2008-2009 Letter of Recommendation Thread

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jnutt469 said:
The doc I have been shadowing for a few months now and agreed to write me a letter a while back just informed me that he CAN"T write me a letter- because he is horrible at typing. is there an Evaulation form he can use or something. I know 1 of the 6 schools I applied to has a form but that is it. What do I do I can not start shadowing someone else-- it is TOO LATE! What do I do?:confused:
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Doesn't he have an assistant or office worker? My wife used to write the letter's for people that shadowed her dad (a dentist) and he would just go over them and sign them.

Also, not every doc requires you to shadow them before they will write you a letter. Not having a LOR from a doc is what kept me from having my applications complete until January. I found a doc that was willing to work with me and now here I am in med-school. Sure, I missed all the MD deadlines but I was a non-traditional applicant and so I fit in pretty well here in an osteopathic school.
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No, he is an ER physician. I am already late getting everything done. I guess if I must I can TRY to find another. It is just really bad because I developed a relationship with him already. Do you think I should talk to admissions and see if they accept evaluations??
 
jnutt469 said:
No, he is an ER physician. I am already late getting everything done. I guess if I must I can TRY to find another. It is just really bad because I developed a relationship with him already. Do you think I should talk to admissions and see if they accept evaluations??
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Ask him if it would be okay if you gave him a sample letter you wrote. Then he can look it over and make changes if he wants. If no changes are needed, he can sign it, and you're done.
 
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jnutt469 said:
The doc I have been shadowing for a few months now and agreed to write me a letter a while back just informed me that he CAN"T write me a letter- because he is horrible at typing. is there an Evaulation form he can use or something. I know 1 of the 6 schools I applied to has a form but that is it. What do I do I can not start shadowing someone else-- it is TOO LATE! What do I do?:confused:
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WTF? What kind of physician CAN'T type????!!! Are you sure he/she just doesn't want to write you a letter?
 
I would email him a sample "suggestion" letter. Have him read it over, then print it on an "official letter head", and send it out.
 
I third the "sample" argument

I had the issue with a professor when I was applying for grad school. He said that he suddenly couldnt for x,y and z. So i provided him with a draft and he made the necessary changes. If necessary I have a standard letter I could email you that can be modified for med school (I use it for my students when I was teaching)

IamAriDO
 
ditto to what ebola and bear said. both of my doctors showed me the letters they wrote and asked if there was anything I would like added in there. If he is really that busy but you have formed a good relationship with him he probably wont have a problem just putting his signature on a letter you wrote. you might have him write a few topics he would want to add such as hard worker, learns quickly ect. that he would want in there and then put it in sentence form for him to look over and approve. hope it works out for you.
 
I agree with at least trying to approach him and see he'd be fine with you pretty much writing up a LOR and then he can just look over it and make any changes.

This is all assuming he isn't just trying to wiggle his way out of this, and that you do have a decent relationship with him. If so then it can't hurt to ask. Or get a little creative, maybe bring in one of those handheld voice recorders and have him dictate the letter and then you can listen to it and type it up on your own.

The DO who I shadowed was also an ER physician and just had me write my own LOR and then he just went and spruced it up some.
 
If he can write it instead of type and as long as it is legible, I'd say go for it. It gives you a more personal touch. He would just need one and photocopies can be made and distributed by your school's student services. At least at my school, there is a service for students to get their LORs "officially" copied and sent off without them looking at it.
 
This is hands down the lamest thread I've ever read.
 
Sorry to be soooo lame ya'll. Just lookin for a little advice! So thanks everybody!!
 
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Chocolate Bear said:
Ask him if it would be okay if you gave him a sample letter you wrote. Then he can look it over and make changes if he wants. If no changes are needed, he can sign it, and you're done.
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I agree
 
Sounds like he either has no desire to write you a letter personally or is just too busy to do it at all.
 
