Advice on LORs

[Lunacy4]

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Hi,
First off, just want to say hello to everybody. I've been reading these forums for quite a while, but as the time gets closer to when I am going to start applying, I figured it was time to be more active.
My first question is probably repetitive; I have searched the past couple of pages of messages and haven't found a question specifically geared towards this, but if that is not the case, simply lead me in the right direction and excuse me for the redundance.
I am currently a junior and will not be applying or taking the MCAT until next year, but figured I should probably start thinking about LORs (a bit late, maybe, I know). My pre-med advisor told me schools only want recommendations from teachers that you have had; for example, the supervisor of the lab I have been working in would not be able to write me an LOR. If this is the case, I would like to know so I can start getting to know my teachers better now. I'm sure this probably varies by school, but to be safe and cover everything, how many/what kind of LORs should I get? Maybe 2 from science teachers, 2 from non-science, and 2 from misc., i.e. a physician I would shadow or my lab supervisor? Thanks in advance for your help.
*Lunacy*

 

[Bones2008]

Does your schools have a committee, etc. that dictates a letter packet that you should create? If so, they probably specify what they want. My school required three letters, all from teachers who've taught you, and at least two had to be in the sciences. Then we could have an optional fourth letter from anyone. If you have a committee thing like that, look into it. If not, get a hold of a MSAR, think about schools you'd want to apply to, and look up their requirements to get an idea. Good luck.

 

[acab]

My school requires an evaluation from every science teacher, including lab instructors, and almost all non-science classes. They then write a LOR based on all evaluations. In addition to this committee letter, I submitted letters from research supervisors directly to the med schools. Office hours are great opportunities for your teachers to get to know you better.

 

[DD214_DOC]

A few new professors ex grad students I know well say that they really don't like students coming to their offices to "get to know them better" and discuss pointless bull****. Professors are really busy you know.

 

[jeffsleepy]

Originally posted by JKDMed
A few new professors ex grad students I know well say that they really don't like students coming to their offices to "get to know them better" and discuss pointless bull****. Professors are really busy you know.

I don't like to go in and discuss pointless bull**** either, but then how are supposed to get the letters? Ask them questions that we already know the answer to?

 

[MoCookiess]

I'm basically in the same boat. I've only recently decided that medicine is what I want to do with my life, and I'm kinda short on LORs. In fact, I don't have any yet, and I'm not really sure who I'm going to ask. How well do you have to know a prof to ask for one? I don't really go to office hours with questions because I've found I can generally get the answers on my own if I just work at it a but. As a result, I only have one prof who actually knows my name (I go to the largest college in the US). At any rate, how do I go about getting these LORs? Do I just go into office hours next semester and say "Hi, I'm MoCookies. Lets chat about my life goals so you can write me a LOR later in the semester?"

Any advice?

 

[jayski2030]

I would go to the professors that seemed the most responsive to students' needs during lectures, and only choose among those that gave you an A. Then, go to their office hours and explain to them your situation. Just say something like, "The school is so large that I have found it very difficult to get to know any professors, but you seemed really nice and well i was wondering if you could write me one. It would be amazing if we could meet sometime to talk about my goals, etc." I dunno, you get the picture though. In the future, i guess for anyone else reading this who has a few more semesters left, take a class with a professor, go their office hours at least once, then do an internship the next semester and ask that professor to be your faculty sponsor. That way, they're forced to get to know you a little better.

 

[NRAI2001]

Originally posted by jayski2030
I would go to the professors that seemed the most responsive to students' needs during lectures, and only choose among those that gave you an A. Then, go to their office hours and explain to them your situation. Just say something like, "The school is so large that I have found it very difficult to get to know any professors, but you seemed really nice and well i was wondering if you could write me one. It would be amazing if we could meet sometime to talk about my goals, etc." I dunno, you get the picture though. In the future, i guess for anyone else reading this who has a few more semesters left, take a class with a professor, go their office hours at least once, then do an internship the next semester and ask that professor to be your faculty sponsor. That way, they're forced to get to know you a little better.

What did u mean by do a intership? Does a faculty member sponser u if u do one? Is this only specific to ur school?

 

[jayski2030]

I think at most schools you can go the the career develpoment office, find an internship for credit, find a faculty sponsor, and then do a write up at the end of the semester talking about what you learned, etc. I did this at my school for 4 credits and received a letter grade as if it were a class. It's helpful to find a sponsor that shows an interest in the type of work that you're doing at the internship. For example, if you're working with HIV positive patients, maybe find a social science professor that teaches a class on public health or whatever. Look the professor's bio up on the web to find their research interests.

 

[Anka]

I sent plenty of research recs, mainly from people I've published with. Most schools take them as "Science recs", although a few didn't (so I sent in recs from science profs who I didn't know very well). Mostly, though, I had no problems -- heck, I got a Harvard and U Chicago interview without anything other than 'research' recs for science.

A word of advice -- know when *not* to take your pre-med advisor's advice. If your school has a letter service, use it to add good research recs if your advisor won't send them in.

Anka
p.s. a good trick, of course, is to take a science class with your research profs to get credit -- I think that's already been mentioned.