2007-2008 Letter of Recommendation Thread

[deleted98530]

Hi everyone!

Do med schools have different instructions for their LORS--like how they want it written? I asked for LORS from my professors and they gave me them but if a school wants something else in included in a LOR, do I have to ask them to type the letter again? That would be such a hassle if I had to do that. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[twolfbear]

Most schools just require a certain amount of science professors, a doctor, advisor etc. The ones I applied to did not specify exactly what to say. So I would assume that a general reference should suffice. If it doesn’t, then have fun getting another reference remade from them.

 

[Dr. Josh]

UNECOM doesn't require one, but they strongly recommend it. i.e. if you come to your interview and you have NO idea what OMM is outside of the literature from osteopathic.org, then it's not going to look good as if you've spent time working with a DO...

however, I feel like it's really hard to get in to shadow a DO unless you happen to know one... and honestly, unless you spend a significant amount of time with the doctor, they're just going to write the, "this person spent X number of hours shadowing me, I think he/she will make an excellent osteopathic physician" type letter... I kinda think that if you can find a way to show the school that you're genuinely interested in osteopathic medicine, it shouldn't matter if you get an actual letter from an actual DO, what about spending time observing an OMM class with a friend that's a DO student? Or what about spending time working in a big ER with a couple DOs where you see OMM in action, but don't actually get to know the doctor well enough to ask them for a letter... I think those should could too...

Does the DO have to say you'll make an excellent osteopathic doctor? I want mine to just write I'll make a great doctor and recommend me to any med school because I also plan to apply to allopathic schools. Is that OK? I think I can get two strong DO letters and probably no MD letters so these really need to count.

 

[Lemark]

I am really desperate for a DO LOR so far I have shadowed an MD and a DO. I shadowed the DO for a day I dont know if she will be willing to give me an LOR...do you guys think i should ask anyways?

 

[Jpc984]

UNECOM allows you to send "extra" LORs. Are there other schools that will take them?

 

[wintspgs]

Instead of shadowing a DO from the yellow pages, I went directly through the school. I only applied to one osteopathic school, so I called and asked if I can shadow a DO from the school when I came in for the interview. They said yes, and that's exactly what I did! They gave me a physician's name and contact info, so I contacted him and told him that I'm coming in for an interview and wondering if I can shadow him and get a LOR. He said yes, and it ended up being more like an interview, but he wrote a letter at the end for me. So last case scenerio, I'd recommend doing that =) It was quick and easy and someone from the school!

 

[jace's mom]

I just called lots of DOs whom I found in the phone book, and one called me back (or rather, had her admin assistant call me back). I asked to shadow, and then asked about the LoR at the end of the day. She was great...fun day of shadowing...and wrote me a letter within a week. She also went to the school I really want to attend, so that's a bonus.

She spent a little bit of time that morning getting to know me, so be sure you can give a brief "history of me". After she agreed to write a letter for me, I gave her a packet of info including the instructions for sending the LoR, my resume, my personal statement, and the essay I wrote to the DO school. She might or might not have used it, but it was there in case she wanted to look something up as she wrote the letter.

Best of luck to you!

 

[jzeidenb]

i got lucky in that my best friend's father is a DO, but from other people, i know that its important to get in touch with a DO in your area as soon as possible.. they know that you need their letter and are more often than not very helpful in that.

 

[ericismyname]

I shadowed two DOs from DMU.

One was my surgeon for my new ACL and the other was one of my best friends uncles who works in emergency medicine.

I chose two DOs for my LOR that are alumnis from DMU because DMU has a much greater range of students from out of state than in. I'm from Iowa.

If you do not want a letter from a complete stranger and are having trouble locating one, try networking.

 

[Jpc984]

I swore one of the D.O. schools required a Humanities LOR... Am I mistaken?

 

[akwizeguy]

Quick Question, Most of the schools require a committee letter and a physician letter OR 2 faculty letter and one physician letter. Any idea what's looked more favorably on, the committee or faculty letter? I've called a few schools and they pretty much said the content is what matters. I just wanted to ask and see what the general consensus is.
Another issue I have, I graduated from my undergrad in 2006, and took some post-bac classes at a local university. Do you guys know if the faculty letters would look better from the university that granted my degree or will a faculty letter from my post bac class be just the same? thanks guys for your help!

