Getting Letter of Recs for Med school (DIY Postbacc)

[bonez318ti]

Hi all,

As a DIY Postbacc, the problem is that it is very difficult to get to know professors on a personal level. Mainly because we dont have 3 years to build up a relationship through multiple classes and research.. so..

is it better to have a blah blah letter of rec from a professor (i did very well in the classes, and outside of my CV, personal statement, transcript and course work.. the professor doesnt really know much about me.. i went up to him once or twice after classes.. but the class has about 600 students in it)

or is it better to have a letter of recommendation from a TA who knows my work very well, and has complimented me several times on my work? Our school policy is that the supervising professor would have to co sign anything by TAs..

So which one are better?

Thoughts?

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[dhp98]

sounds like I would go with your TA and have the professor co-sign it if you think your TA can do a better job, however I would try to get to know my professors every chance by talking to them at office hours. I also was inthe same situation basically, and thats what I did

 

[r_salis]

I'd feel better about it if only one or two of your letters was from a TA -- I think it looks better if they come from the professor directly, if you can swing it.

In my application, I also included two letters from managers from where I had been working before I decided to go back to school. I'm not sure if AMCAS allows "extra" letters, but I felt like that was a good thing to include in my optometry school application.