Do you need a LOR for each EC?

[chaldobruin]

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Hey guys,

I've heard that Adcoms will frown on seeing a significant EC listed on an app and no LOR to back it up. Obviously, they assume that if you spent a lot of time and effort on an EC, someone should be able to attest to that- e.g. your supervisor, the director of the volunteer program, the doctor that would work for, etc. I think that this is true for the most part.

However, there are some EC's I'm involved in that are entirely student run. For example, I've been part of a literacy program for one year now involves tutoring illiterate children and adults. It is an entirely student run organization, and besides the student leaders there are no directors/moderators. Also, I'm involved in a Catholic community service organization that serves the homeless- but yet again, its entirely student run.

Will it look bad to list these on my application and have no LOR to support them? Will adcoms think I'm bull****ting? I know a lot of you have already been accepted, whats your take?

 

[Darth Asclepius]

I don't think they would want to see letters for all 15 activities you list. I just got a variety- a letter from my PI and postdoc (I spent 30-50 hours/week for 2 years in the lab, so it was a big thing for me), one from a prof for whom I worked on a significant project, one from a surgeon I shadowed, then a couple from professors who knew me well. I listed all of my jobs I had as an undergrad and I really didn't think they'd be all that interested in a LOR from my manager at Applebee's or Red Lobster 🙂

I helped start up a new pre-med organization on campus and ran it for 2 years. I was in charge, so there wasn't even anyone to verify that for me (although I did give them our secretary's info on my app). I put that down as a fairly big time commitment (7 hours/week- and to be honest, it was often more). I got asked about it, but not in the "We don't believe you" sense, but questions about why we started the organization and how we got 200 members so quickly.

 

[javert]

I've heard that Adcoms will frown on seeing a significant EC listed on an app and no LOR to back it up.

Don't know where you heard that from, but no, you don't need (and shouldn't have) letters for each EC.

 

[45408]

They might wonder if you were in a research lab and don't have a letter from the PI, but if you did volunteering, heck no, you don't need a letter for that.