Yes, he is excited to he constantly is asking me about it and when I need it done, etc. I have honestly seen him type (as in logging into the radiology network) and it is a sad sight. I am pretty sure he can type, but it is just something he doesn't like to do. Here is my plan..... I cannot go in to shadow tonight (and he has to study for continuing eds) so I am going to call him and ask what he wants to do such as in hand write one and I can type it up and print them off for him to sign, or what. How does that sound??
 
jnutt469 said:
Yes, he is excited to he constantly is asking me about it and when I need it done, etc. I have honestly seen him type (as in logging into the radiology network) and it is a sad sight. I am pretty sure he can type, but it is just something he doesn't like to do. Here is my plan..... I cannot go in to shadow tonight (and he has to study for continuing eds) so I am going to call him and ask what he wants to do such as in hand write one and I can type it up and print them off for him to sign, or what. How does that sound??
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I've tapped into pre-osteos collective common sense. We approve of your actions. We approoooove...

ghost.jpg
 
COMP/Western has a requirement for LOR's to be on either official letterhead or COMP's form and the only copies accepted are only if they are in a pre-professional packet. I used Interfolio for all of my letters and would hate to delay by going to my references and asking them all to retype out my LOR on letterhead. Is there any way around this?
 
most profs write out LORs on their official letter head anyways
unless they are LOR noobs
just email them and ask
also, from my expereince schools dont make a big deal out of the ticky tack things with LORs when they are sent through interfolio
 
I read that many school have option of either committe letter or 3 letter of recommendations if the school does not have pre-med committee. My problem is that I am post bac student and I want to get individual letters of recommendations instead of committe letter. Can I still do this even though the school has a committee?

The reason why i'm asking is because since i'm a post bac, I have only taken 6 courses at the school and I feel like the committe wont write me such a great recommendation even though I got all A's in the science classes. I feel like they might say you should take at least 10 classes to get a good recommondation.

Anyone else in a similar situation?
 
Why don't you do both? Send your individual letters to interfolio AND to the committee. Then when you apply, you can send either the individual letters or the committee letter depending on school requirements and your mood.
 
francais7979 said:
I read that many school have option of either committe letter or 3 letter of recommendations if the school does not have pre-med committee. My problem is that I am post bac student and I want to get individual letters of recommendations instead of committe letter. Can I still do this even though the school has a committee?

The reason why i'm asking is because since i'm a post bac, I have only taken 6 courses at the school and I feel like the committe wont write me such a great recommendation even though I got all A's in the science classes. I feel like they might say you should take at least 10 classes to get a good recommondation.

Anyone else in a similar situation?
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How do you know? I think you're being paranoid.
 
I recently realized that I may have a problem with my letters of recommendation. I used a letter service through my school which sends all my letters out as a packet. After completing multiple secondaries I realized that certain schools only want certain letters (e.g. science professors, doctors, etc). I want to know if the medical schools I applied to will sort out my letters of recommendations and will only read the ones that meet the requirements? Or if the medical schools will end up reading all of my letters? Thanks for everyone's time!
 
NihonjinDoc said:
I recently realized that I may have a problem with my letters of recommendation. I used a letter service through my school which sends all my letters out as a packet. After completing multiple secondaries I realized that certain schools only want certain letters (e.g. science professors, doctors, etc). I want to know if the medical schools I applied to will sort out my letters of recommendations and will only read the ones that meet the requirements? Or if the medical schools will end up reading all of my letters? Thanks for everyone's time!
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Most of them will keep all your letters, even if they didn't request all of them. A few will throw out your extraneous letters. Either way, don't worry--they won't penalize you for extra letters.
 
NihonjinDoc said:
I recently realized that I may have a problem with my letters of recommendation. I used a letter service through my school which sends all my letters out as a packet. After completing multiple secondaries I realized that certain schools only want certain letters (e.g. science professors, doctors, etc). I want to know if the medical schools I applied to will sort out my letters of recommendations and will only read the ones that meet the requirements? Or if the medical schools will end up reading all of my letters? Thanks for everyone's time!
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they'll read the ones they want to and leave the rest (as long as you have at least all of the letters that are required), dont stress about it!
 
So i recently took a philosophy class and established a great relationship with the teacher. I was thinking about asking her for a letter of rec but I remember her mentioning that she is still a grad student and on the school website she is not listed on the faculty page. Does this ruin my chances of getting a letter from her? i.e. will her letter not count or not be considered if she wrote me one?
 
