Importance of Evaluation Letters

[Firik]

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Hello,

I curious to learn the following questions about recommendation letters (LR):
1) How much really does LR impact your application?
2) Can great LR smooth low gpa?
3) How important is asking young professor vs more experienced?
4) Would it matter that much if you ask dental professor that you did research that works in a school of dentistry?
5) Did you change your LR from one cycle to another?
6) How beneficial to ask a professor you got a "C+" and improved next semester to "B-" vs you got an "A"?
7) Would you rather choose a professor you really get along and got a "B" or professor you spoke few times, attendant his review sessions and got an "A"?
8) Did anyone got rejected because of "okay" LR but not "great"?

Lots of questions, but I would appreciate to answer the question that you have a knowledge of.
Thank you in advance for your responses!

 

[Lane138]

When I was reviewing applications, I treated letter of recs as one piece of the puzzle that is your entire application package. If you're a strong applicant (scores, impressive extracurriculars), you'll probably get an interview invite provided your letters don't contain red flags. A really strong, enthusiastic (not generically positive) LR can REALLY help if you're a middle of the road applicant. It can help explain any struggles you've had, show how you deal with challenges, and lend weight to personal, family problems. This is only if the letter writer is something who actually legitimately knew you well (and not just a science professor who taught you one class).

Who the letter writer is is SELDOM important. It's the content that matters more than who is writing. That being said, if you can get the department chair of a dental school who actually knows you to pen you an enthusiastic letter, that will be impressive.

Nobody gets rejected because of an "generic, okay" letter, but sometimes an "okay" letter is hiding some real problems (like the applicant is difficult to work with) and those would be red flags that do matter.

 

[dent_wannabe]

Strong letters can probably make a difference when they need to choose out of otherwise great candidates. They cannot make up for a poor stats. Basically, you need to first demonstrate academic competency through your GPA and DAT. If those are not acceptable, then nothing else matters.

You should ideally find an instructor who knows you beyond just somebody who got an A grade in their course. As long as it is a faculty member (not a TA) who gave you a grade on your transcript, it is fine. Don't worry so much if you didn't get a solid A in their class. If you got a B, but the instructor knew you quite well (for good reasons) while you were enrolled in their course, that would be a better choice than if you got an A, but the instructor never knew you beyond maybe a name on the roster. If you got a C of some sort or below, I would probably not ask the instructor for that course, barring very compelling reasons.

Usually, when you ask for a letter, the potential writer will likely directly tell you if they have any hesitations. If they do not think they can write you a positive letter, they will usually say that you may be better off asking somebody else. Often times, many people also have a good sense of who might say something negative, and usually avoid asking them in the first place.

 

[Firik]

Great insights, thank you!
Looking forward to hear what others have in mind 🙂

 

[doc toothache]

Dental schools want to ascertain that an applicant has the ability to absorb the academic material and that would be the reason for requiring lors from science professors. A professor with whom an applicant shared a six pack or two every Friday night for the duration of the course is not particularly germane. For most, an lor from a seasoned professor is certain to carry more weight. Some believe that an lor from a freshman professor caries as much weight as one from one who has or has been nominated for a Nobel Prize. Oh well.

 

[Bingwen]

1. LORs will impact your application. Maybe not a lot but if you are on edge of given an interview or waitlisted/rejected, that is where it counts.
2. I don't know if a great LOR can offset a low GPA, but I think it may make or break you if you are sitting on the borderline. I expect this to be more true of your science letters as these people will hopefully be talking about your academic merits.
3. I would highly doubt that a school is going to put in the energy of looking up your LORs. So experience I think is less important, unless the professors have a connection with a school.
4. One of my letters came from a clinical faculty at Midwestern. Whether or not it helps I don't know but I figure it can't hurt to have a dentist who has seen good and bad students.
5. First time applicant so can't really help you.
6 and 7. I would pick the professor that you think will write you the best letter. I picked a professor that I got a B in her class but I know that she will write me an amazing letter and will speak about my ability to tackle challenging classes.
8. I have personally never heard of someone not getting in because of an OK letter, but I also don't know many admissions committees that would disclose that information.

Hope this helps.

 

[Firik]

Thank you for the new info, learning a lot 🙂