C in a Crinimology class but asking for LOR?

[westsidestoryz]

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Hello all,
So I'm in need of a LOR from a non science professor and I do not know anyone well except for my criminology professor which I got an ugly C in. But she still offered me to write the letter at the end of the semester and thought I did very well. So I was a bit hesitant to ask for the letter but she is my only hope since I do not know any non science professors.

When I came in, she was very enthusiastic and said: "heck yes I'll write you a letter. You were one of my best students and I think you'll do great in medical school." And some more compliments along that line.
She was very supportive and I think she'll write me a glowing LOR. But the biggest black hole is the grade I got in the class. It was a tough class and the essays were a bit inconsistent in grading. Nevertheless, it was entirely my fault and I've dealt with it.

So in terms of "Grade vs. glowing characteristic", what do Adcoms look into more?
And do you guys suggest I go with this letter?
I think I have no other choice since my other non science professors don't know me very well., but is it wise to submit this LOR?

**I also have three other LOR from science and research professors whom I got an A in.

And as always, thanks for the responses.

 

[starlite911]

Do you have the opportunity to take another non-science class before you need to request a letter?
My undergrad recommended not asking for a letter from a professor in any class that you got lower than an A- in.

 

[cantankerous]

If you got a C and were one of her best students, wouldn't she be in trouble if the averages were then probably below a 70?

 

[Citygirl44]

I would think that would be to your advantage if she wrote the letter. You won't have to explain why you got such a poor grade in the class if she's saying that you're one of the better performing students in the class. Looks like a " C" in her class might actually be like an"A".not every class has a curve

 

[Goro]

I worried that Adcoms will think "this is the best you can do? What was he thinking?", but if this is the best that you can do, go for it. But I honest don't recall any LOR writer that I've ever read state "Joe was one of my favorite students, but he only got a C. " Nevertheless, I think he will do fine in med school"

Actually, that last part is kinda contradictory, isn't is?

So, overall, I don't think that this will help you, and can hurt you.

Hello all,
So I'm in need of a LOR from a non science professor and I do not know anyone well except for my criminology professor which I got an ugly C in. But she still offered me to write the letter at the end of the semester and thought I did very well. So I was a bit hesitant to ask for the letter but she is my only hope since I do not know any non science professors.

When I came in, she was very enthusiastic and said: "heck yes I'll write you a letter. You were one of my best students and I think you'll do great in medical school." And some more compliments along that line.
She was very supportive and I think she'll write me a glowing LOR. But the biggest black hole is the grade I got in the class. It was a tough class and the essays were a bit inconsistent in grading. Nevertheless, it was entirely my fault and I've dealt with it.

So in terms of "Grade vs. glowing characteristic", what do Adcoms look into more?
And do you guys suggest I go with this letter?
I think I have no other choice since my other non science professors don't know me very well., but is it wise to submit this LOR?

**I also have three other LOR from science and research professors whom I got an A in.

And as always, thanks for the responses.

 

[Doug Underhill]

In my experience (or at least this is what I did for my app), "non-science professor" means "anyone other than a science professor". It can be a volunteer supervisor, EC supervisor such as an athletics coach, employer, or humanities professor. Do you have one of those? The C is not inspiring and reflects poorly upon you.

I used my volunteer supervisor

 

[Citygirl44]

When I was applying to undergrad a professor wrote one of my recommendations that I received a "c" for in her class. I ultimately was accepted to an Ivy League school. She described how I was doing poorly at first ( failing) but I pulled myself up by the bootstraps, altered my study habits, started tutoring sessions that were offered and attended office hours as requested and towards the end of the semester I was receiving A's. But of course averaged in with F's my grade was only raised to a C. Do you see how that could be a helpful letter? It shows character and resilience. ( it was in honors physics). It shows a stick to it attitude. It shows how people can make mistakes and recover. all positive attributes.
Ps- I was hesitant at first but my HS college advisor was the one who told me to get the letter from that professor. Said it would make my application " stick out" more. I guess it worked. Lol

 

[westsidestoryz]

So im hearing more negative feedback than positives. Would my best option be to go for a LOR from a supervisor from a volunteer department?
I understand some schools are adamant in which they need a LOR from a non science professors.
And I do not have time to take a non science class just for the LOR. But I do want to apply to those schools who are adamant (Loyola).

Any suggestions?

 

[Saxappeal1]

I agree with @Goro . Even if the class was hard and you were one of her favorite students, a C is not something you want to highlight. In fact, in a lot of interviews that I've seen mentioned on this thread, a C is something you have to rationalize to the Adcoms.

 

[tennerd]

.

 

[westsidestoryz]

I agree with @Goro . Even if the class was hard and you were one of her favorite students, a C is not something you want to highlight. In fact, in a lot of interviews that I've seen mentioned on this thread, a C is something you have to rationalize to the Adcoms.

So even though some people are saying its an advantage for me, you would strongly disagree?
I really do not have another professor who can write me a letter..
Well I am taking this one business class where I am getting an A but I just mess around in that class and do not pay attention at all. Would it be wise to ask him for a LOR? I did not go to his office hour at all. @Goro

 

[lucin]

ask for it, but make sure you drink enough beer before hand.

 

[Saxappeal1]

Are there really not any more professors that you can ask for an LOR for? Because I wouldn't want to be put in this position honestly OP. Think about it: say you did send in this LOR in, then every school you apply to will have that C highlighted for you, which at the very most could give you an opportunity to explain why you had a C in that class since it would come up anyway, but more likely, it would probably make the Adcoms think, "Hm, he couldn't get another LOR from the approximately 20-30 professors this person had in undergrad?" Personally, I wouldn't risk it, but that's just my opinion.

