HMS LORs

[munnabhai]

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So I was about to start HMS's 2ndary but while reading the instructions I noticed that they require a LOR from each research supervisor.

I know this is the case for MD/PhD apps for most schools so is Harvard unique in that they can set these requirements for regular MD and get away with it? I don't think I can get a LOR from one of my research profs (we ain't tight) so does that mean that I can't apply?

Thanks!

 

[BigRedPremed]

Pretty much. Don't apply if you can't get a LOR from each research supervisor. I know Harvard says we need a LOR even from our current lab but what if we've only been working there for a few months?

 

[SpyPuts]

It is kind of confusing, isn't it? There is language on the website that indicates that a committee LOR will satisfy completely their LOR requirement, right beneath the instruction to get a letter from each research supervisor. *boggle*

I was in a similar situation. I participated in a summer NSF REU with a professor who took long summer vacations. He was very happy with my work, in the end, and promised to write me a glowing letter should I need it. However, the project was in chemistry and the school (and the REU program in general) takes efforts to weed out pre-medical students. I had an interest in MD/PhD programs at the time of applying to the REU, but have since lost that interest and wasn't sure how favorably that would be looked upon. 🙄 In the end, I asked for him to write a letter and have it sent to Harvard and to his home institution, itself home to another highly esteemed medical school. I could not feel him out well enough to know how "glowing" or how lengthy his letter would be, given that he got to know very little about me personally, so decided to play it safe with just those schools. I still wonder if I should ask him to forward it to all of my schools?

My feeling is this: you might be invited to interview without this letter, but should it come up you ought have a good explanation for not having it. And I would imagine that it would come up but.. that's not enough of a reason not to apply, as I see it. If you do indicate a letter will come, however, you won't be marked as complete until it arrives.

I dunno if that helps 😕

 

[carwreck]

Gah! Serves me right for not reading the instructions fully. I submitted my secondary for HMS a month ago. When I came across this thread, I went back and read the instructions and saw that they requested the letters from research supervisors. I can still get the letters, but I didn't mark on the application that they will be on their way. Should I have my research supervisors send them anyway?

Also, one of my research supervisors was a post-doc. I only met the professor running the lab once (huge lab with 5 post docs, 9 grad students). Do you think a letter from the post doc counts as a "supervisor of each research laboratory experience"?

 

[Aynsl156]

I think that counts.

HMS's letter reqs piss me off. I had to forge another recc and ended up losing a month. Hoes.