General Do letters of recommendation have to be within your major?

[PerioDont]

Kind of in a dilemma: I don't have any non-science classes in my major left. I had taken them as dual enrollment and am considering taking some of the easy non-science electives to get one that way. I've recently heard that some schools prefer lor's to come from a major. Is this something to be concerned about?

I have not heard of that before. Perhaps that a school specific, maybe one of my colleagues on here can chime in.

Generally speaking letters from science professors are more important than non science anyways so I wouldn’t worry about that.

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[SurfingDoctor]

I had a LOR come from a professor who I helped run the university’s rescue animal organization. She was a literature professor whose class I never took.

First question I remember being asked on the interview trail… “So, I love dogs and I see you volunteered for an animal rescue”.

Actually, I guess that wasn’t a question come to think of it.

But good letters are good letters, no matter who they come from.

 

[Doctor-S]

I am aware that one medical school suggests you submit at least one LOR from a prof in your most recent major or degree-granting department (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill).

Another school (New York Medical College) specifically states "one 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."

If you are applying to those schools (and absent any written communication to the contrary from the school), it is your responsibility to comply with each school's LOR instructions.

If you're still unsure about the LOR, and need more information, it is advisable to contact each school and ask for clarification - to be on the safe side. Then, make sure you get solid/positive LORs for each school.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Most of the time this won’t be the case.

 

[Dral]

I am a fan of breadth throughout the education process, especially at the undergrad level. In my opinion, I'd like to see one from within the realm of hard science. The others I'd actually like to see from varied other places.

With some exceptions, people who get laser focused and shut other doors too early worry me a bit. I'm not saying getting all letters from a science major indicates that, but getting letters from elsewhere would indicate to me that's probably not the case.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I don’t think so