Does a letter of recommendation from specialist carry more weight than general dentist or does it

[dnp123]

not matter?

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[dyesht]

If anything it carries less weight and could get your application thrown out. You're applying to dental school not a speciality.

 

[HintOfLidocaine]

If anything it carries less weight and could get your application thrown out. You're applying to dental school not a speciality.

I wouldn't go THAT far, but no, a letter from a specialty is not usually any better than from a GP.


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[DJI]

If anything it carries less weight and could get your application thrown out. You're applying to dental school not a speciality.

Mine was from an Orthodontist. I was accepted. Only one data point, but take that as you will.

 

[MahiMahi]

Applying to dental school? Doesn't matter.

 

[WarrensBeenThere]

Yep, doesn't matter, as long as it is a good letter!

 

[dnp123]

What about the school they graduated from? Ex. Harvard dental school vs very low ranked school?

 

[free99]

What about the school they graduated from? Ex. Harvard dental school vs very low ranked school?

No on here knows for sure. Just follow the application instructions on the school's websites and don't deviate from that. If they ask for a general dentist letter, that's what you give them. Little things like your recommended alma mater don't matter - it's your overall package and the interview that will get you in.

 

[ncide]

If anything it carries less weight and could get your application thrown out. You're applying to dental school not a speciality.

My application had a letter of recommendation from a periodontist and an orthodontist. First and foremost, they are dentists who have gone through the rigors of dental school and understand the caliber of a student necessary for dental school. The one thing that matters and holds weight is what the say about you, the depth that they know you and the extent to which they recommend you to join them as colleagues.

You can get a great letter from any dentist that knows you well, generalist and specialist alike.

 

[dnp123]

So the caliber of the dental school they graduated from does not matter?

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Schools only care about their class rank and if they are a member of OKU. Seriously though, the person writing your letter is not going to write about where they went to school and how awesome they are, they are going to write about you. I personally believe that letters of recommendation must be taken with a grain salt. If you wanted to game the system, you could just create a fictitious dentist and email address and write your own letter of recommendation. Do you really think schools have time to verify the authenticity of every single letter of recommendation? Top tier business schools recognized this and that all to often supervisors would just have the applicant write their own letter and then the boss would send it off, so letters have minimal influence in the application process. As a side note, if someone is a weasel and tries this, I hope they do get caught up by dental schools. I'm a big fan of truth, justice, and the American way.

Big Hoss

 

[DrJeff]

The reality is that most admissions committees will put very little weight on what is said in a letter of recommendation UNLESS it actually says something that isn't positive about the applicant. Most letters of recommendation will paint a glowing picture of an applicant, and maybe highlight a few "special" things that that applicant has done, and very often will read like the other hundreds, if not thousands of letters of recommendation that an application committee sees and reads.

It's probably not a good thing if you don't have any, mainly out of a traditional sense, but seriously they very often have little effect on an applicants potential offering of admission, and very often at most might serve as a last minute question topic that those interviewing you might read and pick up on in the minute or 2 before your interview starts

 

[setdoc7]

Schools only care about their class rank and if they are a member of OKU. Seriously though, the person writing your letter is not going to write about where they went to school and how awesome they are, they are going to write about you. I personally believe that letters of recommendation must be taken with a grain salt. If you wanted to game the system, you could just create a fictitious dentist and email address and write your own letter of recommendation. Do you really think schools have time to verify the authenticity of every single letter of recommendation? Top tier business schools recognized this and that all to often supervisors would just have the applicant write their own letter and then the boss would send it off, so letters have minimal influence in the application process. As a side note, if someone is a weasel and tries this, I hope they do get caught up by dental schools. I'm a big fan of truth, justice, and the American way.

Big Hoss

I have seen this actually happen. Eventually, the chickens come home to roost. Don't do it. It's like being a fugitive.