JakeX said:
So i recently took a philosophy class and established a great relationship with the teacher. I was thinking about asking her for a letter of rec but I remember her mentioning that she is still a grad student and on the school website she is not listed on the faculty page. Does this ruin my chances of getting a letter from her? i.e. will her letter not count or not be considered if she wrote me one?
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I don't think it would count. You could include it if you wanted additional recommendations, but I don't think a student's word would hold much weight to an ADCOM.
 
I am in some sort of a mess. i am applying to both MD and DO schools. I am about to send my DO secondaries and just remembered that all my interfolio LOR have my name and AAMC ID as the heading. My LOR auothors are already on holiday and it will take at least until january before they can write any letters for me. Any advice?
 
Hi all,

I received a letter from PCOM saying they have all my stuff except my letter of rec from advisor/dean/pre-med committee... the thing is, i have letters from professors (two science, one humanities). Would they accept that or do I HAVE to get the letters from dean/advisor/etc? I am going to call on Monday anyway, but I'm just stressed so I'm hoping to get an answer before the weekend is over. Thanks!
 
dangit said:
Hi all,

I received a letter from PCOM saying they have all my stuff except my letter of rec from advisor/dean/pre-med committee... the thing is, i have letters from professors (two science, one humanities). Would they accept that or do I HAVE to get the letters from dean/advisor/etc? I am going to call on Monday anyway, but I'm just stressed so I'm hoping to get an answer before the weekend is over. Thanks!
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YOU HAVE TO GET IT! There's no way around it. If you haven't been in touch with a pre-health advisor these many months, or you don't have one, the dean is the next best thing.
 
Is Interfolio the best way to deliver letters? for my amcas i used a pre-med advisor from my undergrad school, and i was not so impressed with the speed and efficiency of the letter delivering...

another issue: how long does it take to verify the aacomas application after the transcripts have been received?

thanks
 
Interfolio saved my life. haha

I missed my school's deadline by lightyears and w/out interfolio I wouldn't be in med school right now. I totally recommend it.
 
sounds good, just messing around with it it's awesome to know that there is a company dedicated to copying/mailing (or emailing) your letters out for you, and not just a single person at my school designated to handle everyone's letters...

i like the fact that the addresses for the osteopathic schools are already online.
 
yes any electronic delivery is way better!
 
My pre-med office used the VirtualEvals system; they didn't send anything out themselves (unless the school didn't participate in VirtualEvals). I had no problems with it.
 
It is well worth the ~$15 + processing fees. You have total control over your letters. Using Interfolio, I could get my secondaries finished and verified within 48 hours.

Probably the best part is having your letters "on deck" ready to go for secondaries at any time. You can request your letters in advance, giving your writers plenty of time to write and edit.

Good luck.
 
amikhchi said:
another issue: how long does it take to verify the aacomas application after the transcripts have been received?

thanks
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AACOMAS usually takes 6 weeks to verify. Its quite frustrating.
 
as far as deadlines go, do they go by when you first submitted aacomas, or when it has been verified?
 
amikhchi said:
as far as deadlines go, do they go by when you first submitted aacomas, or when it has been verified?
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Good question, but I don't know the exact answer. You can/should call a couple of schools and ask them. In the CIB, it also gives you the supplemental app deadline, which is sometimes less than a month after the AACOMAS deadline for that school. Thus, I'd assume you need to be VERIFIED by the AACOMAS deadline date, which will be around 6 weeks after submission, payment, and receipt of all your transcripts by AACOMAS (verification begins only after ALL of those requirements are fulfilled). In order to speed things up, while you're being verified, make sure you get to work on the secondary application essays. There's a link in my signature to most of them. :thumbup:
 
Hi all! I've recently sent out my aacomas application and am in the midst of secondaries--obviously I'm on the late end of the cycle but I figure it's worth trying now if there's a chance I could skip out on being idle for a whole year. Anyway, I shadowed a DO last year but feel a bit weird about contacting him for a LOR seeing as he probably doesn't me. There is an MD that I do know (he's a friend of my boyfriend's family) who I think would provide me with a much better letter. I've never shadowed him but he always takes the time to talk to me about being a doctor and answering my questions candidly. Which letter should I go for?
 
