Among these options, who is the best person to ask a LOR from?

[deleted1091458]

Hi everyone, I'm applying this cycle and I plan on submitting 4 letters of recommendation as part of my letter packet.

Within these 4 letters, 2 will be research PIs which I am confident will be good and the other 2 will be science professors.

1 of the science professors I have nailed down and will be good, I TA'd for them and took two Biology classes. My other options for the other science recommendation:

1. Microbiology Lab Prof - Took a class with them last semester, knows me a little bit and has written LORs before for med school
2. Physics Prof - Took a class with them a year ago, I don't think they remember me very much
3. Anatomy Prof - Took a class with them last semester, doesn't really remember me, asks students to write their own LORs
4. MolCel Prof - taking the class with them right now, doing well (have an A), they know me a bit as I went to OH a couple times and went to a lunch with them

Which one of these options is the best? I'm leaning towards 4, but I don't know if would be premature of me to ask before the class is over. I'm panicking a bit as I know average/generic LORs can hurt an application.

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[deleted1159869]

No non-science recommendation? Many schools require that.

 

[deleted1091458]

No non-science recommendation? Many schools require that.

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of schools don't require a non-science anymore. Within my school list I checked to make sure, and I don't believe any of them require a non-science, they just say they require at least 1-2 science professors or "people who know you well". Please feel free to double check though, my school list is:


Yale
UPenn
Columbia
Cornell
Duke
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
Boston University*
Mount Sinai
Stanford
NYU LISM
Dartmouth
UNC
UVA
UMass
USC
Emory
UMiami
ECU
Wake Forest*
Tufts
Colorado
Sidney Kimmel
VTech
Georgetown
Tulane
Albany
Einstein

 

[atriablack]

Hi everyone, I'm applying this cycle and I plan on submitting 4 letters of recommendation as part of my letter packet.

Within these 4 letters, 2 will be research PIs which I am confident will be good and the other 2 will be science professors.

1 of the science professors I have nailed down and will be good, I TA'd for them and took two Biology classes. My other options for the other science recommendation:

1. Microbiology Lab Prof - Took a class with them last semester, knows me a little bit and has written LORs before for med school
2. Physics Prof - Took a class with them a year ago, I don't think they remember me very much
3. Anatomy Prof - Took a class with them last semester, doesn't really remember me, asks students to write their own LORs
4. MolCel Prof - taking the class with them right now, doing well (have an A), they know me a bit as I went to OH a couple times and went to a lunch with them

Which one of these options is the best? I'm leaning towards 4, but I don't know if would be premature of me to ask before the class is over. I'm panicking a bit as I know average/generic LORs can hurt an application.

Ask 4. Make a small card, write a couple things about what you enjoyed about the class and their teaching and ask them in OH. Try not to do in finals weeks because it's not the best time for either profs or students (so ask either before finals or right after).

You can consider asking 3 as a backup and writing your own LOR. It isn't an amazingly ethical option but still a practice that is done a lot. That way if 4 works out, you don't have to use 3 but you have it just in case..

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Whichever references know you best, will prioritize sending your letter back in late May to early June, and will appreciate the thank you gift you decide to give them for their time. You can't afford to pick a fantastic LOR only to not have it get sent to the application service.

 

[surgeon2b forev]

Hi everyone, I'm applying this cycle and I plan on submitting 4 letters of recommendation as part of my letter packet.

Within these 4 letters, 2 will be research PIs which I am confident will be good and the other 2 will be science professors.

1 of the science professors I have nailed down and will be good, I TA'd for them and took two Biology classes. My other options for the other science recommendation:

1. Microbiology Lab Prof - Took a class with them last semester, knows me a little bit and has written LORs before for med school
2. Physics Prof - Took a class with them a year ago, I don't think they remember me very much
3. Anatomy Prof - Took a class with them last semester, doesn't really remember me, asks students to write their own LORs
4. MolCel Prof - taking the class with them right now, doing well (have an A), they know me a bit as I went to OH a couple times and went to a lunch with them

Which one of these options is the best? I'm leaning towards 4, but I don't know if would be premature of me to ask before the class is over. I'm panicking a bit as I know average/generic LORs can hurt an application.

I recommend you meet with at least 2 of them, maybe three, and ask for letters from all three. When you ask for a letter, it should be a formal event. Schedule a time to meet with them, and tell them the purpose is to ask for a letter of recommendation, give them your CV,personal statement, and chat.

When you chat, you should get a sense who is enthusiastic and who isn't. Use these opportunities to ask, frankly, "are you comfortable writing me a very strong letter of recommendation?" some of these instructors, whom you don't know well, will require you to be a little savy so they remember you.

The worse thing you can do is ask a professor who you don't know for a letter out of the blue.

Given your list above, I recommend you start with the molcel prof. Maybe try another lunch. Read about how MelCel topics relate to medical school - maybe correlate them with the types of specialities.