Few questions about LOR

[jjmusicman29]

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I might not apply for med school until a year or two after I graduate (I graduate next year). So, by then, it will have been a few years since the last time I interacted with my professors at my university. Having said that:

0) If I apply a year or two after I graduate, can I go back to my university to talk to a pre-med advisor even though I'm no longer a student? Is that who I use to write a "committee" letter or whatever (btw what is this?)?

1) Can I request letters now and use them later? Can I keep them in a sealed envelope until the time comes or do they follow a specific format/questionnaire per school that ruins that? Is there any way to request letters to keep for future timeframes?

2) Is there anyway to know what kind of letter your professor will write? I know the ones I would ask like me and I made A's in their classes but none of my professors know me very well outside of school environment (I mean I don't go hang out with them, I've got things to do lol). Just curious if it's ethical to ask them what kind of letter they'd write or not?

3) Are there any major LOR requesting-no-no's I should be aware of? Like is it completely no-no to ask a professor for a class you got a B in? etc.

Letter requesting seems like a clumsy process if you're a non-trad...can anyone shed light on this? Please and thank you!

 

[crimsonkid85]

0. Can you go back? You HAVE to go back. A committee letter reads like this. John Smith is an applicant to medical school. His grades place him at X percentile of his class. He has done the following activities, and his professors have XYZ to say about him. Blah blah blah blah Based on these attributes, John Smith would be amongst the top Xtile of this year's premed class from our institution applying to medical school. We thus give John Smith the highest/high/enthusiastic/reasonable/a endorsement to go into medical school.
1. Yes, but they have to be updated.
2. No, you won't know. But hopefully you have enough EQ to hazard a reasonable guess.
3. Lol if you think a professor will like you despite a B, you are crazy.

 

[justAstudent]

I don't have experience with committee letters so I'll let others answer that question. For letters of recommendations I would suggest setting up a Interfolio account. You can then have your professors write you a letter and upload it to your interfolio account. When you apply for medical school you just select the letters you want to send and Interfolio will take care of the rest.

Letters are usually confidential and you don't ever get a chance to read them. With that said, you want to make sure the professor knows you in some capacity other than the grade you got. You can go to office hours and just express your interests in medicine and whatnot and then when time comes you can provide them with your resume and personal statement with which they can talk about you on a more personal level. Hope that helps.

 

[crimsonkid85]

I don't have experience with committee letters so I'll let others answer that question. For letters of recommendations I would suggest setting up a Interfolio account. You can then have your professors write you a letter and upload it to your interfolio account. When you apply for medical school you just select the letters you want to send and Interfolio will take care of the rest.

Letters are usually confidential and you don't ever get a chance to read them. With that said, you want to make sure the professor knows you in some capacity other than the grade you got. You can go to office hours and just express your interests in medicine and whatnot and then when time comes you can provide them with your resume and personal statement with which they can talk about you on a more personal level. Hope that helps.

Let me warn against this. You must not do this if your school has a committee. This will raise major eyebrows.

Case in point: applicant year t-3/4, a student from my alma mater, class of mid 90s, graduated and did PhD in math, won an international award for his contributions, then did postdoctoral fellowship at extremely prestigious institution, tired of academia/poverty, went to Wall Street, became senior corporate member, had mid-life crisis, then quit, did a post-bac, and applied to med school. He still had to go through my school's pre-med committee. Ridiculous? Absolutely. But that's how it is.

 

[jjmusicman29]

0. Can you go back? You HAVE to go back. A committee letter reads like this. John Smith is an applicant to medical school. His grades place him at X percentile of his class. He has done the following activities, and his professors have XYZ to say about him. Blah blah blah blah Based on these attributes, John Smith would be amongst the top Xtile of this year's premed class from our institution applying to medical school. We thus give John Smith the highest/high/enthusiastic/reasonable/a endorsement to go into medical school.
1. Yes, but they have to be updated.
3. Lol if you think a professor will like you despite a B, you are crazy.

0. How could they possibly do this well after I have been gone from the university for a few years? Nobody would remember me or have much to say about me 🙁
1. How and how?
3. I made an A/A in Ochem 1 lecture/lab, and a B/A in Ochem 2 lecture/lab. My professor was really good and I had the same one both semesters. Is it worth asking him for an LOR even though I made a B with him one semester?

 

[NorCalPremed]

I too am curious, as I stand to get perhaps a B+ (maybe an A-/A) in biochem. Is it ok to get a letter of rec from a prof in such a case? I'm not a science major so this will be a much needed science LOR

 

[Fedxup]

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