 

[Jpc984]

Quick Question, Most of the schools require a committee letter and a physician letter OR 2 faculty letter and one physician letter. Any idea what's looked more favorably on, the committee or faculty letter? I've called a few schools and they pretty much said the content is what matters. I just wanted to ask and see what the general consensus is.
Another issue I have, I graduated from my undergrad in 2006, and took some post-bac classes at a local university. Do you guys know if the faculty letters would look better from the university that granted my degree or will a faculty letter from my post bac class be just the same? thanks guys for your help!

I think the letters that can talk you up the best is the best choice: the post bac profs. Many schools do not have a committee, so I do not think they have a preference.

 

[dr.kicia]

I swore one of the D.O. schools required a Humanities LOR... Am I mistaken?

i believe it was Nova...and i think it wasn't humanities but liberal arts

 

[doinmybest5840]

My university has a reference letter service that mails letters out to schools. You have to indicate what you need letters for (e.g. a job, law school, grad school, med school, etc.), but the problem is that for any medical schools, it requires you to list your AAMC number. Is this going to be an issue when sending letters to osteopathic schools? I didn't give it a second thought earlier, but now that I'm thinking about it I'm worried that it is going to cause problems. Thanks.

 

[gujusnike]

My undergraduate college also does the sending of the letters. What I learned is that you as an individual should mail waivers to the school personally since it requires your signature. With AACOMAS ID#, your school may provide that. Call the office or you can call the medical school and ask if you can mail them a waiver or a signature document with your ID#.

 

[t-funk]

My school has that too. I had to sign up twice and pay two different fees, one for AACOMAS and one for AMCAS. I had each person, except for the DO, send in two copies of the LOR so that they could put different numbers on each letter. I don't know if yours is the same though.

 

[UCDavisdude]

hi everyone, im having trouble obtaining a LOR from a practicing physician, and i was wondering if anyone has gotten accepted without filling this req. i know most schools list it as a req, but are they pretty lenient on this? i plan on calling the schools tomorrow to double, but wanted to see if you guys know. thanks

 

[fabu1ous]

A DO/MD LOR is usually a requirement to COMPLETE your secondary application at most schools I know of... what is the reason you're having a problem getting one?

 

[Dr JPH]

hi everyone, im having trouble obtaining a LOR from a practicing physician, and i was wondering if anyone has gotten accepted without filling this req. i know most schools list it as a req, but are they pretty lenient on this? i plan on calling the schools tomorrow to double, but wanted to see if you guys know. thanks

This shouldnt be a hard requirement to fulfill. Personally, I would look at it as a lack of desire and determination.

 

[spicedmanna]

hi everyone, im having trouble obtaining a LOR from a practicing physician, and i was wondering if anyone has gotten accepted without filling this req. i know most schools list it as a req, but are they pretty lenient on this? i plan on calling the schools tomorrow to double, but wanted to see if you guys know. thanks

A LOR from a physician is required for most schools. I would most certainly obtain one.

 

[Hexanol]

hi everyone, im having trouble obtaining a LOR from a practicing physician, and i was wondering if anyone has gotten accepted without filling this req. i know most schools list it as a req, but are they pretty lenient on this? i plan on calling the schools tomorrow to double, but wanted to see if you guys know. thanks

Most schools require LOR from a DO/MD as a requirement. Furthermore, some DO schools require that you have a LOR from a DO.

This should NOT be a hard thing to accomplish. Even if you're applying for this cycle, you should be able to obtain this letter. Start volunteering/shadowing/working for a physician now. Remember that LORs are accepted throughout the admissions cycle. If you start now, you'll be able to obtain a LOR from a physician by the end of august or earlier.

 

[Pansit]

This shouldnt be a hard requirement to fulfill. Personally, I would look at it as a lack of desire and determination.

Getting any LOR from a physician is usually not a hard thing but getting a good/great LOR is the more relevant question. And to the OP, one school that comes to mind that does not necesarrily require a DO/MD letter is DMU. From what I remember when looking at their website, they required a letter from a healthcare experience (or something of that sort) but not necesarilly a physician (ie. volunteer coordinator, nurse...etc). But a physician LOR is definitely more desirable.

