3-4 good references 1 to 2 mediocre references...

[deleted642188]

Hello Everyone,

In roughly two months I'll be preparing for my AMCAS application. Although I feel like I am a competitive applicant - research, volunteering, work, TA, leadership, etc. - I am worried my references may be my weakest link. So far my references are two instructors with whom I've taken two classes and are familiar with me, another for whom I was a TA. The weakest of the letter I feel is a doctor a shadowed; in addition I'm not sure how good my PI's reference would be. Although she promised me a strong reference, I have only been in the lab so far for two semesters and she doesn't really see me - hence the title.... These people are my only references and I am using the pre-health committee.

as the title implies, I predict that 3 of my references will be strong, my PI's might be good to decent and the doctor's I'm sure is so-so...

How does my situation fare?
Any feed back would be nice....

thanks!

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[mehc012]

Honestly, they all sound fairly neutral.
That's not a problem, per se...most letters aren't astounding enough to set someone apart (nor, thankfully, even slightly negative, which would be a huge red flag).
With LORs, it basically comes down to avoiding bad letters at all costs, and then maxxing your other opportunities so that maybe you end up with one good one out of your bunch of 'normal' ones.

 

[lifetothefullest]

Usually letters from doctors you've shadowed aren't good letter because they really can't speak to anything about you except your interest in medicine. Which, hopefully, you've already demonstrated in other areas of your applications (otherwise you wouldn't be applying in the first place, right?). Unless the doctor knows you in some special context, I don't see how that would be a really strong letter. On the other hand, the PI letter should be a good one at least. They won't agree to write a letter for you unless they feel like they have something to say - otherwise it just reflects poorly on them. So they'll usually meet with you and/or consult with your grad student mentor to get a feeling for who you are and how motivated you are.

 

[Glandzburg]

Usually letters from doctors you've shadowed aren't good letter because they really can't speak to anything about you except your interest in medicine. Which, hopefully, you've already demonstrated in other areas of your applications (otherwise you wouldn't be applying in the first place, right?). Unless the doctor knows you in some special context, I don't see how that would be a really strong letter. On the other hand, the PI letter should be a good one at least. They won't agree to write a letter for you unless they feel like they have something to say - otherwise it just reflects poorly on them. So they'll usually meet with you and/or consult with your grad student mentor to get a feeling for who you are and how motivated you are.

Exactly. It is generally a bad idea to include LORs from physicians you've shadowed for this reason; it really won't add anything to your application. Scrap the borderline letters and stick to the strong ones.

 

[deleted642188]

Sadly my prehealth committee wants to see a clinical experience reference and a natural science reference
So I kinda need it....

 

[deleted642188]

Usually letters from doctors you've shadowed aren't good letter because they really can't speak to anything about you except your interest in medicine. Which, hopefully, you've already demonstrated in other areas of your applications (otherwise you wouldn't be applying in the first place, right?). Unless the doctor knows you in some special context, I don't see how that would be a really strong letter. On the other hand, the PI letter should be a good one at least. They won't agree to write a letter for you unless they feel like they have something to say - otherwise it just reflects poorly on them. So they'll usually meet with you and/or consult with your grad student mentor to get a feeling for who you are and how motivated you are.

In fairness I know that she wrote a reference for another and that student got 2 acceptances.

 

[potatochip1]

I'd suggest getting letter from all of them. With 3 to 4 good references youll be set for 95% of schools. I had a handful of schools that wanted 5-6 LORs, and/or letters from specific professors (chem,bio, etc). I used the ones I felt most confident at all schools and the extra 2 letters just for the schools that needed them. No harm in having more on file, you ultimately get to choose which letters go to which schools. I'd hop on those letters asap if you have already, people will drag their feet, not sign them, not put them on letterhead etc. best to get this out of the way earlier.

 

[ridethecliche]

Too many references.