Foreign Language Letter of Recommendation

[bp123]

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Hi,

So I took a Introduction to Vietnamese for Heritage Learners class for an entire year. I know that I can get a strong letter of recommendation from the TA/Professor, since it was a smaller class and I had it all year. I am just wondering, is it bad to get a letter of recommendation from a Vietnamese foreign language class if I am full Vietnamese? I don't have very many options for my non-science letter of rec, so I am wondering what the trade off would be. Not as strong letter from another class or stronger letter of rec from my Viet class. Not sure if med school admissions will see this as fishy or anything. As a side not, I am no pro in Vietnamese, only conversational. Also, would it be better to get the letter written by the TA and cosigned by the professor, knowing this would be stronger than a letter of rec from just the professor?

Thanks in advance!

 

[gettheleadout]

Should be fine as long as the letter isn't written in Vietnamese.

 

[sunflower18]

I think I've read that letters written by TAs and cosgined by professors are not always accepted by schools, though I am not confident on this. I'd look into it a bit more, and hopefully someone who has more experience with TA letters can comment on whether or not this is okay. Getting a letter from a language class in general though shouldn't be a problem!

 

[LizzyM]

You want to choose a class where 1) the professor knows you as well as can be expected 2) you had an opportunity to distinguish yourself as a scholar and/or upstanding team member 3) showed your ability to communicate well and to listen and respond with feedback to fellow students.

Ideally then the faculty member will write about how well you did all these things in the class. These are the sorts of soft skills we are looking for in applicants and that the non-science profs often have a handle on in ways that the science faculty do not.