Do you have to have a non-science LOR?

[deleted1158685]

I see on SDN and on Reddit frequently that you need at least 2 science professors and 1 non-science faculty member.

However, when I look at the school's websites that I am interested in, none of them say you need a non-science, but all say you need at least one science professor (which makes sense!).

Am I missing something? When a school says they "require at least three LORs", is it just a soft requirement that one is from a non-science professor? I am a bit concerned about this, as my non-science recommendation will definitely be rather generic.

Just to double check, here is my school list:

Yale
Columbia
Cornell
Duke
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
Boston University
Mount Sinai
Stanford
NYU LISM
UPenn
Dartmouth
UCI
UCR
UCD
UCSD
Tulane
UVA
UMass
Wake Forest
Tufts
Colorado
Sidney Kimmel
VTech
Georgetown

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[Goro]

I suggest that you reread Yale's again.

When they tell you that something is recommended, it's a good idea to follow the recommendation.

 

[deleted1158685]

I suggest that you reread Yale's again.

When they tell you that something is recommended, it's a good idea to follow the recommendation.

So sorry, but please let me know if I'm misreading something! I'm looking at here.

"These letters should come from individuals who are in a position to comment knowledgeably on your accomplishments, abilities, experience, and/or personal qualifications. They may come from those who have taught you or worked with you in undergraduate or graduate school classes, in research settings, clinical settings, extracurricular or community service activities, professional settings, or other contexts. It is helpful to have at least one of the letters from someone in the sciences, but this is not mandatory."

Do I still need it then, or am I reading the wrong part of the website?

 

[LizzyM]

Interesting.... I just looked at U Washington, Washington U in St. Louis and Georgetown. None require the 2 science, 1 non-science letter anymore. It appears that schools are becoming more lenient regarding the sources of the letters.

 

[Goro]

So sorry, but please let me know if I'm misreading something! I'm looking at here.

"These letters should come from individuals who are in a position to comment knowledgeably on your accomplishments, abilities, experience, and/or personal qualifications. They may come from those who have taught you or worked with you in undergraduate or graduate school classes, in research settings, clinical settings, extracurricular or community service activities, professional settings, or other contexts. It is helpful to have at least one of the letters from someone in the sciences, but this is not mandatory."

Do I still need it then, or am I reading the wrong part of the website?

"A Premedical Committee letter is recommended for all MD and MD/PhD candidates."

 

[deleted1158685]

Interesting.... I just looked at U Washington, Washington U in St. Louis and Georgetown. None require the 2 science, 1 non-science letter anymore. It appears that schools are becoming more lenient regarding the sources of the letters.

What do you think if I leave out a non-science letter then? If schools don't explicitly state needing the non-science, would they still want to see it?

 

[deleted1158685]

"A Premedical Committee letter is recommended for all MD and MD/PhD candidates."

Yup, so my school actually does not write a Committee Letter anymore, would that disadvantage me?

They provide a letter packet service instead, and I was planning on using 2 science LORs and 2 professional LORs. What do you think? Do schools still want to see the non-science LOR if they don't explicitly mention it?

 

[Goro]

Yup, so my school actually does not write a Committee Letter anymore, would that disadvantage me?

They provide a letter packet service instead, and I was planning on using 2 science LORs and 2 professional LORs. What do you think? Do schools still want to see the non-science LOR if they don't explicitly mention it?

I think that you'll be fine. The key thing is to get LORs from people who know you well enough to write a good letter.

And more =/= better!

 

[deleted1158685]

I think that you'll be fine. The key thing is to get LORs from people who know you well enough to write a good letter.

And more =/= better!

Really appreciate it!