anyone else run into a non-trad unfriendly secondary?

[mommy2three]

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as i was filling out my secondaries i could not help but notice that one of them was absolutely terribly non-trad UNfriendly in their lor requirement. they required a lor from each undergrad institution you have attended if you transferred. now while that may be okay for a trad student who maybe spent 1-2 yrs at a cc before transferring to a university for me the non-trad of all non-trads it would prove to be a major PITA. some of these schools i attended more than 10 yrs ago and plus umm hellp i failed out of a radio-tv major i highly doubt i will get a decent lor out of THAT.
they do allow you to submit a letter if you feel that you can not complete the requirement to have a lor from every undergrad you attended, which obviously i did for the ones that were long ago or i only spent a short time at but just the mere prospect of having to do something like this seems so non-trad unfriendly.
it made me wonder if anyone else has run across anything similar in their secondaries??

 

[Law2Doc]

as i was filling out my secondaries i could not help but notice that one of them was absolutely terribly non-trad UNfriendly in their lor requirement. they required a lor from each undergrad institution you have attended if you transferred. now while that may be okay for a trad student who maybe spent 1-2 yrs at a cc before transferring to a university for me the non-trad of all non-trads it would prove to be a major PITA. some of these schools i attended more than 10 yrs ago and plus umm hellp i failed out of a radio-tv major i highly doubt i will get a decent lor out of THAT.
they do allow you to submit a letter if you feel that you can not complete the requirement to have a lor from every undergrad you attended, which obviously i did for the ones that were long ago or i only spent a short time at but just the mere prospect of having to do something like this seems so non-trad unfriendly.
it made me wonder if anyone else has run across anything similar in their secondaries??

You'll find this kind of LOR requirement at most schools. Even when the app doesn't explicitly say this, I was told by a former adcom that it's a good idea to have an LOR from someone at each institution you attended. It's not non-trad unfriendly, it's just a pain. Many of those schools that make nontrads chase down old profs are actually quite receptive to nontrads who are willing to jump through the hoops.

 

[mommy2three]

You'll find this kind of LOR requirement at most schools. Even when the app doesn't explicitly say this, I was told by a former adcom that it's a good idea to have an LOR from someone at each institution you attended. It's not non-trad unfriendly, it's just a pain. Many of those schools that make nontrads chase down old profs are actually quite receptive to nontrads who are willing to jump through the hoops.

while i appreciate the jumping through hoops thing, it just seems like if you attended a school a long time ago the likelihood of a particular professor remembering you for a single class you took with them is highly unlikely. in fact some of the profs i had originally at cc have since retired or moved on, making it difficult if not impossible to get a lor from them.

 

[Phoenix.]

Wow. How did I avoid this? I see we applied to all of the same schools (except CCOM), and I didn't notice that any of them required that. In fact, I have about six transcripts from different undergrad schools I attended, but only used LORs from two profs at my most recent post-bac institution (and two volunteer/clinical LORs). Perhaps the difference is that I had a committee letter of recommendation. I think if you have that, it negates a bunch of the nit picky LOR requirements that you're otherwise saddled with. I feel as a non-trad it's unbelievably helpful to have that committee letter. The only snafu I came across were a couple of schools that wanted an LOR from any grad school attended (GWU, MCW, EVMS, etc.), but they were fine with just a letter of good standing from the registrar since I attended my grad school so long ago, and I didn't have an advisor.

What I found silly from a non-trad point of view, were the secondaries that asked for your ACT or SAT scores. I have NO recollection what I got, and it was so very long ago....

