Is a LOR from my Statistics prof considered a non-science LOR?

[Lebron1989]

Just wondering.

Thanks for any input

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[Asphyxiatia]

Hm. Well statistics is a math course...

I have a question in the same vein. If my Calculus 2 course is entirely taught by a teaching assistant; with no input from a professor at all, would i be unable to have him write me a LOR?

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

Just wondering.

Thanks for any input

I think the bigger question is "Why don't you have a better science letter of recommendation?"

Your LOR's are supposed to sell you. Unless you're going into an MPH program I don't think statistics is relevant enough to most of medicine to show that you care a lot about the underlying basic science of medicine. Biology, chemistry, and physics teachers would be better letter writers.

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

Hm. Well statistics is a math course...

I have a question in the same vein. If my Calculus 2 course is entirely taught by a teaching assistant; with no input from a professor at all, would i be unable to have him write me a LOR?

Perhaps you could use this as a letter, but even if the committee accepted the letter they might not give it as much weight as a letter from a professor. Professors have the benefit of years and years of experience. They can make stronger comparisons between you and your classmates.

 

[LizzyM]

I think the bigger question is "Why don't you have a better science letter of recommendation?"

Your LOR's are supposed to sell you. Unless you're going into an MPH program I don't think statistics is relevant enough to most of medicine to show that you care a lot about the underlying basic science of medicine. Biology, chemistry, and physics teachers would be better letter writers.

I disagree strongly! Statistics is very relevant to medicine and is likely to become a pre-req in the coming decade. That said, the point of the LOR is not to show that you care about a certain subject but for the writer to provide information about your behavior and personality (inquisitive, quick thinking, deep thinking, creative, able to make connections between topics, curious and immaginative, outgoing, hardworking, brilliant, humble, etc) as observed in the classroom and in other settings (office hours, campus events, informal chats, labs, etc). Some LOR writers also provide information about academic performance particularly if the applicant worked hard and came back from a poor showing on a midterm or had a particularly well written paper or presentation or had the top score or among the top x% in a class of [number] competitive students. So, as you can see, it doesn't much matter if the science letter is math, chem, bio or physics. Generally, the non-science letter is from someone who teaches English, a foreign language, social science, or the humanities. With the exception of foreign language, these faculty generally have more opporunity to evaluate essays and classroom discussion and other communication skills as well as humanistic qualities.

 

[Lebron1989]

yes, i need a Non-science LOR so I was wondering whether a letter from my stats prof would count?

 

[SteveJMarist]

DO school or MD? Here's what I know:

MD schools (most of them) allow math/stats LORs as Science LORs

DO schools do NOT allow math/stats LORs as Science LORs


So maybe if you're doing DO, it would be a non-science LOR.

Tricky, but I think it's useful information.

 

[LizzyM]

Haven't you taken a course in English? Ask that professor.

Any courses in Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, History, Philosophy, Theology, Religious Studies, Medieveal Studies, Women's Studies, Afro-Asian-Hispanic Holocaust Studies, French, Germany, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Swahili? What about Art History, Film appreciation, Comic Book Superheros, Jazz, Piano, Voice, Chamber Orchestra, Journalism, Business Management, Stagecraft, or Accounting?

If you haven't taken any non-science courses, you'd better take one so you can say that you are "well rounded".

 

[Nymphicus]

Hm. Well statistics is a math course...

I have a question in the same vein. If my Calculus 2 course is entirely taught by a teaching assistant; with no input from a professor at all, would i be unable to have him write me a LOR?

Asphyx,
Often, the TA or research assistant (who knows you better) can/will write the letter and then have their supervising PhD/PI/Professor sign it. Obviously its not as ideal but it might be a possibility for you

 

[Doubtnichts]

I'm not sure how strong of a non-science letter it will be. Math is still considered in the science gpa and does have some relation to science. Usually non-science letters are to show how well-rounded you are. I would get a letter from a different prof outside of the sciences or mathematics.

