Another LOR question

[footNankle]

So I was fortunate enough to be shown one of my letters of recommendation today.

The good news is that the professor said very nice things about me.

There are two issues however:

-There are a couple of very minor grammatical errors.

-The letter isn't very long. It's only 5-6 sentences, however it does say some very nice things in those sentences. All in all, the entire letter spans about a half page if you include the professors contact information at the bottom (email, phone, office #, etc).


I guess my question is whether or not it is okay to use this letter?

Thanks!

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[SLCpod]

You could use it but are there others that might write one for you? A letter is a letter but it might be better if the professor was able to expound on your qualities.

Did you give an outline to the professor before they wrote it so they knew that it needed to be more than a note? Did you sit down with the professor and tell them about why you want to go into medicine? Did you give enough information before the letter was written (personal statement, CV, transcripts)?

 

[footNankle]

You could use it but are there others that might write one for you? A letter is a letter but it might be better if the professor was able to expound on your qualities.

Did you give an outline to the professor before they wrote it so they knew that it needed to be more than a note? Did you sit down with the professor and tell them about why you want to go into medicine? Did you give enough information before the letter was written (personal statement, CV, transcripts)?

Well unfortunately I'm a little desperate for letters at the moment. My other letter (which I'll receive in a few weeks) will be better I imagine. I do think that professor knows me a lot more. Assuming this other letter is strong, do you think I could just kind of squeeze by with this less than perfect letter? The rest of my application is solid.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

Well unfortunately I'm a little desperate for letters at the moment. My other letter (which I'll receive in a few weeks) will be better I imagine. I do think that professor knows me a lot more. Assuming this other letter is strong, do you think I could just kind of squeeze by with this less than perfect letter? The rest of my application is solid.

I can't imagine grammatical errors would work against you at all, it's embarrassing for someone with (presumably) a PhD, but it shouldn't hurt you.

Five or six sentences is bit sketchy though.

Honestly though, I maintain that lors for podiatry school can only hurt you, and because your six sentences are good, I wouldn't sweat it. If you have the stats, you'll get in somewhere, if you don't, you won't. Unless you think you are on really shaky ground, don't worry about the weird LOR.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using SDN Mobile

 

[footNankle]

I can't imagine grammatical errors would work against you at all, it's embarrassing for someone with (presumably) a PhD, but it shouldn't hurt you.

Five or six sentences is bit sketchy though.

Honestly though, I maintain that lors for podiatry school can only hurt you, and because your six sentences are good, I wouldn't sweat it. If you have the stats, you'll get in somewhere, if you don't, you won't. Unless you think you are on really shaky ground, don't worry about the weird LOR.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using SDN Mobile

I guess I should have said the rest of my app is "more or less solid" haha. In terms of the shaky ground I'm not really sure. I haven't taken the mcat yet, but my GPAs are 3.1 sGPA and a 3.5 cGPA with a very strong upward trend. I'm planning on applying early and broadly in August. I know the sGPA is a little low but do you think the cGPA balances that out?

 

[ldsrmdude]

So I was fortunate enough to be shown one of my letters of recommendation today.

The good news is that the professor said very nice things about me.

There are two issues however:

-There are a couple of very minor grammatical errors.

-The letter isn't very long. It's only 5-6 sentences, however it does say some very nice things in those sentences. All in all, the entire letter spans about a half page if you include the professors contact information at the bottom (email, phone, office #, etc).


I guess my question is whether or not it is okay to use this letter?

Thanks!

Ehh, the letter won't make you stand out but it probably won't hurt you at all. As far as I'm concerned, getting LOR's is simply another hoop to jump through, something that I wouldn't sweat too much.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

I guess I should have said the rest of my app is "more or less solid" haha. In terms of the shaky ground I'm not really sure. I haven't taken the mcat yet, but my GPAs are 3.1 sGPA and a 3.5 cGPA with a very strong upward trend. I'm planning on applying early and broadly in August. I know the sGPA is a little low but do you think the cGPA balances that out?

Your GPA is fine, just don't screw up your MCAT and you'll be fine.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using SDN Mobile

 

[footNankle]

Excellent, thank you guys!