Help me pick "letter #3?"

[neuronerd]

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Hi guys,

I tried. I tried hard. But I just can't pick which letter to send for # 3.

1. non-well known ophtho chair, good letter
2. non-well known surgery chair, standard letter

3. non-well known:
a. m.d, phd fellow in ophtho with whom I did research - knows me well
b. phd with whom I did non-ophtho research - knows me well


I am on an away rotation right now and was expecting to get a letter at the end of my rotation from a well known ophtho but I actually don't like it here and might not want to get one from here.

Unfortunately, all other aspects of application are fantastic. . . what do you say?

 

[SteveMurphy]

non-well known ophtho chair, good letter
u cannot be chair and not be well known???????????

 

[neuronerd]

oh yes you can. trust me. it's "ophtho chair" of a ophtho surgical division at my school which does not have an "ophtho" residency. How do you get well known in academia if you aren't really in it?

Anyway, you didn't vote.

 

[Wolverine98]

If it were me, I'd lean towards 3a of those two choices, since you already have a non-ophtho letter.

However, I'd very strongly consider 3c instead; letter from your away rotation. Just because you don't like it there and/or don't want to go there doesn't mean you can't work hard, be attentive, and get a good letter out of it, unless you've already burned a few bridges.

 

[neuronerd]

Thank you for your advice.
No bridges burned and I am a mule when it comes to hard work. . . but it seems like they don't want me to work hard (they just want me to stand there like statue. I hate that.). I worked my butt off last month so that I knew how to use an indirect, a superfield and a 90 so I could impress them here and the attending got offended that I knew how to use one. Wow. Lame. Other attendings have been equally "unimpressed" but I have not botched anything that I know of.

I was adviced to get my application out ASAP and then individually send my away rotation letter so I think that I will do that. My rotation ends Sept 15 so I wanted to send my app at the target date, Sept 3rd.

Any other advice would be most appreciated Wolverine. We (or at least I) weigh heavily toward your advice.

 

[Wolverine98]

Any other advice would be most appreciated Wolverine. We (or at least I) weigh heavily toward your advice.

Uh oh. I guess I have to pay attention to what I say then. 😉

What you could so is send in the application with another letter, from either of the two people you listed, and then send in a later letter to update your file. It's not uncommon for people to send in new information after the apps are already in (such as AOA, which some people won't hear about until later in the fall).