 

[LuciusVorenus]

I disagree strongly! Statistics is very relevant to medicine and is likely to become a pre-req in the coming decade. That said, the point of the LOR is not to show that you care about a certain subject but for the writer to provide information about your behavior and personality (inquisitive, quick thinking, deep thinking, creative, able to make connections between topics, curious and immaginative, outgoing, hardworking, brilliant, humble, etc) as observed in the classroom and in other settings (office hours, campus events, informal chats, labs, etc). Some LOR writers also provide information about academic performance particularly if the applicant worked hard and came back from a poor showing on a midterm or had a particularly well written paper or presentation or had the top score or among the top x% in a class of [number] competitive students. So, as you can see, it doesn't much matter if the science letter is math, chem, bio or physics. Generally, the non-science letter is from someone who teaches English, a foreign language, social science, or the humanities. With the exception of foreign language, these faculty generally have more opporunity to evaluate essays and classroom discussion and other communication skills as well as humanistic qualities.

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one. I have to take a graduate level statistics class under the sociology department (I do research there and my PI said it was a better alternative to the basic statistics they offer for undergrads). Would this count as a science letter? I keep getting conflicting information from people who say it counts, stats letters don't count, and stats letters from sociology departments don't count.

 

[music2doc]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one. I have to take a graduate level statistics class under the sociology department (I do research there and my PI said it was a better alternative to the basic statistics they offer for undergrads). Would this count as a science letter? I keep getting conflicting information from people who say it counts, stats letters don't count, and stats letters from sociology departments don't count.

Well...


Premise A: [Assuming] That course's primary content type was stats
Premise B: AMCAS (and med schools) define courses by content (not dept)
Conclusion 1: This is a stats course

Premise C: Stats courses are considered part of the BCMP (science) GPA
Premise D: Courses under the BCMP heading are good sources for science LORs
Conclusion 2: This course would be a good source for a science LOR



That said, why not include a 3rd science LOR from your UG science coursework? I believe I have 3 science, 2 non-science, and 2 physician LORs. That way I can play with which ones I send to each school.

 

[LuciusVorenus]

Well...


Premise A: [Assuming] That course's primary content type was stats
Premise B: AMCAS (and med schools) define courses by content (not dept)
Conclusion 1: This is a stats course

Premise C: Stats courses are considered part of the BCMP (science) GPA
Premise D: Courses under the BCMP heading are good sources for science LORs
Conclusion 2: This course would be a good source for a science LOR



That said, why not include a 3rd science LOR from your UG science coursework? I believe I have 3 science, 2 non-science, and 2 physician LORs. That way I can play with which ones I send to each school.

Hmmm good point I already have one ochem letter and a research letter, but I'm having a hard time finding a biology letter. I'm an engineering major so the number of my biology classes are pretty limited, and I haven't run into any personable professors yet. I wish they would just count my engineering letters are science. The schools I've called so far say engineering letters don't count as science, but they also don't count as nonscience. This makes the majority of my professors useless LOR wise.

 

[LizzyM]

Don't get too hung up... call a few schools & ask if engineering courses can count as science. Frankly, I do think that schools will cut you more slack than you realize. That said, I'd generally consider a professor (assistant associate or whatever) of sociology to be "non-science" (it is social science, not natural science).

 

[LuciusVorenus]

Don't get too hung up... call a few schools & ask if engineering courses can count as science. Frankly, I do think that schools will cut you more slack than you realize. That said, I'd generally consider a professor (assistant associate or whatever) of sociology to be "non-science" (it is social science, not natural science).

The sociology part is what's confusing me more than anything. The class is called "SOC/BEHAV STATS" and it's nothing but math, but does it still not count because the department is sociology and the professor's main area of research is sociology? (I think he has a BA in math though)

 

[KittyKat00]

Sorry to wake an old thread, but I'm in the same dilemma right now. I hope to apply to MD schools this cycle and I'm debating on who could be my second science professor LOR. Right now, I'm leaning towards a Stats Professor I had during my post-bac 3 years ago whom I have confidence can speak strongly of my potential. I would assume that MD schools wouldn't care considering Stats is a part of the BCPM category.

 

[Neuro25_]

Check if your transcript lists it as a methematics course. This will likely help categorize it as a math course.

However, be advised that some schools may categorize it as science/math, and some schools will not.