* * 2010 - 2011 * * Letter of Recommendation Thread

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Can some of you accepted students and current medical students comment on if it is okay to send more than the required LORs for schools.

I know that many allopathic schools encourage additional LORs. Is this true for osteopathic schools?

I'm assuming its in the "can't hurt" category, but I just wanted to be sure. \

Thanks! P
 
When do we ask our professors/letter writers to send letters of recommendation to the schools we have chosen? Do we need to wait until they receive our primary and ask us to submit a secondary or can we just send them right now to the schools we chose?
 
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Sure hope not, my school sent in my letters about a week ago and I'm still waiting for my primary to be verified.
 
The DO, I shadowed wrote a recommendation letter on a plane paper(computer printout) and it was sent to my prte med commotee who will be sending it to amcs and do schools.

Is it necessary to get it on his letter head? I guess, he does not have one.

thank you
 
I will wait till I submit my sec to the schools.
 
I remember reading on multiple secondary apps from last season, "must be on official letterhead." Hopefully someone else can confirm this too.
 
I want to go to them personally with a Thank you card and chocolate with the news of my admission. I said them THANK YOU already.
 
I dont think so, it just looks pretty bad if it's not.
 
letters are supposed to go out with secondaries. any time before that (like before you're even verified) and the school might not have a file for you. my boyfriend suggests that they'd just make one for you at that point, but honestly neither of us know for sure. i'd say call the schools to be sure. calling the schools when in doubt about anything is pretty much the best advice i can ever give haha.

about the letterhead: i applied to a ton of schools, and only one let me know that my dr. letter was not on letterhead. they made me get the letter from him again (which required sending it to him through interfolio, since apparently it was handwritten and "[had] no identifying information".) after all that crap they put me through, the school didn't even offer me an interview. :thumbdown:. like really, they couldn't have just read the letter and looked at all my stuff and thought "oh, we wouldn't interview her anyways, no need to make her contact the letter writer to get it on letterhead, many many months after it was written!". the 7 schools that invited me to interview apparently didn't care that it wasn't on letterhead. however, you may not be that lucky, and they might care. so be sure to ask they add office information to it at the top. i figured he would've known to do so, but i was wrong. i guess things were different back in the day when he needed letters...?
 
I have a bunch of letters that are all very good, but is it a good idea to send way more than required letter amount?
I have:
1.) DO
2.) MD I work with (Head Medical Examiner)
3.) PI
4.) MD long time shadowing experiance
5.) NIH Undergrad research fellowship mentor
6.) Pre-Med advisor
7.) Biochem Professor
8.) Orgo Professor
9.) College Hockey Coach

any advice is much appreciated.
 
I have a couple questions about getting LOR's from DOs. I know that many schools require one, but I'm just curious as to if this has a huge impact on admission or if they just want to see that you've taken an interest in osteopathy by getting to know a DO? ALSO when do you submit the LOR from a DO?? Does it need to go in with the primary or the secondary app??? Thank you to anyone who can answer my question!
 
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Hope2beDr said:
I have a couple questions about getting LOR's from DOs. I know that many schools require one, but I'm just curious as to if this has a huge impact on admission or if they just want to see that you've taken an interest in osteopathy by getting to know a DO? ALSO when do you submit the LOR from a DO?? Does it need to go in with the primary or the secondary app??? Thank you to anyone who can answer my question!
Click to expand...

1) You can show your interest in Osteopathic Medicine by not calling it osteopathy.
2)If the DO knows you well and writes a good letter, it will help. If the DO doesn't know you very well and writes a poor letter, it won't help.
3)Send all LORs with the secondary application. This is when nearly all schools ask for them (unless something changed from when I applied last year).
 
you know, I didn't know this at the time of my shadowing, but it turns out the DO i got a letter from is the president of the AOA chapter for my respected state.

think that'll help?
 
gatewasani said:
you know, I didn't know this at the time of my shadowing, but it turns out the DO i got a letter from is the president of the AOA chapter for my respected state.

think that'll help?
Click to expand...


As long as he didn't say you would make a terrible physician. ;)



I think the DO letter requirement is ridiculous. It just acts to propagate the biases others have towards DO's. It's like saying, a DO is different than an MD, which opens the door to either different better or different worse, neither of which is good for the field of medicine. I would be willing to say that 95% of DO practices are exactly the same as MD practices... So, why the **** should we have to get a "DO letter" when an "MD letter" would be the same...