 

[mommy2three]

Wow. How did I avoid this? I see we applied to all of the same schools (except CCOM), and I didn't notice that any of them required that. In fact, I have about six transcripts from different undergrad schools I attended, but only used LORs from two profs at my most recent post-bac institution (and two volunteer/clinical LORs). Perhaps the difference is that I had a committee letter of recommendation. I think if you have that, it negates a bunch of the nit picky LOR requirements that you're otherwise saddled with. I feel as a non-trad it's unbelievably helpful to have that committee letter. The only snafu I came across were a couple of schools that wanted an LOR from any grad school attended (GWU, MCW, EVMS, etc.), but they were fine with just a letter of good standing from the registrar since I attended my grad school so long ago, and I didn't have an advisor.

i am extremely jealous...my undergrad does not have a committee, he is a one man operation. so you are correct in that this is the root cause of many of the problems, if i had a committee lor then i would not have these issues.

 

[Beast11]

as i was filling out my secondaries i could not help but notice that one of them was absolutely terribly non-trad UNfriendly in their lor requirement. they required a lor from each undergrad institution you have attended if you transferred. .
it made me wonder if anyone else has run across anything similar in their secondaries??

Are you sure that you meant a letter of rec? All schools want a record of the classes (i.e.transcripts) officially sent, but most schools don't want reams and reams of letters-want something like 10 pages MAX (from all sources) and often prefer a single, committee letter. I am attaching a pdf that shows the normal recommendations-none say a letter from each college....

In fact, I have found the opposite to be true. I was able to get the science letters no problem since I made sure that the professors knew me (not just a ID with a grade) and they could write a good letter years after the fact. However, a school or two do request a letter from a non-science professor. This was much more difficult for me as a non-trad. I asked if I could substitute a "character" reference from a professional, and was granted a waiver with no questions asked.

So-make sure you ask the ADCOMS if this is a true hard and fast requirement, and whether they would accept a substitution. I would recommend against trying to send loads of LORs in any event-it can't help much past the 1st few, and in fact may tend to do damage if weak or slightly non-favorable (in other words, make sure the letters you get are top of the line-even from the professional who might not have the "practice" in writing letters)


Good luck!

 

[Jolie South]

I disregarded the weird requirements in a few cases and gave an explanation of why I did so. I didn't have a committee and provided letters from different professors sent as a "bolus" through interfolio. All of my letters came from grad school as well.

When I called the schools to check and see if it would be ok to do this, they never hassled me about it or said no.

Here are a few of the weirder ones that I came across:
-letter each from a chem, physics, and bio professor. having been out of undergrad for ~5 years and not living in the same city, i nixed that.

-letters had to have AMCAS number on all pages and other wonky format issues. I just submitted what I already had through interfolio as a packet.

 

[pingouin]

I applied at 2 schools which had this requirement, and called both in the spring. There was no way to get a LOR from my grad program due to time elapsed since graduation, size of the program, and lack of continued contact with my program.

Both schools said that in lieu of an actual LOR, they would accept an official letter from the Registrar's office verifying dates of attendance, graduation, and whether there were any disciplinary actions on my record. I was specifically told that transcripts would NOT suffice. The letter was very easy to get- ordered the same way a transcript would be, and from the same office.

M23- Given your location, I strongly suspect the place you're talking about is one of the ones I applied at. I spoke with the Admissions director personally- he was very nice. Call him and ask. 🙂

 

[Luxian]

I used LORs from grad school and work and used none from my undergrad. No one really seemed to complain about whether it was from undergrad or not, but they did want two professors, which was hard. In some cases, I just had to give up on that school, but most allowed me to enter my LORs with an explanation.

The thing that got me most was UMass' requirement that all pre-reqs be taken within the last six years. I graduated 10 years ago and I have a Master's degree from five years ago, but they wouldn't accept my Master's classes. I had to have my _basic_ science courses within the last six years. That just seemed backwards!

Ah well. You win some you lose some.

 

[mommy2three]

Are you sure that you meant a letter of rec? All schools want a record of the classes (i.e.transcripts) officially sent, but most schools don't want reams and reams of letters-want something like 10 pages MAX (from all sources) and often prefer a single, committee letter. I am attaching a pdf that shows the normal recommendations-none say a letter from each college....

