can you submit your primaries before getting your letters of recommendation?

[minst]

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i want to get my primaries verified ASAP. the only problem is the osteopathic doctor i am shadowing is going to take forever to write me my LoR. I am wondering if it is still fine to submit my primaries without my LOR? can i add them in later? (note; i will not be submitting my primaries to medical schools not until i have all of my LoRs. I just want to submit to get verified if that makes sense)

 

[unc_jack_of_A]

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but I believe you can. You would just need to select at least one school to submit.

 

[minst]

i have plent of MD shadowing already.
I am having a VERY VERY hard time finding a do doctor around. i managed to find one but unfortunatley he is getting requests from a lot of other students to shadow (i guess he's the only DO doctor in town).

Anyways he agreed to let me shadow only for few days/20hrs (and write me a LOR which is nice)

Is 20hrs too little? what would you think of an applicant who has a lor from a doctor he shoadoewd for only 20 hours?

 

[chilly_md]

I have merged your threads regarding your LOR. As a reminder, many general questions have been asked before already on SDN and you can find these utilizing the search function or consulting one of the posted sticky threads for applicant FAQs.

You can use the letter for DO schools but generally shadowing letters are useless for MD schools.

 

[minst]

I have merged your threads regarding your LOR. As a reminder, many general questions have been asked before already on SDN and you can find these utilizing the search function or consulting one of the posted sticky threads for applicant FAQs.

You can use the letter for DO schools but generally shadowing letters are useless for MD schools.

what about DO schools that dont ask for a DO lor, like msucom. will having one help or is it also useless

 

[chilly_md]

what about DO schools that dont ask for a DO lor, like msucom. will having one help or is it also useless

They probably will appreciate it but do not count on it to carry your application for certain schools like MSU that are very competitive for OOS students.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You don't need your letters to submit your primary application. Get the verification process started.

 

[minst]

They probably will appreciate it but do not count on it to carry your application for certain schools like MSU that are very competitive for OOS students.

would you say that a good DO lor is better than another good Proessor LOR or MSU?
Should i send two prof LOR or one Prof one DO

 

[chilly_md]

would you say that a good DO lor is better than another good Proessor LOR or MSU?
Should i send two prof LOR or one Prof one DO

Shadowing for a few days doesn't generally lead to much of a letter.

 

[minst]

Shadowing for a few days doesn't generally lead to much of a letter.

1. i asked the doc about it and he still said that 2 days is ample of time to write a good LOR
2. whitle at first i was hesitant (i agreed with ur take that 2 days is not much time) but now that i think about it, most poeple have about 50hrs of shadowing. thats like 6 days worth of shadowing.
You dont do much during shadowin, its mostly repeititive, idk how much more the doc would learn about you in the 4th or 5th day compared to the 2nd idk

What does everyone else think?

 

[dial1010usa]

I submitted my LOR back of those days when I applied med school app, my LORs were from MD and DO, the DO I shadowed were merely 2 days but I was working as a scribe.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

1. i asked the doc about it and he still said that 2 days is ample of time to write a good LOR
2. whitle at first i was hesitant (i agreed with ur take that 2 days is not much time) but now that i think about it, most poeple have about 50hrs of shadowing. thats like 6 days worth of shadowing.
You dont do much during shadowin, its mostly repeititive, idk how much more the doc would learn about you in the 4th or 5th day compared to the 2nd idk

What does everyone else think?

Do you trust them to write a STRONG letter? What else does the doctor need to write it?