If you can't tell, I'm just a little bit better about this right now...
 
Hey guys, I'm in the process of getting two LORs from a doc I'm shadowing and a history professor.

Earlier this month, I think I saw that you are not allowed to physically hold the letter, and that the writer must submit the letter to AMCAS or something.

Can anyone clarify what I need to do get my LOR and have it submitted if I am applying either next year or the year after?

Thanks guys. :beat:
 
Just let them know you'd like a letter, and they'll usually write it now and then just hold on to it until you need it. That's what I did, then when you're applying, send them an email and they'll upload it to AMCAS/Interfolio.
 
MightyMoose said:
As long as he didn't say you would make a terrible physician. ;)



I think the DO letter requirement is ridiculous. It just acts to propagate the biases others have towards DO's. It's like saying, a DO is different than an MD, which opens the door to either different better or different worse, neither of which is good for the field of medicine. I would be willing to say that 95% of DO practices are exactly the same as MD practices... So, why the **** should we have to get a "DO letter" when an "MD letter" would be the same...

If you can't tell, I'm just a little bit better about this right now...
Click to expand...

Perhaps they just want us to see that DO's are indeed the same as MD's, and to get rid of any of our DO prejudices if we have any.

I shadowed a DO in an Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital (one of the best hospitals in my whole region I may add), which consisted of some of the best cardiologist and intermal medicine physicians at the hospital. He was the alpha dog in the group and knew his stuff better than anyone.

If I had had any DO prejudices (which I didn't), they likely would have been erased after seeing this DO cardiologist run the show amongst other highly qualified physicians.
 
DrDre2001 said:
Perhaps they just want us to see that DO's are indeed the same as MD's, and to get rid of any of our DO prejudices if we have any.

I shadowed a DO in an Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital (one of the best hospitals in my whole region I may add), which consisted of some of the best cardiologist and intermal medicine physicians at the hospital. He was the alpha dog in the group and knew his stuff better than anyone.

If I had had any DO prejudices (which I didn't), they likely would have been erased after seeing this DO cardiologist run the show amongst other highly qualified physicians.
Click to expand...


So they require a letter from a DO so that we know they are the same...? I don't think so, man. Nice try though. It's BS and I'm just calling a spade a spade. Your example further exemplifies my point, DO's and MD's are the same damn thing. If I had any qualms about becoming a DO I wouldn't be applying DO. Getting a letter from a DO doesn't mean that I know this... It just means that I jumped through an additional hoop that helps to propagate a belief that there is a difference. I don't have any problems with getting a physician's letter, it's just the DO specific letter that bothers me.

You can say what you will, but it implies a difference and I just don't agree with it.
 
PeachyPhd said:
Can some of you accepted students and current medical students comment on if it is okay to send more than the required LORs for schools.

I know that many allopathic schools encourage additional LORs. Is this true for osteopathic schools?

I'm assuming its in the "can't hurt" category, but I just wanted to be sure. \

Thanks! P
Click to expand...

It's fine.
 
So I met with a DO doc about shadowing...and he said he would write the letter then, no need to actually shadow, based on my statement, history, resume, etc. Is that valid enough to use as a DO reference letter? I'm going to be shadowing at a different place to get some experience this summer, but I won't get a letter from that soon, so is the first one enough for the requirement? How bad does it look if I actually didn't shadow him but just met him? From what he said it seems like he's done it this way before...
 
ciruelo said:
So I met with a DO doc about shadowing...and he said he would write the letter then, no need to actually shadow, based on my statement, history, resume, etc. Is that valid enough to use as a DO reference letter? I'm going to be shadowing at a different place to get some experience this summer, but I won't get a letter from that soon, so is the first one enough for the requirement? How bad does it look if I actually didn't shadow him but just met him? From what he said it seems like he's done it this way before...
Click to expand...


Sounds good to me. I don't see why you would offer up that you didn't shadow him. Just shadow someone and say you learned "X" from your shadowing experience if shadowing or DO questions come up, but don't say who you shadowed and the school will assume it is the guy who wrote you a letter. ;)
 
haha yeah...I just hope in his letter he didn't say something explicit like "he met with me and we discussed osteopathic medicine, but he did not shadow me" or something like that...
 
ciruelo said:
So I met with a DO doc about shadowing...and he said he would write the letter then, no need to actually shadow, based on my statement, history, resume, etc. Is that valid enough to use as a DO reference letter? I'm going to be shadowing at a different place to get some experience this summer, but I won't get a letter from that soon, so is the first one enough for the requirement? How bad does it look if I actually didn't shadow him but just met him? From what he said it seems like he's done it this way before...
Click to expand...