 

[LizzyM]

Are you saying that you took only one course that was not Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Math? Doesn't your school have general education requirements? Did you take any courses in English, philosophy, theology, art, history, art history, music, dance, foreign language, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, or physical education?

Ideally, you want to choose a class that had a low enrollment and ample opportunities to contribute to class discussion and/or to write reflective papers. The non-science faculty letter is often focused on your communication skills. I would not consider a letter from a volunteer coordinator to fit the "non-science faculty" requirement.

If you are a non-trad, you might get away with a letter from your current employer, or most recent employer, as a substitute for the non-science letter.

If you did a post-bac, you may be able to get a "committee letter". Some post-bac programs have excellent committee letters because it is in the program's best interest to "sell you" to adcoms so as to increase their proportion of grads admitted.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

When I was applying to undergrad a professor wrote one of my recommendations that I received a "c" for in her class. I ultimately was accepted to an Ivy League school. She described how I was doing poorly at first ( failing) but I pulled myself up by the bootstraps, altered my study habits, started tutoring sessions that were offered and attended office hours as requested and towards the end of the semester I was receiving A's. But of course averaged in with F's my grade was only raised to a C. Do you see how that could be a helpful letter? It shows character and resilience. ( it was in honors physics). It shows a stick to it attitude. It shows how people can make mistakes and recover. all positive attributes.
Ps- I was hesitant at first but my HS college advisor was the one who told me to get the letter from that professor. Said it would make my application " stick out" more. I guess it worked. Lol

Med school admissions is much different from UG admissions...

I wouldnt take the letter. You have all next semester to either take one non science class or go find a volunteer gig to have someone write one for you. I know someone who took a 1 credit hour computer science class and had the professor write them an LOR lol.

 

[westsidestoryz]

Are you saying that you took only one course that was not Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Math? Doesn't your school have general education requirements? Did you take any courses in English, philosophy, theology, art, history, art history, music, dance, foreign language, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, or physical education?

Ideally, you want to choose a class that had a low enrollment and ample opportunities to contribute to class discussion and/or to write reflective papers. The non-science faculty letter is often focused on your communication skills. I would not consider a letter from a volunteer coordinator to fit the "non-science faculty" requirement.

If you are a non-trad, you might get away with a letter from your current employer, or most recent employer, as a substitute for the non-science letter.

If you did a post-bac, you may be able to get a "committee letter". Some post-bac programs have excellent committee letters because it is in the program's best interest to "sell you" to adcoms so as to increase their proportion of grads admitted.

Well, I took those GE classes about 2 years ago and even so, I was never acquainted with any of those professors. I can ask one of my professors but I think he will just write a very generic letter, something that I will be very hesitant to turn in.
Would that be better than having none?
I am a non-traditional applicants so would that waive my non-science LOR?
Also, it would mess up my schedule if I were to take a GE class just for the LOR itself.
@LizzyM @Goro

 

[LizzyM]

A non-traditional student is someone who does not go straight from HS to college and/or who graduates college and/or professional school , works in a specific field for some time and then applies for medical school (with or without a post-bac program depending on college coursework).

So, a non-trad will have an employer or a commanding officer who can write a LOR that could serve as the non-science letter.

Many students who attend schools with large classes do get very generic letters and adcoms know that it comes with the territory. Taking a smaller seminar course or one with many writing assignments and/or attending office hours can help you get to know a faculty member from whom you will get a LOR.

Beyond taking science courses, taking one non-science course per term and building on the intro level courses by taking a deeper dive into a specific area such as psychology or history or economics can be a good way to diversity your educational portfolio and build up your reading and writing skills. I recommend it for more than the LOR.

 

[robin911]

I think I have no other choice since my other non science professors don't know me very well., but is it wise to submit this LOR?

My non-science letter writer barely knew me before I asked them out to lunch to discuss my future. They got a free lunch at Applebee's and we talked about their class. It was two years after I took their class that I asked for the letter. I just brought along all of my old exams/papers. At the end of the lunch, I asked them if I could come to their office hours and then each week for a month, I stopped in and talked to them. At the end of the month they knew me quite well and offered to write me a letter.

If you don't have money to take them out to lunch, take them for coffee. Bottom line is that asking a LOR for a professor who knows you "mehhh" but you got an A or A- in their class is probably better than a professor who knows you but says "X___ got a C in my class.. but they had brilliantly phrased questions when asking for help and almost grasped the concepts to get a B" (Obviously I am exaggerating the bluntness)

 

[LizzyM]

My non-science letter writer barely knew me before I asked them out to lunch to discuss my future. They got a free lunch at Applebee's and we talked about their class. It was two years after I took their class that I asked for the letter. I just brought along all of my old exams/papers. At the end of the lunch, I asked them if I could come to their office hours and then each week for a month, I stopped in and talked to them. At the end of the month they knew me quite well and offered to write me a letter.

If you don't have money to take them out to lunch, take them for coffee. Bottom line is that asking a LOR for a professor who knows you "mehhh" but you got an A or A- in their class is probably better than a professor who knows you but says "X___ got a C in my class.. but they had brilliantly phrased questions when asking for help and almost grasped the concepts to get a B" (Obviously I am exaggerating the bluntness)

This is gold! Such good advice about how to go about asking for a letter. Take someone who has already seen your academic skillset and help them get to know you as a person. It takes effort but I do believe it can pay off.