this summer is literally going to suck since I'll have to do all of that plus re-study + be depressed about doing poorly >: (
I.Want.My.Score.NOW!
lol, I'm literally going insane over this exam...so unhealthy.
As the days pass the more convinced I am I botched this test up.... Least I got a A in biochem this semester.
Damn it. PS and Work and Activities, I didn't know we have to write another essay for most meaningful....****tttttt.
Dude you need to relax. You're freaking out over everything. You work in a pharmacy right? Take some drugs to calm yourself down.
Looking into the 4/5 thread, it appears that they also had a difficult PS and subsequent generous curve. Something to chew on for the next few weeks...
Looking into the 4/5 thread, it appears that they also had a difficult PS and subsequent generous curve. Something to chew on for the next few weeks...
Dude you need to relax. You're freaking out over everything. You work in a pharmacy right? Take some drugs to calm yourself down.
yeahhhh i really dont feel like working on my app all i can think about is how i ****ed up on this mcat
Answer my MD/PhD question!
Same problem here. I contacted my non-science writer but he refused to write. I tried to contact another non-science professor but could not get in touch with him. Then, one of my science professors delayed our appointment. Though, at least I worked out my transcript problem.
I love it when professors say "You have done an exceptional job in the lab building up your resume, and I would absolutely love to write you a recommendation letter" and then disappear. Like what the f.uck man did they get drafted or something? WRITE ME MY DAMN LETTER
Is there a specific reason that everyone is freaking out about a nonscience teacher LOR? I don't have one nor did I plan on getting one. I didn't even know it was common to get one. I'm getting two from science professors, one from my manager at my job, and one from an MD and then a committee letter if I can. Are non science teachers required? I haven't taken a nonscience class in like 4 years and they were all at a community college and none of them have a PhD
you guys have some crappy professors lol. Longest time a letter I requested took was about 2 weeks after I asked.
I don't know about others. In my case, if I don't get a non-science LOR, I have to either get another science LOR or employer LOR. The problem is the employer LOR is not available. I can't just get all 3 science LORs; that's definitely a disadvantage. You have your manager's LOR, so you're fine.
2wks? Wow...I hope it wasn't a cookie-cutter LOR with your name pasted in a couple spots!!
you guys have some crappy professors lol. Longest time a letter I requested took was about 2 weeks after I asked.
2wks? Wow...I hope it wasn't a cookie-cutter LOR with your name pasted in a couple spots!!
Why would it take a professor longer than 2 weeks to actually write a LOR? You do realize any longer than 2 weeks means the professor is busy doing other stuff, right? I bet half the professors procrastinate on LORs and write them in a day. It's not that hard.
You sure? I'm paranoid now. I only took one nonscience class and it was a required upper division sociology class and I spent the whole time arguing with the other *****s in the class who were trying to claim that antibiotics were doctors way to make money and they weren't necessary, that immunizations weren't necessary, and that they don't need to take all their antibiotics because they feel better they have no reason to take them. Stupid people breeding mrsa. And stupid teacher who agreed with them. I REFUSE to ask him for a letter. He's a brainless idiot
Why would it take a professor longer than 2 weeks to actually write a LOR? You do realize any longer than 2 weeks means the professor is busy doing other stuff, right? I bet half the professors procrastinate on LORs and write them in a day. It's not that hard.
So how is everyone doing so far, work and activities, personal statement?
I'm roughly 60%, 30%: PS constant renewal, working on the W&A and pushing each towards physician and writing those "most significant" essays.
Haven't even mailed my transcripts yet, oh ****>
It's so hard to find the motivation to do it cuz part of me knows it might be completely pointless come may 30th. Argh
So how is everyone doing so far, work and activities, personal statement?
I'm roughly 60%, 30%: PS constant renewal, working on the W&A and pushing each towards physician and writing those "most significant" essays.
Haven't even mailed my transcripts yet, oh ****>