Just throwing it out there but why don't you actually shadow him anyway........ there is no reason not to, he will learn more about you and maybe he'll include that you were zealous in your pursuit of knowing more about medicine in your letter.

Be prepared for a generic letter if you just give him the papers
 
yeah, no, I've been trying...just kinda ran into the "he hasn't set anything up, he's busy, call back later" bit when I contact the office. He already wrote and submitted the letter, wasn't really expecting him to do that. I mean, it won't be the worst thing for me if I get a generic letter, I think the rest of my application is decent enough, I just don't want to miss out on a requirement.
 
ciruelo said:
yeah, no, I've been trying...just kinda ran into the "he hasn't set anything up, he's busy, call back later" bit when I contact the office. He already wrote and submitted the letter, wasn't really expecting him to do that. I mean, it won't be the worst thing for me if I get a generic letter, I think the rest of my application is decent enough, I just don't want to miss out on a requirement.
Click to expand...


Just roll with it. Send him a thank you letter for his time and call it a day. You're set.

Where is this guy located? That's the type of letter I want. haha.
 
Does it matter if LOR are from MD or DO, I have been working with Ortho MDs and there are only about 6 DO in my state and haven't shadow yet, will shadow soon.
 
firstgeneration said:
Does it matter if LOR are from MD or DO, I have been working with Ortho MDs and there are only about 6 DO in my state and haven't shadow yet, will shadow soon.
Click to expand...

Some schools absolutely require DO letters (LECOMs, DCOM, OSU, PCSOM, RVU, VCOM, WVCOM) the rest will accept either DO or MD but a DO letter is strongly encouraged
 
Guys, do schools ever call up the DO from your DO letter of rec? The thing is I shadowed two, one wrote a much better rec but didn't get to know me as well as the other. The other could speak volumes about me but I don't want to use his rec because it was a little rushed.

Get what I'm saying? I wanna just submit the better rec, assuming they don't follow up with the people that write them.
 
megathunder said:
Guys, do schools ever call up the DO from your DO letter of rec? The thing is I shadowed two, one wrote a much better rec but didn't get to know me as well as the other. The other could speak volumes about me but I don't want to use his rec because it was a little rushed.

Get what I'm saying? I wanna just submit the better rec, assuming they don't follow up with the people that write them.
Click to expand...

Good question but I honestly don't have a clue as to the answer. I would imagine that they trust what the person wrote. I can't see them calling hundreds of DOs asking about someone they may have only met once or twice.

I wish I knew what the DO who wrote my letter last year wrote, he didn't show me. The DO I work for wrote a solid letter, but nothing spectacular considering I've worked for him for a year. Also mentions nothing of clinical work :mad: but oh well I suppose. I can't ask him to write another one because that'd make for an awkward situation at work, especially considering I've had to cancel shifts on them the last few days because of my other job. :thumbdown:
 
I am a reapplicant, and last time I applied I had two undergraduate science prof LOR's and one undergraduate non-science prof LOR. Since I am in graduate program, I have now obtained another science prof LOR from a graduate school professor. (I also have one DO letter from a doc I shadowed and one MD letter from my research advisor.)

My question is, should I replace one of my undergrad science prof LOR's with the graduate prof LOR, or should I simply include all 6 letters in my letter packet? I am not sure which undergrad science prof wrote me a stronger letter so I am worried about just randomly replacing one (both profs knew me pretty well, but I wouldn't say that one really knew me better than the other).
 
Hey fellas,
so I work in a hospital and I ask one of the DO's that is an ER phycisian to write me a letter of rec, and she told me to write one for myself and she will be happy to sign it! I honestly have no idea what to write in there, I don't work with the ER doc very much but we talk for a bit and clicked! Any ideas/suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers:luck:
 
My school mailed out my letters to the selected medical schools, was wondering if there is a way for me to check if the schools have received them? through AACOMAS website? or do you have to contact each school individually to find out?

