Can I use my employer in place of my non-science professor LOR?

[bears1992]

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Every school I've looked at says that I either need a committee letter or 3 LORs (2 from science professors and 1 from a non-science professor). I am doing a DIY post-bacc so I won't have a committee letter, but I went back to my engineering school and met with two professors that agreed to write LORs for me. My only problem is the only non-science class I've had in the past 5 years was psychology which was 100+ students and I imagine that letter would be pretty bland. I graduated spring 2016 and I'll be finished with my DIY post-bac at the end of this summer.

Would I be able to sub in my employer (7 years full time at this company doing construction design work) LOR or my research advisor LOR? I know both of those letters are stellar and would be miles better than a letter from my psychology professor. I'm applying to 25ish DO schools if that makes a difference with this requirement. I don't mind calling each school but I just thought I'd see if this was common.

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

I'm assuming the 2 professors are science (Bio, Chem, Physics). You mentioned engineering so I just wanted to make sure.

I would typically recommend 5, unless the school specifies only 3. I'd say 3 faculty with at least 2 of the 3 being science, and 2 non-faculty. The research advisor is good option. Do you have a DO you shadowed that could write one? DO schools in particular like to see a practitioner letter. Employer would be the third option I would think.

 

[bears1992]

I'm assuming the 2 professors are science (Bio, Chem, Physics). You mentioned engineering so I just wanted to make sure.

I would typically recommend 5, unless the school specifies only 3. I'd say 3 faculty with at least 2 of the 3 being science, and 2 non-faculty. The research advisor is good option. Do you have a DO you shadowed that could write one? DO schools in particular like to see a practitioner letter. Employer would be the third option I would think.

I also have a DO letter as most schools say they want a committee letter and physician letter. Both of the professors are engineering professors but AACOMAS says that engineering is considered a science when calculating sGPA. I have seen two or three schools that say basic science professors so I'll have to figure those out but the majority just say science professors.

 

[Fancy_Feast]

Two things: First, many schools have alternative letter guidelines for non-traditional students. Most schools have these guidelines listed on their website, or will be willing to talk to you about it over the phone. Second, depending on the school you are using to do your DIY post-bacc, they may still be willing to write you a committee letter even though you aren't pursuing a degree. The school I did my DIY post-bacc at used a letter submitted by my work supervisor.

 

[freak7]

I did! Just had to write a few more e-mails to clarify since I'm non-trad

 

[bears1992]

Two things: First, many schools have alternative letter guidelines for non-traditional students. Most schools have these guidelines listed on their website, or will be willing to talk to you about it over the phone. Second, depending on the school you are using to do your DIY post-bacc, they may still be willing to write you a committee letter even though you aren't pursuing a degree. The school I did my DIY post-bacc at used a letter submitted by my work supervisor.

I'm doing my post-bacc at a small state school and they do not have a pre-health committee. I did see some schools had a different set of LOR's for non-trads however, most of them said it would only apply to students who graduated before 2012. I'm a non-trad in the sense that I am making a career change but not in the sense that I have been out of school for a while (I started my post bacc right after I graduated with my BS degree).

 

[bears1992]

I did! Just had to write a few more e-mails to clarify since I'm non-trad

Did you email every school you applied to and ask about the LORs?

 

[Fancy_Feast]

Did you email every school you applied to and ask about the LORs?

No--luckily I had a committee letter that I submitted to most of my schools. I did read through each school's website to see which letters they wanted/how many they accecpted, that way I knew which letters to add onto my application in addition to my committee letter (this is also how I know many schools had different LOR requirements for non-trads).

 

[freak7]

Did you email every school you applied to and ask about the LORs?

Only the schools where I was violating their policy.

 

[bears1992]

For Non trads, especially those who may be 3 or more years from school, a letter from a supervisor is likely to be acceptable. It is highly unlikely you will be rejected on the technical grounds of missing a non science letter

Well I graduated a year ago but it has been at least 4 years since I've had a non-science class.

 

[MareNostrummm]

For Non trads, especially those who may be 3 or more years from school, a letter from a supervisor is likely to be acceptable. It is highly unlikely you will be rejected on the technical grounds of missing a non science letter

Quick question, would I be able to pass a letter from a professor that I took social-psychology, biopsychology, psychopharmacology, and a biopsych research lab in with as a Non-science letter at most schools that require it? In other words, I took both non-science and science classes with the same professor, all are in the PSYCH course title though, but I want it to count for the non-science specifically (already have science letters from other classes).

 

[BeddingfieldMD]

As some have suggested, schools often have alternative expectations and/or requirements for non-traditional students who aren't immediately out of undergrad work. I would inquire with your school(s) of interest to ask for specifics. In my mind, an employer who knows you very well would be much preferred over a psychology professor who barely knows you--and I suspect most admissions officers would agree. In fact, I know I used a recent employer among my letters of recommendation (I was 26 when I started med school, so slightly non-traditional) and had no problems from admissions committees. If in doubt, send them an email and ask.

 

[MareNostrummm]

maybe, maybe not. I will say probably yes. Schools can validate letters as fulfilling requirements in 3 different ways:

1) you took a course with the professor: "took social-psychology"
2) the professor is faculty of a department: "psychology"
3) is professor of specific area: "professor of neuro-psychology"

So from a technical fulfillment standpoint, you should be find. From an impact standpoint (ie how adcoms will perceive letter; its is sometimes nice to have a "real" non science letter to show that you arent just a science geek kinda guy, but that usually is minor to no impact.

Thank you for the detailed response.

I graduated back in 2014 and was planning on applying to NYMC, which states "One (1) of your three letters of evaluation must be from the department in which you majored as identified on your AMCAS application - whether science or non-science".. so I figured I would get both the letter from the department I majored and the non-science letter from the same person rather than enroll in a CC or 4 year state university just to take a 4 unit humanities course for a letter of recommendation. My major is actually Biopsychology although most of my classes have the PSY course title.

 

[hubbsbubbs]

Are schools typically strict about the two science professor letters? I have 1 letter from my biostats teacher, but for my other two I was planning on asking my PI's who are technically Professors of *insert medical specialty*, but they are really medical doctors and not professors. I'm also two years out of undergrad