glerese said:
Hi all! I've recently sent out my aacomas application and am in the midst of secondaries--obviously I'm on the late end of the cycle but I figure it's worth trying now if there's a chance I could skip out on being idle for a whole year. Anyway, I shadowed a DO last year but feel a bit weird about contacting him for a LOR seeing as he probably doesn't me. There is an MD that I do know (he's a friend of my boyfriend's family) who I think would provide me with a much better letter. I've never shadowed him but he always takes the time to talk to me about being a doctor and answering my questions candidly. Which letter should I go for?
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Here's a link for which DO schools require a DO LOR.

Definitely try to get the MD letter, but if you plan on applying to the schools that want a DO one, try to get that one, too. :luck:
 
Hi All,
I have a question about the required DO letter of rec for some schools. I am quite late in the process now because I focused on all the MD schools first. And recently, the DO doc I shadowed twice just told me (a month late) that she couldn't write me a letter. I have DO resident friends who are willing to write me one quickly.. But my pre-med advisor has told me that the letter has to be from a doc I shadowed, and I haven't been allowed to shadow these residents... Is getting the letter from the doc u shadowed really that crucial?? I'm afraid I don't have time to start shadowing and establishing a relationship from the beginning now to get a letter..

Thanks!!
 
Egyhockey said:
Hi All,
I have a question about the required DO letter of rec for some schools. I am quite late in the process now because I focused on all the MD schools first. And recently, the DO doc I shadowed twice just told me (a month late) that she couldn't write me a letter. I have DO resident friends who are willing to write me one quickly.. But my pre-med advisor has told me that the letter has to be from a doc I shadowed, and I haven't been allowed to shadow these residents... Is getting the letter from the doc u shadowed really that crucial?? I'm afraid I don't have time to start shadowing and establishing a relationship from the beginning now to get a letter..

Thanks!!
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No, you don't have to have shadowed the doc. It's nice if you have, but it's not a requirement. Get a DO letter from the person who knows you best, ASAP! :thumbup::luck:

Moving to the LOR thread.
 
As far as LORs from science professors are concerned, is this limited to bio and chem? How about math or behavioral sciences?

Also, can LORs from academic advisors be used in lieu of the premed advisor?
 
glerese said:
As far as LORs from science professors are concerned, is this limited to bio and chem? How about math or behavioral sciences?

Also, can LORs from academic advisors be used in lieu of the premed advisor?
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Sci LOR = Math, Chem, Bio, Physics, etc. (natural sciences)

Behavioral Sci does not qualify as "science"

Behavioral Sci = Non science

If a school wants a letter from a premed advisor, you should ask them specifically if you can substitute.
 
Greetings All,

Just curious about letters, it looks, like most schools require a letter from a physician regarding the candidates aptitude for dealing with patients and ability to succeed in this avenue. My question is this, what capacity is the letter writer supposed to write from; I mean, would a letter from my medical director at the ambulance service-where I have been a paramedic for the past five years-suffice. Or, should I look for a physician to shadow?

Also, I may be mistaken, but I haven't seen a specific school that requires this letter be from a DO only correct?
 
ericL said:
Greetings All,

Just curious about letters, it looks, like most schools require a letter from a physician regarding the candidates aptitude for dealing with patients and ability to succeed in this avenue. My question is this, what capacity is the letter writer supposed to write from; I mean, would a letter from my medical director at the ambulance service-where I have been a paramedic for the past five years-suffice. Or, should I look for a physician to shadow?

Also, I may be mistaken, but I haven't seen a specific school that requires this letter be from a DO only correct?
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is the medical director a physician (MD/DO)? if not shadow a doc. Some schools absolutely require an osteopathic letter, look into it. The schools website or Chocolate Bear's signature will provide you with the specifics. That being said, I did just fine with an MD letter.
 
I have been asked by a professor to him a sample letter of recommendation. What should the heading look like? And to whom should the letter be addressed to? Does "to whom it may concern" suffice? Thanks!
 
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