Does science rec letter have to be from a professor you took a class with?

[uclaussr]

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Can it be from a professor you work for, whose class you never took?

 

[obgyny]

Can it be from a professor you work for, whose class you never took?

i asked this question before in the forums. the consensus was no, you don't actually have to take a class from the prof. i have the same situation.

 

[flip26]

i asked this question before in the forums. the consensus was no, you don't actually have to take a class from the prof. i have the same situation.

Don't be so sure about that.

I have read more the opposite, that the required LORs from professors are from ones you took a class with. Schools are very specific about this, and it varies school to school...

And some schools are quite anal about what they classify as a "science" LOR - plenty of people report getting burned by this.

 

[flip26]

Can it be from a professor you work for, whose class you never took?

This would be an additional letter, in addition to the professors in classes you took. Your example is that of an employer, or if it was a research gig, your PI or supervisor.

And it could be a very useful letter, but I would never assume that it is a substitute for the required letters, depending upon the school.

 

[bravofleet4]

I just applied this cycle, so the information is more fresh than other people who are just planning to apply or are re-applying. The answer is YES you want both of your science letters to come from professors you have taken a class with and received a grade under.

THIS IS NOT TRUE OF ALL MEDICAL SCHOOLS. IN FACT SOME (MOST) ACCEPT A RESEARCH LETTER AS A SCIENCE LETTER.

However, keep in mind that the information for what exactly each medical school is looking for in terms of letters of rec may not be stated until you are invited to fill out the secondary. The problem is that in the rush to pick schools to apply to the last thing most people look at is letters of rec requirement. When I applied this cycle, among the very first schools I applied to, some specifically said they wanted a science letter from a professor who I took a class under. Some of them are even more demanding and say it most come from a professor from your major (so chem and physics LOR wouldn't work for a bio major). Since I was unprepared for that (1 of 2 science LOR from research professor), my entire application process got delayed by almost another month. I had to find another professor last-minute and the LOR service at my school did not allow you to add letters as you go. Once you submit your letter packet that's it. I had to put everything on hold for just ONE LETTER.

The simple truth is that you should have more than 2 science letters easily if you work at it. Go to the office hours, stay after class to ask questions, and do well in the class. JUST DO IT.

It's true that you may not even end up finishing all your secondaries, because you've already received many invitations. I haven't finished 2 of my secondaries still because I'm too lazy. However, it would be a complete waste of money to apply to schools you have 100% no chance of getting into because of such a simple thing (don't assume they're going to relax requirements just for you).

 

[obgyny]

I just applied this cycle, so the information is more fresh than other people who are just planning to apply or are re-applying. The answer is YES you want both of your science letters to come from professors you have taken a class with and received a grade under.

THIS IS NOT TRUE OF ALL MEDICAL SCHOOLS. IN FACT SOME (MOST) ACCEPT A RESEARCH LETTER AS A SCIENCE LETTER.

However, keep in mind that the information for what exactly each medical school is looking for in terms of letters of rec may not be stated until you are invited to fill out the secondary. The problem is that in the rush to pick schools to apply to the last thing most people look at is letters of rec requirement. When I applied this cycle, among the very first schools I applied to, some specifically said they wanted a science letter from a professor who I took a class under. Some of them are even more demanding and say it most come from a professor from your major (so chem and physics LOR wouldn't work for a bio major). Since I was unprepared for that (1 of 2 science LOR from research professor), my entire application process got delayed by almost another month. I had to find another professor last-minute and the LOR service at my school did not allow you to add letters as you go. Once you submit your letter packet that's it. I had to put everything on hold for just ONE LETTER.

The simple truth is that you should have more than 2 science letters easily if you work at it. Go to the office hours, stay after class to ask questions, and do well in the class. JUST DO IT.

It's true that you may not even end up finishing all your secondaries, because you've already received many invitations. I haven't finished 2 of my secondaries still because I'm too lazy. However, it would be a complete waste of money to apply to schools you have 100% no chance of getting into because of such a simple thing (don't assume they're going to relax requirements just for you).

So is it usually just require 1 LOR specifically from a sci prof that you took a class with? I've done research with 2 sci profs, one of them taught part of one of my classes. Would that be sufficient? Technically, they have both graded me for my research units, would that count also?

 

[bravofleet4]

I wouldn't take the chance. I mean I think a lot of people do research and get course credit for it. There is a specific reason why they want your LOR's to come from professors you took a class with. They want to see how well you handle your coursework since medical school requires a lot of reading in a short amount of time.

If your professor can say that you always attended class, asked thoughtful questions, and showed up to office hours, then that says a lot about your academic qualifications. Asking good questions says you're able to go beyond just memorizing the material and think critically. Showing up to office hours or after class says you're not afraid of approaching authority figures and that you know how to use all the resources available to you.

Lastly, they can emphasize that the class you took was exceedingly difficult or that you are not just another A student but someone who was ranked 2 out of 400 people in the class which is an incredible accomplishment. The adcoms are also looking for personal qualities and that professor can mention that you're amicable, friendly, inquisitive, and etc...

Therefore, the LOR from the research professor you took a class with should work. However, he must mention that you that you were one of his students and what class it was in along with what grade you received. He should mention your abilities first as a student and then an undergrad researchers in the absence of any other science LOR's. Most people consider research letters as "extra."

 

[JJMrK]

I was wondering about this too when I was getting my letters together. It's really school dependent; in order to keep my options open I decided to get 2 science letters from classes in addition to my PI's letter.

 

[dingyibvs]

Depends on the school.

 

[schrizto]

Do you get to know your professors better in upper division science courses? I'm taking intro classes now and the classes are huge.

 

[obgyny]

Do you get to know your professors better in upper division science courses? I'm taking intro classes now and the classes are huge.

depends on what school you go to. my lower div classes had up to 450 students, my upper div classes had like 100 students. but since i majored in neurobiology specifically, there is a yearlong class required for neuro majors. only 20 people in that class so it was a lot easier to get to know the profs.