how many recommendation letters is enough ?

[determined little korean girl]

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I'm a sophomore in college now and I read that I should begin compiling a collection of recommendation letters . How many recommendations is enough ? Would more letters = better ? Should they only be from Science professors ? Or should I have letters from teachers from a variety of subjects ? Preparing for med school is so nerve -wrecking . If I'm already feeling like this , I don't know how I'm going to deal with the waiting process for acceptance letters . XP~ .

 

[Neuronix]

The pre-med committee at my school wants the following letters:
3 science recs (research and/or classroom)
2 non-science recs (same)
1 - 2 volunteer/doctor recs
1 - 2 personal/work recs

The numbers of letters vary by med school and I think my pre-med committee asks for that many letters of recommendation because that will cover the requirements of any med school. If you shoot for the same, I think you will have enough.

 

[analu]

Quality over quantity...make sure that you're highly selective of the people you ask LOR's from. Choose people who know you WELL and who WANT to write a positive letter for you. Also, most schools want confidential LOR's, so you'll need to set up a credentials file at your school.

aloha

 

[Epi]

you should probably have at least 2 from science professors that taught you in class. You should research individual schools and see what they want b/c each school is different. then you can cover all of your bases.

 

[vyc]

definitely quality over quantity.

also, ask professors who KNOW you.
i.e. the ones you went to see in office hours, etc.

my best letter came from my orgo professor and trust me, i did NOT get an A in that class. it doesn't always matter what grade you got.

 

[calbears84]

where can i go to research individual schools and find out what each needs?

 

[mpp]

If the undergrad institution that you go to has a pre-med committee, the medical schools will want a letter from them. Ask the pre-med committee.

If you do not have a pre-med committee at your undergrad institution, most schools require between 2 and 5 letters. If you can get 5 people to write letters that should suffice but you might want to ask a few more just to be safe.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by calbears84:
•where can i go to research individual schools and find out what each needs?•••••you can go to the website from each school to see; usually they will tell you there. Also pick up a copy of the MSAR and look in there for good stuff. 😀

 

[Trek]

In most cases, your prof letters will never be as good as your research/mentor/boss/coach/volunteer coordinator type letters. You just don't get to know a prof as well as these other types of people and so they can't vouch for you as strongly. Get some prof ones, but then go to these other people and say, straight out, "I need a good letter that lets the committee know about X, Y and Z (be those committment to community, intelligence, creativity, etc) and get those out. They'll work far more in your favor. --Trek

 

[oldman]

at my school's pre-med office they asked for 2 science and 2 non-science. i got a total of 6 cause i also had a chance to get 1 employer and 1 volunteer coordinator