Getting all my LORs from CC professors?

[losangeleno1]

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Hey guys, I went to CC for a few years before transferring to a university. Since the classes are so big at my university, I never got to know any of my professors... I never needed to go to office hours because I didn't need any help from them with the material...but at my CC I actually knew my professors and spoke with them often. So I was thinking about getting LORs from CC from 3 professors I had a few years ago:
1. PhD in biology, lab professor
2. Philosophy instructor (with a J.D.)
3. Calculus instructor (with a masters)

The calculus teacher should count as a science professor (BCPM) right?

I've been doing research at my university under the bio department, but according to other similar threads the PI's LOR will not count as a science letter...

I am also going to get letters from 2 MDs I shadowed/scribed for

How bad would it look if I got LORs from only CC instructors? Any suggestions?
This is assuming these CC professors actually remember me when I email them

 

[hueso]

N=1 but...

My situation was a little different from yours (did my BA at a huge four-year, but did a ton of science courses postbacc at a CC). That being said, I got all of my academic letters of recommendation from CC instructors and it worked out for me--the advice I followed and will now give you is that your LORs should come from the teachers that know you best and can best write you a strong letter. Some people will tell you that you should get at least one LOR from someone at your university but realistically speaking, if they don't know you the letter isn't really going to do you any good. Best of luck!

 

[Cookiess]

I would try to get at least one LOR from your university. As gonnif pointed out, medical schools may wonder why you weren't able to get any recent LOR from your university. A good number of schools require LOR from two science faculty and some schools specify that they want LOR from two science faculty that taught you in a classroom setting (ex. BU: https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/admissions/application-process/requirements/) so the PI LOR wouldn't meet that requirement for those schools.

If possible, you should try to set up an in person meeting with your CC professors to formally ask for a LOR and convey why you want to become a physician rather than asking for a LOR by email.

 

[mistafab]

Just poppin in to say that I had a calculus teacher as "science" faculty and it counted throughout my interview trail.

Hey guys, I went to CC for a few years before transferring to a university. Since the classes are so big at my university, I never got to know any of my professors... I never needed to go to office hours because I didn't need any help from them with the material...but at my CC I actually knew my professors and spoke with them often. So I was thinking about getting LORs from CC from 3 professors I had a few years ago:
1. PhD in biology, lab professor
2. Philosophy instructor (with a J.D.)
3. Calculus instructor (with a masters)

The calculus teacher should count as a science professor (BCPM) right?

I've been doing research at my university under the bio department, but according to other similar threads the PI's LOR will not count as a science letter...

I am also going to get letters from 2 MDs I shadowed/scribed for

How bad would it look if I got LORs from only CC instructors? Any suggestions?
This is assuming these CC professors actually remember me when I email them

A few thoughts
1) It would raise a question in some adcoms why a university student taking advanced classes couldnt get a letter from a professor
2) Additionally, some more recent classes and not back 2 or 3 years would be better.
3) BCPM is an AMCAS creation and is NOT a science GPA. Science here means science, so at so medical schools Calc would certainly not be considered a science
4) Letter from the masters degree, who I assume was adjunct instructor and not faculty, may not be that impressive and not fit the faculty requirement some medical schools have.
5) I would consider a lab professor a moderately weak letter as many schools want an evaluation from a classroom setting.
6) The PI's letter, if he faculty, will be better, but again may not count as a direct science letter at some schools.
7) get another science letter somewhere to add to this

 

[losangeleno1]

A few thoughts
1) It would raise a question in some adcoms why a university student taking advanced classes couldnt get a letter from a professor
2) Additionally, some more recent classes and not back 2 or 3 years would be better.
3) BCPM is an AMCAS creation and is NOT a science GPA. Science here means science, so at some medical schools Calc would certainly not be considered a science
4) Letter from the masters degree, who I assume was adjunct instructor and not faculty, may not be that impressive and not fit the faculty requirement some medical schools have.
5) I would consider a lab professor a moderately weak letter as many schools want an evaluation from a classroom setting.
6) The PI's letter, if he faculty, will be better, but again may not count as a direct science letter at some schools.
7) get another science letter somewhere to add to this

Can I email a chem lab TA at my university to write the letter in conjunction with the professor in charge of the lab? I haven't really talked to this professor, but I was hoping maybe the TA can advocate for me and they can write it together. Maybe I'm dreaming. I'm really running out of options and freaking out about these LORs