Would this be appropriate?????

[pmantz]

My brother in-law is a dentist who really helped me arrive at the decision to pursue dentistry. He is extremely successful and has given generously to his alma mater (they named a waiting room at one of their clinics after him). Naturally I decided to apply their to along to some other schools. My AADSAS already mailed out with all my letters of recommendation from my 2 science profs and one other. My question is would it be alright to have my brother in-law to send a letter of recommendation along with my secondary app. to his alma mater. I was originally going to have him do it earlier but I didn’t want to pull that card, but now I am starting to freak out and want to do whatever I can to make sure I get in. Would this seem desperate or in appropriate?

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[lifeisgood]

My brother in-law is a dentist who really helped me arrive at the decision to pursue dentistry. He is extremely successful and has given generously to his alma mater (they named a waiting room at one of their clinics after him). Naturally I decided to apply their to along to some other schools. My AADSAS already mailed out with all my letters of recommendation from my 2 science profs and one other. My question is would it be alright to have my brother in-law to send a letter of recommendation along with my secondary app. to his alma mater. I was originally going to have him do it earlier but I didn’t want to pull that card, but now I am starting to freak out and want to do whatever I can to make sure I get in. Would this seem desperate or in appropriate?

I'd say do it. It's not like he's your parent or anything. How long have you known each other? Wouldn't it be almost the same if you just had a really good family friend that was a dentist and gave generously to a particular dental school. On another note, I'm sure you two have spent a lot of time together outside of a professional setting and he would be a great judge of how well rounded you are (that is of course assuming that you are).

Good luck! I say whatever advantage you have, use it (except lying and cheating, of course).

 

[dmonee6]

Umm... to me this a total "no-brainer". Not only is this fully appropriate, but you'd be a fool to not have him write you a letter. A big part of getting into med/dent/law schools is who you know. It definitely helps to open the door. I know everything is sweeter when you accomplish it on your own, but c'mon! You can prove yourself when you're actually in dental school and when you're practicing. Nothing bad is going to come of having him write you a letter. Stop asking this question on SDN and start having him write it! haha

 

[reapply2007]

Absolutely. You didn't write the rules of admissions but you certainly can use them-with or without your brother-in-law.

If he doesn't write an LOR for you, will he write an LOR for me? I'll apply to whatever school is at issue.

 

[djeffreyt]

I'm going to disagree. If you check the LOR regulations for most schools, it says they don't want LORs from people who are family either by blood or marriage, so i would not have him write a LOR for you.

I would, however, ask him if he would be willing to call the school and try to talk to the dean of admissions about you. There is nothing written anywhere about this not being okay, and a more personal touch of having someone call and voice your name as a good applicant is better than the letter frankly. Give him all your information before he calls so he can talk about your DAT scores and high GPA and talk you up.

That's the way I would go.

 

[dmonee6]

I'm going to disagree. If you check the LOR regulations for most schools, it says they don't want LORs from people who are family either by blood or marriage, so i would not have him write a LOR for you.

I would, however, ask him if he would be willing to call the school and try to talk to the dean of admissions about you. There is nothing written anywhere about this not being okay, and a more personal touch of having someone call and voice your name as a good applicant is better than the letter frankly. Give him all your information before he calls so he can talk about your DAT scores and high GPA and talk you up.

That's the way I would go.

How the hell would the school know pmantz's relation to his brother-in-law as long as he didn't specifically say it? He could be a family friend/his dentist/dentist that he shadowed/mentor/WHATEVER. Pmantz and his brother-in-law have different last names! Just have him write a letter AND call!

 

[DMD-2-B]

How the hell would the school know pmantz's relation to his brother-in-law as long as he didn't specifically say it? He could be a family friend/his dentist/dentist that he shadowed/mentor/WHATEVER. Pmantz and his brother-in-law have different last names! Just have him write a letter AND call!

yep!

 

[djeffreyt]

oh yeah. Hadn't thought of the last name being different....why not break the rules when you can get away with it.

That statement wasn't sarcasm if you couldn't tell.

But that last one was definitely sarcasm.

 

[smnop]

i think u should do it also..

 

[jackbauer!]

Umm... to me this a total "no-brainer". Not only is this fully appropriate, but you'd be a fool to not have him write you a letter. A big part of getting into med/dent/law schools is who you know. It definitely helps to open the door. I know everything is sweeter when you accomplish it on your own, but c'mon! You can prove yourself when you're actually in dental school and when you're practicing. Nothing bad is going to come of having him write you a letter. Stop asking this question on SDN and start having him write it! haha

I agree 100%. One of my recommendations is from a professor at the dental school as well as the president of the dental alumni association at that school....and the school is my top choice..nuff said.

jb!

 

[MoobDDS]

I agree 100%. One of my recommendations is from a professor at the dental school as well as the president of the dental alumni association at that school....and the school is my top choice..nuff said.

jb!

cool, you should get in then.

 

[pmantz]

Thanks for the advice, he is going to call the dean tomorrow and ask him how he can help out. I think I have a shot without him but hell it is crazy competative this year.