 

[imount]

So anyone who knows me well can write an lor? I have a close friend who can describe me very well and has seen me personally develop (of course). Would that be acceptable?

 

[prionsRbad]

So anyone who knows me well can write an lor? I have a close friend who can describe me very well and has seen me personally develop (of course). Would that be acceptable?

Are you kidding? Yeah, go ahead and get a LOR from your BFF . . . I'm sure Adcoms would love that.

 

[neu yorker]

hi everyone, im having trouble obtaining a LOR from a practicing physician, and i was wondering if anyone has gotten accepted without filling this req. i know most schools list it as a req, but are they pretty lenient on this? i plan on calling the schools tomorrow to double, but wanted to see if you guys know. thanks

I got in without a letter from an MD or a DO. I applied late and completely forgot that it was either a suggested addition to my file or a requirement for the completion of my application. I didnt even think about it until someone asked who I got my letter from - but this was after I was already accepted. Still, I would recommend making sure that you get that LOR. I might have gotten lucky or maybe the rest of my stats were good enough that they didnt care - who knows? But make sure to get that letter in to the schools to which you are applying.
Good Luck

 

[desam]

I am very confused about LORs for DO schools. Most of them require a letter from a premed advisor and one D.O. doc.

for PCOM, it says "A letter of recommendation from the premedical committee or premedical advisor of the undergraduate college that granted or will grant
a Ba c h e l o r’s degree, re g a rdless of your academic major, course of study or date of graduation. If that is not possible, a letter from your academic
advisor or Dean of the same institution may substitute.
(2) Another letter of recommendation, preferably from an osteopathic physician is suggested"

so is it referring to 1 SINGLE letter from an advisor and 1 from D.O. so 2 letters written by 2 individuals?

or

is it referring to a PACKET of many letters (which MD schools call it a premedical committee) AND 1 D.O. letter?

 

[jzeidenb]

for PCOM i remember reading

A) Committee letter OR 2 letters from SCI faculty and 1 letter from NONSCI faculty

AND

B) a letter from a DO

 

[gujusnike]

If I shadowed a DO and he gave me an LOR but I only did it for one day (approx. 4 hours). Does this look bad on my app?

 

[desam]

What does this mean?

"Can I have my recommendations sent to you before you receive my application? We use recommendation forms that are sent to you with the secondary application. Any letters received that are not accompanied by our recommendation forms are discarded."



does it mean, my recommenders must send me their letters in sealed envelopes (if I choose to waive my right) and I send them along with my secondary application???

 

[Jpc984]

What does this mean?

"Can I have my recommendations sent to you before you receive my application? We use recommendation forms that are sent to you with the secondary application. Any letters received that are not accompanied by our recommendation forms are discarded."



does it mean, my recommenders must send me their letters in sealed envelopes (if I choose to waive my right) and I send them along with my secondary application???

There is specific forms for MSUCOM. Your references must use them.

 

[prionsRbad]

for PCOM i remember reading

A) Committee letter OR 2 letters from SCI faculty and 1 letter from NONSCI faculty

AND

B) a letter from a DO

Nope, for PCOM it's:

• Letter of evaluation from the premedical committee, premedical advisor, or Dean of the college granting the undergraduate degree. Individual faculty letters do not fulfill this requirement.
• Letter of evaluation from an osteopathic physician is advised, but not required.

 

[Punchap]

(Note: Did not intentionally post this thread twice)

I requested my DO LOR at the end of May (soon after I finished my shadowing experience). I handed-off all the materials necessary for sending the completed letters to my chosen schools. Now that I'm getting secondaries, I see that certain schools have a preferential format for submitting DO LORs. Specifically, they want my soc. sec. # and address on the form and they want an attached waiver of rights.

I provided my reference with my AACOMAS ID #, but I'm concerned the schools won't accept my already sent LORs without the aforementioned info. Anyone else in a similar situation or know what I should do? I will probably end up contacting each school individually to clear this up, but what a pain.