In fact, I have found the opposite to be true. I was able to get the science letters no problem since I made sure that the professors knew me (not just a ID with a grade) and they could write a good letter years after the fact. However, a school or two do request a letter from a non-science professor. This was much more difficult for me as a non-trad. I asked if I could substitute a "character" reference from a professional, and was granted a waiver with no questions asked.

So-make sure you ask the ADCOMS if this is a true hard and fast requirement, and whether they would accept a substitution. I would recommend against trying to send loads of LORs in any event-it can't help much past the 1st few, and in fact may tend to do damage if weak or slightly non-favorable (in other words, make sure the letters you get are top of the line-even from the professional who might not have the "practice" in writing letters)


Good luck!

oh yes i am quite sure. it states on the sheet that lists what the requirements are for lor under number 2 or 3 (i do not have it in front of me at the moment) that if you transferred during your undergraduate career that you must provide a lor from each institution you attended and that these must be submitted in addition to the required letters outlined in number 1 (which states committee packet or one from your advisor and three additional lors from profreesors at the undergrad you graduated from). i do not think there is any other way to interpret that.

 

[Phoenix.]

oh yes i am quite sure. it states on the sheet that lists what the requirements are for lor under number 2 or 3 (i do not have it in front of me at the moment) that if you transferred during your undergraduate career that you must provide a lor from each institution you attended and that these must be submitted in addition to the required letters outlined in number 1 (which states committee packet or one from your advisor and three additional lors from profreesors at the undergrad you graduated from). i do not think there is any other way to interpret that.

But sometimes if you call the school and explain you're a non-trad and how many years ago that was, they will waive it or find a way around it. Granted, there are some schools that will stick to their guns, but most seem to be a little more flexible for non-trads out of undergrad for many years.

 

[notdeadyet]

But sometimes if you call the school and explain you're a non-trad and how many years ago that was, they will waive it or find a way around it. Granted, there are some schools that will stick to their guns, but most seem to be a little more flexible for non-trads out of undergrad for many years.

I came across a lot of schools (most?) that had similar requirements. I graduated 10 years before applicatoin.

All you have to do is contact the schools and explain your situation. Every school I talked to waived it for me.

 

[notdeadyet]

as i was filling out my secondaries i could not help but notice that one of them was absolutely terribly non-trad UNfriendly in their lor requirement.

Don't be offended. We are non-TRAD for a reason.

I think it's a totally acceptable requirement for traditional applicants. They want to make sure that you didn't burn down the library at one school and transfer to another (granted extreme example).

I found being a non-trad is a nice boost in the application process. Our personal statements can be more rich, our secondaries show more experience and we tend to interview better. Our strength is that we're not the typical applicant. We just have to be accommodating to the fact that some of the hoops are designed for those with less rings in their trunk.

 

[mommy2three]

Our strength is that we're not the typical applicant. We just have to be accommodating to the fact that some of the hoops are designed for those with less rings in their trunk.

i like this....i will keep reminding myself of this in the long months ahead 🙂

 

[Beau Geste]

You'll find this kind of LOR requirement at most schools. Even when the app doesn't explicitly say this, I was told by a former adcom that it's a good idea to have an LOR from someone at each institution you attended. It's not non-trad unfriendly, it's just a pain. Many of those schools that make nontrads chase down old profs are actually quite receptive to nontrads who are willing to jump through the hoops.

Respectfully disagree on the LOR requirement POV. Agree on it being a PITA rather than bias.

I used LORs from 2 schools + shadowing. I've attended 5 schools.

Got plenty of interview offers and sitting on 2 acceptances.

 

[Scottish Chap]

It's always best to cover all aspects of your application. However, much like the above poster, I gained admission without letters from every institution I'd ever studied at, and I also ignored the premedical letter requirement because my undergraduate school is overseas and does not have this service. Oh..almost forgot...I did not have the English 101/102 prerequisite either or any permutation thereof. It was a very nontraditional application. Maybe I was lucky.