Do Lor Weight

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thethethe

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do you think a LOR from a DO alumni is worth more to that school than a nonalumni? if that is my dream school should i try to shadow a do from that school?

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I would make sure that whomever writes the LOR is going to write a personal one and not the generic type. Although it might be hard to tell how good it will be, I think that is more important that alum vs non-alum. If all things are equal and both LORs are good then maybe the alum letter would be better. Maybe if the DO you shadowed had good connections with someone in the adcom but who knows, just get a good one.
 
do you think a LOR from a DO alumni is worth more to that school than a nonalumni? if that is my dream school should i try to shadow a do from that school?

It just depends. If they know the name, maybe. My letter is from a DO who was an alumni at the school I really want to go to (Kansas City) and was a visiting professor there too, so I hope it helps!
 
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if my stats are good enough, would a generic letter be sufficient?
if i applied to a school that just recommends a DO LOR and i am competing with somebody who doesnt send a letter in, even if my letter is just generic, am i ranked higher than that person?
 
To answer your original question, it should weigh no more than 2 pounds. My first DO letter was written on stone tablets, and a lot of schools did not accept it, because it was too heavy.
 
if my stats are good enough, would a generic letter be sufficient?
if i applied to a school that just recommends a DO LOR and i am competing with somebody who doesnt send a letter in, even if my letter is just generic, am i ranked higher than that person?

Well no one would know the answer to that question since we aren't on the admissions committee. And no one on the adcoms would recommend a generic letter either. There is no way to know if you are good enough. I got in over other students who had higher stats than me and I was also rejected at some schools post-secondary over students who had lower stats. So you never know. If you're going to take up your time in shadowing wouldn't you want the best letter you could get? It would be hard to predict whether or not the physician would write you a generic one but I'd shadow the physician that you think would be more chilled about it.
 
So today I shadowed a DO for the very first time. I was enjoying it and thought great, I can get a letter from him in a month or so. As we were in the room talking to a patient, he mentions to the patient that he is leaving the state in a week and I'm just like crap...I need to find another DO. This sucks...
 
I remember in another LOR thread, we were talking about just flat out asking for a letter when you met to shadow the physician. I mean, I'm pretty sure your DO knows you want a LOR so just save everyone the trouble and pay it forward. That way your DO can ask you more personal questions to spice up the letter, in addition to letting you know whether or not they can even write the letter in time.

Just a thought for the next DO you might be looking to shadow.
 
What about a chiro LOR? I work closely with a chiro on a daily basis and he said he would be willing to write me a letter. I already have a few MD letters, and I'm getting a DO letter as well. It can't hurt can it?
 
today I went to another DO, i asked her a letter upfront, and she told me to write it myself and she will just sign it. does anybody have a sample LOR from a doctor? i have no clue what to put in it.

also, is it expected to lie a little bit? since i shadowed her for one day, can i say i shadowed a few times and yadi yadi yada...?

thanks yall
 
The "weight" of a letter is most likely relative. There are over a 100 graduates per year from each of those DO schools. Many of them disappear into the medical world to never be seen again. Others are very active with their old school and donate crazy amounts of money, take students in from that school for little rotations, and are just overall gungho. First off, the most important thing is that they KNOW you. If the school is familiar with the particular person because they are an outstanding and friendly representation of the school, then it will probably help. There are always those people who's stamp of approval may be weighted a little heavier because they have established some level of trust. I have/will have multiple DO letters and I will probably selectively choose which ones I send where. One person was on the adcom for PCOM, another for KCOM, another donates large (LARGE) amounts of money to DMU, and another was for CCOM. They are all very close family friends we have known since I was about 4 years old as well. Most aren't as fortunate as me, but the way I see it...it certainly doesn't HURT. If you can tell they are a complete tool or have no correspondence with their school then I don't think it really matters. A lot of the DOs I've met have been very proud of their school though.
 
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