 

[Amy B]

I would contact the schools. It may not matter since you already did it. None of my letter writers used the forms that the schools send out. It would be impossible for me to ask the docs to fill out numerous forms for the various schools.

That being said though, I didnt send any LORs out until I recieved a secondary from a school.

My suggestion is when you give the docs the envelope to mail your LOR to the schools, that you write across the flap of the envelope that "this is a confidential LOR and that this student has not seen it." Then make sure you ask the doc to sign across the envelope flap. That is what I did with all my letters and there was never any problems with it. I also sent mine in 2 day air envelops so they didnt have to fold the letter and also so it got there faster. I am sure this wasnt needed but it was my way of being compulsive

 

[PattheAggie]

I have recently applied to DMU, VCOM, KCOM, NOVA and are still working on getting their secondaries completed. My letters of recommendation are done but I am waiting for the D.O. to write his letter. Will they start to look at my application after the secondaries are done or will they wait for for the LOR's to be in before they give out interviews? Also should I send in the LOR that I have now and then send in the D.O letter later or should I wait to send them all together, I am using a Premedical Advisory Committee to send off my LOR's. Thanks for any help.

 

[Jpc984]

They require the LORs before you are considered complete.

I sent in the letters as soon as I got them... I think it is up to you. If I were using a premed committee, I would send them in asap. I have heard horror stories about how long it takes them to get things done.

 

[spicedmanna]

They require the LORs before you are considered complete.

I sent in the letters as soon as I got them... I think it is up to you. If I were using a premed committee, I would send them in asap. I have heard horror stories about how long it takes them to get things done.

I agree with the above. While it may vary by school, in general, your application doesn't get reviewed until everything is complete (some schools, however, grant pre-secondary interviews). Work with your school on sending stuff in promptly and as you get them (if possible).

Good luck.

 

[PattheAggie]

thank you guys for the quick response Im going to go ahead and send them asap.

 

[Pharmwannab]

NSU COM requires either a committee letter or 3 letters of rec, two from science professors and one from a liberal arts professor. As of this year, my school (where I did post bac work) no longer has a committee letter due to a constrained budget, so it looks like I'll need the three letters of rec. The science letters are no problem, it's the liberal arts letter that's a challenge. I only took science courses at the school where I did my post bac work. It's been more than 6 years since I've taken a liberal arts (I'm assuming this to mean humanities?) class. While I always did well in those classes, I never really got to know the professors well, except for one, and I'm sure she's long since forgotten about me. She was also only a grad. student. I can't remember any names anyways. So I think I'm kind of screwed for that letter. Is there anything I can do about this? NSU is one of my top choices. I'd hate for this to be the reason I can't go. Looking for advice. Thanks!

 

[prionsRbad]

NSU COM requires either a committee letter or 3 letters of rec, two from science professors and one from a liberal arts professor. As of this year, my school (where I did post bac work) no longer has a committee letter due to a constrained budget, so it looks like I'll need the three letters of rec. The science letters are no problem, it's the liberal arts letter that's a challenge. I only took science courses at the school where I did my post bac work. It's been more than 6 years since I've taken a liberal arts (I'm assuming this to mean humanities?) class. While I always did well in those classes, I never really got to know the professors well, except for one, and I'm sure she's long since forgotten about me. She was also only a grad. student. I can't remember any names anyways. So I think I'm kind of screwed for that letter. Is there anything I can do about this? NSU is one of my top choices. I'd hate for this to be the reason I can't go. Looking for advice. Thanks!

Call them and ask!!!!!

 

[Pharmwannab]

Call them and ask!!!!!

Yeah, that was my next step. Thanks.

 

[zackscoot]

Do most DO schools require a LOR from a DO doctor? About what percentage of school require this???

 

[spicedmanna]

Do most DO schools require a LOR from a DO doctor? About what percentage of school require this???

My recollection is that most osteopathic medical schools require a LOR from a physician and prefer it to come from a DO, but will often accept a LOR from an MD. A few schools explicitly require you to have a DO letter.

Check the AACOM Guidebook for specific LOR requirements for each individual school.

 

[Jpc984]

My recollection is that most osteopathic medical schools require a LOR from a physician and prefer it to come from a DO, but will often accept a LOR from an MD. A few schools explicitly require you to have a DO letter.

