Can we read the LOR's for med school?

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Yazo

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I'm wondering if we can read what the professor wrote, or is it like in high school? If so, then that's pointless. We're spending thousands of dollars on applications and don't even know what's in the letter.

One of my main concerns is the professor having a secret dislike, or perhaps just writing negatives. You never know.

Thanks in advance.
 
LOR's carry much more weight when the readers know that you don't know what's being said about you. You waiving your rights to read a letter allows your letter writer to be as honest as possible without fear of you actually not sending that letter out because of what they've written. That's why most applications pretty much require you to waive your rights to read your rec letters. On the other hand, if the professor decides to show you the letter of rec on his/her own volition then it's fine to read it to my understanding.

If you have a hunch that a professor has a reason to dislike you or is just a negative person overall, it's better to just ask someone else for a letter. I would even go as far to say that if you're not close enough to your rec writer to confidently gauge their perception of you, even if he/she did write a letter for you, it's guaranteed not to be a strong one. Find rec writers that you can tell are rooting for you.

That being said, I'm pretty sure AMCAS doesn't actually have waivers for your rec letters, but most pre-med committees or health professions offices for colleges will. Personally, my school had a waiver that we had to hand to everyone we were getting a letter from.

Good luck!
 
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LOR's carry much more weight when the readers know that you don't know what's being said about you. You waiving your rights to read a letter allows your letter writer to be as honest as possible without fear of you actually not sending that letter out because of what they've written. That's why most applications pretty much require you to waive your rights to read your rec letters. On the other hand, if the professor decides to show you the letter of rec on his/her own volition then it's fine to read it to my understanding.

If you have a hunch that a professor has a reason to dislike you or is just a negative person overall, it's better to just ask someone else for a letter. I would even go as far to say that if you're not close enough to your rec writer to confidently gauge their perception of you, even if he/she did write a letter for you, it's guaranteed not to be a strong one. Find rec writers that you can tell are rooting for you.

That being said, I'm pretty sure AMCAS doesn't actually have waivers for your rec letters, but most pre-med committees or health professions offices for colleges will. Personally, my school had a waiver that we had to hand to everyone we were getting a letter from.

Good luck!
Thanks for the help! Can LOR's be from lab instructors as well as professors from other non-science courses (e.g. sociology, philosophy, psychology, etc)? I have a few in mind from those categories that would probably write great letters.
 
See what the schools want. Most require 2-3 from
science professors and one from a professor outside the sciences. Does your school have a committee letter?


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Cut the entitlement crap, will ya? It's YOUR responsibility to go to the professor and ask; "Do you know me well enough to write me a good LOR for my med school app?"

I see a bad LOR maybe once an app cycle. They're rare.


I'm wondering if we can read what the professor wrote, or is it like in high school? If so, then that's pointless. We're spending thousands of dollars on applications and don't even know what's in the letter.

One of my main concerns is the professor having a secret dislike, or perhaps just writing negatives. You never know.

Thanks in advance.
 
Cut the entitlement crap, will ya? It's YOUR responsibility to go to the professor and ask; "Do you know me well enough to write me a good LOR for my med school app?"

I see a bad LOR maybe once an app cycle. They're rare.
Sorry for coming off like that, I'm just really nervous about applying in the future. I'll definitely make sure to choose professors carefully.

Thanks for the help. 🙂

Just to add some other thoughts on this.

The waiver of rights is only in one direction. The student gives up to right to demand to see the letter. The letter writer is perfectly within his/her rights to give the letter to the student.
Thanks for the heads up!
 
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Just destroy the knife afterwards, much more thorough and less chance of being linked to it/missing a print.

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