how to land that AMAZING LOR?

[stifler]

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so what can i do to suck up without seeming like i suck up infront of my profs and classmates....

i wont ask for extra credit cuz that pisses them off

i can ask them to go over stuff with me or just to chat with them during their office hours

i WONT HAVE SEX WITH THEM

i can help them with their research

i can sit infront of the class and try to answer questions

i can look interested

i can show up for all classes


.....but most premed's do that... so what can i do to make sure the prof writes me a stunning letter without bribing them with stuff like sex and money

 

[Medikit]

Go to a lot of office hours and ask really good questions.

 

[Peterock]

.....but most premed's do that... so what can i do to make sure the prof writes me a stunning letter without bribing them with stuff like sex and money

Try not being a douche.

 

[Haybrant]

you really need to show interest in the material and that doesnt just mean asking questions but asking questions that nobody else is asking, and the only way to do that is stay up with the material by reading the book! Science is an art and a philosophy so treat it as such-the best of the best, i.e professors, realize this and like it discussed as such.

 

[medic170]

Here is what you do. Most people, including profs, love to talk about themselves and their work. Find out what their recent research or best known research is about. Then, act really interested in it and ask them about it. Also, ask for help with class work etc. because most profs are impressed by a student that shown initiative to actually gain a thorough understanding of the material. Keep the relationship going for a couple months, and you will have a golden LOR!

 

[stifler]

its going to be hard to be interested in some of the things they do lol. but itll take some digging in.

 

[Severus]

Remember, professors are people too... so just be yourself and play nice. TA their labs for them, give them christmas cards, joke around; it's really just like making friends.

Sev

 

[IndyZX]

The problem with all this is that professors don't really want you to be their friend. Getting LORs is one of the most evil parts of the medical school application process, though a necessary evil. (I think most of my letter writers understand their role in the education of young people.)

Pretty much everything I do to get into medical school turns me into worse of a person.

 

[bewitched1081]

get a mentor. do research with one of them. make an impression and keep in contact.

 

[ken37]

i WONT HAVE SEX WITH THEM

Are BJ's out of the question as well?

 

[Shades McCool]

How about you be AMAZING.

 

[NubianPrincess]

Don't sleep in their classes. It's the little things that count 🙂

 

[Heal&Teach]

get a mentor. do research with one of them. make an impression and keep in contact.

Probably the best advice I've heard thus far.

 

[stifler]

How about you be AMAZING.

chances are i wont be amazing. if i work my ass off ill be the top but i doubt ill be number 1.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

stifler,

I got a some of my LORs by taking small classes. In big classes you really have to stand out to get recognition by your profs. If you take advanced, smaller classes (you don't have to go as far as taking grad level classes but it never hurts to take a grad level class and do well) you'll get to know the professor better and vice versa.

If you did research or independent study for somebody, definitely ask your mentor too 🙂 They are more likely to write at least a more personalized letter for you.

 

[Northerner]

i WONT HAVE SEX WITH THEM

...the prof writes me a stunning letter without bribing them with stuff like sex...

Gosh, you really just DON'T want that letter, do you...

 

[45408]

Do research with them. My research professor knows me really well, and since the lab is relatively close-knit, we do things as friends as well (like going out to eat after a lab meeting), so he knows me as a person and as a student.

 

[futuremsfdoc]

i got one letter from someone who taught me in three of my classes (spanish language classes, so ~25 people) and was an advisor for a volunteer organization i chaired. another came from my o chem prof who taught me for two semesters (it may help that the class was small ~25 people) and also advised an honor society i was inducted into. we became pretty good friends through class, office hours, and the society.

oh, and the best letters always come from people with experience writing lors. no matter how well you know someone, if they can't write/don't have experience, the lor could be mediocre.

 

[Benjo]

Be exceptional. Professors, and accomplished people in general, respond to genuine curiosity, initiative, and above all, intelligence. Have good ideas. If you can't manage that, then be a typical pre-med douche and raise your hand a lot from the front row. The best way to get a glowing recommendation is to deserve one.

 

[DrThom]

My boss at my job used to be on an adcom and he said that everyone has good LORs and most of the time, they assume that professors either like you or lie through their teeth cause they are nice guys. They really only look for bad LORs. The LOR requirement is just another hoop to jump through.

 

[PostalWookie]

Don't be a douchebag by going to office hours and wasting the prof's time by making smalltalk or asking irrelevant questions. A hundred other premeds already tried the same ploy, that was was just in the past semester.

Want a great rec? Study really hard. Get an A+ in the class. Then even if the prof doesn't know you too well personally, they will be willing to say amazingly nice things about you.

 

[calstudent]

I think its hard...I have no idea what my recs are like...
But, I would say, be passionate about a topic, actually care about it, go to office hours for genuine reasons. And, try to take a class with the same prof. twice or 3 times (if possible) and if you really like him/her, and that will help.
I like what a poster on the first page said--get one because you deserve one.
Granted, I know its much harder than that; but at least you can say you gave it your best shot (though I dont know what I'd be saying if I get rejected from my top choices...🙂

 

[stifler]

yea i know what you mean by asking dumb questions and pissing them off.

i was thinking about approaching a prof who is doing research that im actually interested in and asking to help out. im going to take classes with her prob sophomore or junior year. but is it okay if i just go up and ask her as a freshman? and also ill need a recommendation from a science prof for this program i wanna do. and the intro chem class at my college although small is still 60-70 kids with no TA's all one teacher. so im thinking if i can help her with her research, i could prob get a decent recommendation since this entire year she is devoted to it and isnt teaching any classes. ill prob get a lot of one on one time with her.

but i dont know how to approach her. do i jsut say straight out that i find her research in neurology fascinating? and ask if i can help or watch her?

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

Basically, yes. Look up some of her publications and find a summary of her research. Go up to her and say that you are interested in becoming involved in a research lab, and that you were interested in the research she was doing. As a freshman, it may be difficult since you haven't taken any classes, but she may give you some scut work to do, or let you observe in lab...something. This is all a good start, and eventually you may be able to get your own project.