Check the AACOM Guidebook for specific LOR requirements for each individual school.

VCOM is one of them.

 

[romict]

I just need some quick advice on whether I should get a LOR from one of my graduate professors. I already have the undergraduate LORs (2 science, 2 non science, and 1 from the nurse manager where I got my patient care experience) and am also getting LORs from the DO I am shadowing, my graduate advisor (MD, never had him as a professor), my internship mentor, and the Commissioner of the county health department (MD). Is there a need to add a graduate professor LOR to the pile?

 

[Jpc984]

I just need some quick advice on whether I should get a LOR from one of my graduate professors. I already have the undergraduate LORs (2 science, 2 non science, and 1 from the nurse manager where I got my patient care experience) and am also getting LORs from the DO I am shadowing, my graduate advisor (MD, never had him as a professor), my internship mentor, and the Commissioner of the county health department (MD). Is there a need to add a graduate professor LOR to the pile?

Will he write a better letter than any of those you listed?

 

[Amy B]

I just need some quick advice on whether I should get a LOR from one of my graduate professors. I already have the undergraduate LORs (2 science, 2 non science, and 1 from the nurse manager where I got my patient care experience) and am also getting LORs from the DO I am shadowing, my graduate advisor (MD, never had him as a professor), my internship mentor, and the Commissioner of the county health department (MD). Is there a need to add a graduate professor LOR to the pile?

I would caution having this many LORs. the standard number you do not want to go over is 5 total. I used to work with the admissions office and they stated after 5 it becomes repetitious and annoying to read. From my count you are going to turn in 9 and possibly 10??? Way too much in my opinion based on my experience. Can you shorten the list rather than adding more. Also does the commissioner know you personally or on a profession level. You dont want somone personal simply becuase they are a big shot. Not suggesting you are doing this but rather cautioning you as well as anyone looking for a bigshot merely for the name and not the substance.

Good luck.

 

[ellinopedo182]

I was just wondering how important is it to have a LOR from a DO/MD. I have very strong LOR's, but none from a clinical/doctor and wondering if that is going to be a problem. I have a 3.7 gpa, 3.5 science, bio major, minor in chem and bioethics. volunteer work at ER, tutor of immigrants, honors, and so much more things, plus work experience. i got an 11 in bio, 7 in phys, and 6 in verbal, and Q in writing.

I have also opened up my own cafe/gelateria in the chicagoland area, which i think would be a great way to boost my character in my secondaries/applications.

Do you think DO schools are dead set on having a DO/MD recommendation or are they happy with committee and my primary recommendations? I was wondering if i send out my committee papers without a DO LOR, will they not even consider me? i have applied to about 25 allo/osteo schools.

thanks
peter

 

[romict]

I would caution having this many LORs. the standard number you do not want to go over is 5 total. I used to work with the admissions office and they stated after 5 it becomes repetitious and annoying to read. From my count you are going to turn in 9 and possibly 10??? Way too much in my opinion based on my experience. Can you shorten the list rather than adding more. Also does the commissioner know you personally or on a profession level. You dont want somone personal simply becuase they are a big shot. Not suggesting you are doing this but rather cautioning you as well as anyone looking for a bigshot merely for the name and not the substance.

Good luck.

Most of those letters are being sent to my undergraduate premedical advisor who is going to create one big letter. He told me that this is how this process works. The only letters that are going to be sent are the letter from the DO (entire letter), the Commissioner (who I would say knows me pretty well personally and professionally), and the composite letter (including everyone else). I was under the impression that this was standard. Is it okay to create one big letter? I would never send that many LORs to schools. I can see how that is going overboard Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.

 

[Amy B]

Oh ok, well that is different. Then it is ok if it is going into a compressed letter with comments from eveyone it one letter. Lots of schools do that and lots dont. It just depends on the school.

Good luck. It is a long process so dont get discouraged.

 

[gilbertjgreen]

Do secondary applications, generally or at least mostly, request of recommenders a general LOR? Or, has anyone run into the case of specific questions being asked of their letter-writers?

I've already asked general LORs of my recommenders, but I have time to tell them to hold off if just about every secondary app asks specific questions.