Thanks :)
 
brightday said:
My school mailed out my letters to the selected medical schools, was wondering if there is a way for me to check if the schools have received them? through AACOMAS website? or do you have to contact each school individually to find out?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Pretty sure you have to contact schools individually. I don't believe AACOMAS has anything to do with keeping track of letters. I may be wrong on this but I also thought one or two schools didn't accept paper letters as well.

Edit- I remember seeing that some school didn't accept paper letters and it was only MSU-COM. They only said that because they don't accept letters of recommendation, they only accept their evaluation forms.
 
wolverinepwns said:
Hey fellas,
so I work in a hospital and I ask one of the DO's that is an ER phycisian to write me a letter of rec, and she told me to write one for myself and she will be happy to sign it! I honestly have no idea what to write in there, I don't work with the ER doc very much but we talk for a bit and clicked! Any ideas/suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers:luck:
Click to expand...

All these views and no responses? C'mon guys, show some love:love:.

I think there was a featured story about this on SDN. In any case, based on my limited knowledge (from story above and SND posts) of the application process (applying myself this year), I would suggest against writing your own letter. You'll never be able to write your own letter as well as someone else can because...you simply cannot observe yourself and how you interact/work with and lead/follow others. Having read LOR's of others for various positions (not DO school), I know for a fact that the applicant is more often than not flattered by letters which include observations/statements/qualities about the applicant that the applicant never even considered.

In your case, a physician as your referee probably has a good idea of what adcom's are looking for (key words, traits, examples of traits, etc) and so can tailor your letter accordingly. You can't do that on your own.

If she can't write you her own letter (even after pleading), I would suggest you seek other avenues. Choose someone who will go to bat for you-trust me, you'll be rewarded in kind :)
 
So unlike AMCAS, AACOMAS doesn't accept rec letters from my understanding. Does this mean we have to send them to all the DO schools individually? What is the timeline for sending these letters?
 
Correct. Unlike AMCAS, you do not send them to AACOMAS.

I heard you should send your LORs to the schools when you get a secondary from them.
 
Draft a letter which highlight your strengths and give it to her.
It is not very uncommon when the prof/dr ask to draft your own letter.
 
I am planning on applying to DO schools this year and was just wondering if it would be OK to use a letter from an MD? Two schools that I am interested in said they would accept both. Thanks in advance.
 
sedaniel said:
I am a reapplicant, and last time I applied I had two undergraduate science prof LOR's and one undergraduate non-science prof LOR. Since I am in graduate program, I have now obtained another science prof LOR from a graduate school professor. (I also have one DO letter from a doc I shadowed and one MD letter from my research advisor.)

My question is, should I replace one of my undergrad science prof LOR's with the graduate prof LOR, or should I simply include all 6 letters in my letter packet? I am not sure which undergrad science prof wrote me a stronger letter so I am worried about just randomly replacing one (both profs knew me pretty well, but I wouldn't say that one really knew me better than the other).
Click to expand...

Anyone have any suggestions/thoughts? :)
 
In regard to your last question I think it would also be a good idea to consider a LOR from someone outside of school. If you did volunteer work, maybe the coordinator could write you a letter or your current employer.
 
i plan on using interfoliio for mine that way my writers only have to write one lor and send it to one place rather than sending it numerous places.
i will obviously double check with the schools to which i am applying that this will be acceptable but so far not one has indicated that this would be an issue
 
Schools will request them with their secondaries
 
A lot of schools say that a letter from a DO is recommended but not required and as the poster above mentioned, it does help. You are applying to a DO school after all. Unless it says its required I guess you wouldn't really need one at all.
 
moto_za said:
I am planning on applying to DO schools this year and was just wondering if it would be OK to use a letter from an MD? Two schools that I am interested in said they would accept both. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

here is a list of schools that require or recommend DO lor. Getting one will benefit you. if you apply broadly, you'll still be able to get in without it

PS: this file is not mine....its from chocolate bear's links :)
 

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She is obviously going to read it before she signs. Just write something strong about you and, if she agrees, she will sign it. You can use it to your advantage or you can just write a basic letter.
 
Schools recommend u send them with the secondary because they don't want to file papers if u don't have a chance of getting in. But if you feel that ur competitive and will get a secondary then send them in whenever u have them in hand. That way it will take two days for the letters to get to them with snail mail and another 2-5 days by the time they get through all their paper work and finally put ur letters on file.

I remember some schools didn't have my letters on file even 3 weeks after I mailed them over because of all the paperwork
 
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