DO recommendation on prof. letterhead?

[Viva LV]

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Here's the situation. My great uncle is a DO and told me he would love to write me a letter. But he has been retired for about 15 years and doesn't have any professional letterhead--in fact he doesn't even type! My grandma (his sister) said she will type up the letter after he writes it but I've heard that some, or all, schools expect all letters to be on professional or school letterhead. Is this true?

Should I make up some professional letterhead for him? I just don't want it to look bogus, and it almost feels bogus if I do something like that.

I know, strange situation. What do you think?

 

[Barton]

Most schools won't accept a letter from a family member.

 

[Viva LV]

Wow. I guess maybe I should have known that, but it hadn't even crossed my mind! I'm in trouble. I've had many great discussions with him about osteopathic medicine and he was my inspiration to pursue it for myself. Seems unfair that I can't ask him for a letter of recommendation just because we're related. Can anyone else confirm that it is a bad idea to get a letter from him? I've been counting on that part of my application being fine for a loooong time. I am sure I could not get a good letter from another DO before the secondaries arrive. Now I'm in a panic. What should I do?

 

[Billie]

Have you tried to get a letter from anyone else? I know you said you couldn't get one in time. Have you shadowed anyone? I got a letter from a DO that I had only shadowed twice. What did the school say? Did they say they would not accept the letter from your family member? Lots of questions to answer before panic sets in...

Billie, MS-IV

 

[Krazed_Medic]

just a thought, but surely your uncle knows other DO's that would be more than willing to get to know you a little bit and write you a rec. Good luck, I hope it works out for ya!

 

[Popoy]

Krazed Medic is right.... Hopefully your uncle can hook you up with a fellow DO. Another thing, most medical schools have their own evaluation form that the letter writter can use. Good luck.

 

[algae]

I noticed that on KCOM's secondary, they implicitly state that the DO letter of rec cannot be from a family member. You may want to check with the schools you are applying to...