How many schools do you think simply won't accept this list of LORs?

[Schemp]

I transferred from a community college and still talk to my favorite teacher there, I had both zoology and botany with her. She's writing me a letter (probably a very good one), but is not a professor, and only has a Master's degree.

I also have a letter from a professor who I had a class with and also did research for this year at U of Washington.

I'm really limited on options for non-science letters, and am probably going to go with a TA I took a class with this last quarter. I talked with him outside of class just about random stuff and kinda made friends with him in that regard, but obviously he's not a professor either so it's not the best situation.

I was out of school for 3 years and one of my jobs was at Comcast as a technician and I am probably going to ask my supervisor there to write me a letter as well.


I'm not trying to disparage any of the people writing my letters by saying they're not worthy of writing them, I'm just concerned at how many schools will see it as a negative thing. Other than the fact that they're not exactly what most schools are looking for, I think they're a pretty diverse group and would give a pretty good sense of who I am from some significantly different perspectives. Thoughts?

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[SBK]

I transferred from a community college and still talk to my favorite teacher there, I had both zoology and botany with her. She's writing me a letter (probably a very good one), but is not a professor, and only has a Master's degree.

I also have a letter from a professor who I had a class with and also did research for this year at U of Washington.

I'm really limited on options for non-science letters, and am probably going to go with a TA I took a class with this last quarter. I talked with him outside of class just about random stuff and kinda made friends with him in that regard, but obviously he's not a professor either so it's not the best situation.

I was out of school for 3 years and one of my jobs was at Comcast as a technician and I am probably going to ask my supervisor there to write me a letter as well.


I'm not trying to disparage any of the people writing my letters by saying they're not worthy of writing them, I'm just concerned at how many schools will see it as a negative thing. Other than the fact that they're not exactly what most schools are looking for, I think they're a pretty diverse group and would give a pretty good sense of who I am from some significantly different perspectives. Thoughts?

I think it's more about the quality of the letters that you get, rather than the credentials behind them. Hopefully your stats are better than average to make up for your so-so LOR's.

 

[FlowLimited]

There's not a single non-science professor you know that could write you a letter? Maybe this will work out, but it's likely that you're going to run into all sorts of issues without the proper letters. Why shoot yourself in the foot before things even start?

 

[redrower]

so they ask for a non-science teacher recommendation...is this "science" defined by AMCAS? or "science" defined by our terms??

for example: AMCAS doesnt deem nutrition courses as science; can a recommendation from a nutrition professor be considered non-science?

 

[FlowLimited]

so they ask for a non-science teacher recommendation...is this "science" defined by AMCAS? or "science" defined by our terms??

for example: AMCAS doesnt deem nutrition courses as science; can a recommendation from a nutrition professor be considered non-science?

The rules are not that explicit. The point of the non-science letter is to diversify, so if you feel a letter from a nutrition professor does that, go for it. In most cases, people will request their non-science letter from a humanities or social science professor. If you're wondering whether your nutrition letter fits the bill, contact schools and ask.

 

[redrower]

The rules are not that explicit. The point of the non-science letter is to diversify, so if you feel a letter from a nutrition professor does that, go for it. In most cases, people will request their non-science letter from a humanities or social science professor. If you're wondering whether your nutrition letter fits the bill, contact schools and ask.

thanks, good call on the calling the schools bit. i've been hesitating cause i dont want to be a nuisance

 

[FlowLimited]

thanks, good call on the calling the schools bit. i've been hesitating cause i dont want to be a nuisance

You wouldn't be a nuisance at all. You'd be an intelligent applicant looking for clarification.

 

[autodf06]

I had a similar question as I am getting 2 LORs from my coaches; I called the medical schools (~20) I'm applying to and they all said letters from the coaches are fine except for Creighton who said it HAD to be a professor. If you are particularly worried call the admissions office, they were all very nice to me and answered my questions quickly. Like it was said above, I think they just want more than 89742 letters from biology/chemistry professors and zero from anything else.