Is it ever a bad thing to have too many M.D. docs write your LORs

[lolasmommy]

Okay obviously from the title I have a number of M.D. and 1 D.O. doc that I have requested LORs from or they have offered to write me LORs. The list is below.

1 ICU intensivist (M.D.)
2 Internists (M.D.) (one is my personal physician and the other I worked with)
1 Internist (D.O.)
1 premed advisor/ professor
1 research mentor

I have worked closely with or spent a great deal of time with all the individuals listed above so I feel confident that they can vouch for my performance.

Back to the point. I have lots of work and volunteer experience. Problem is, I dont feel confident requesting LORs from majority of my former employers not because I dont think I performed my job well but because I don't think they would be proficient letter writers. Its sad to say that but many of them probably have never written anything close to an LOR and may even jeopardize my chances of a potential interview. Okay let me get to the point.... I know each and every former employer Ive had and their writing and English speaking skills may be subpar for what is expected for an LOR. Am I being paranoid or what? The people who I requested are in the medical field or associated with the only university here and understand the weight that the LORs have on the application itself. Advice please

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[cpants]

First of all, no letter from your personal physician. I doubt they will even consider that. Second, you don't need letters from previous employers, especially if the field is not medically related or you don't think they will write a strong letter. Thirdly, you need letters from science professors.

If I were you I would go with the strongest MD and the DO (if you are applying DO). Might be a good idea to have the DO write two letters, one in which he recommends you as a future physician, and one as a future DO. If not applying DO, just go with the strongest two physician letters. Then at least one, preferably two letters from professors (I think they might require 2). Plus premed advisor and research mentor, and you are done.

 

[flip26]

Not obvious from your post, so let me ask the obvious question: Do you have the requisite LORs from profs? 2 sci / 1 non-sci, which should include one from a prof in your major? Does your UG have a committee letter? Med schools prefer those letters, and many will ask you to explain why you don't have one...

You don't need all of those doc letters. You really don't need any of them, but if there is one in particular from a doc who has supervised you over a period of time, that would be an OK letter to have.

Be aware that many schools place a cap on the number of letters they will accept from you, and many only require 2 letters, but those would be prof letters.

 

[LizzyM]

Keep in mind that the typical letter opens with how long the writer has known you and in what context. Letters from neighbors, personal friends, parents of friends, your personal physician, and people for whom you have worked in a non-professional capacity (e.g. nanny) are pretty much worthless as they are not considered unbiased.

The first thing we're looking for with letters is your classroom decorum and performance particularly preparation and handling of workload, teamwork, stamina, class discussion, and written assignments.

 

[shiftingmirage]

When most (all?) allo schools want letters, there are specifications liike bio prof, chem prof, non-science prof. A few want a physics letter (Jefferson). And some give you freedom and ask for a 'letter that speaks to you character". So in terms of allo schools, you will, at most, send 1 MD letter (assuming the MDs did not teach your classes) to any given school, and to several, you will send 0.

DO schools do tend to require a DO letter, but also require letters from profs who have had you in a class.

 

[NightSwim]

Seems like you haven't looked at med schools LOR requirements yet. Look it up. Most want 2 science profs and 1 non-science prof, like previous posters alluded. Although, some schools let you pick whomever. Do you only have 1 professor at this point? If so, you've got to find 2 more. Med schools definitely don't want that many recs beyond these 3 professors. Adding one from a research mentor and one from a doc works. But probably no more than that. Med schools mainly care about the professors recs.

 

[dw2158]

When most (all?) allo schools want letters, there are specifications liike bio prof, chem prof, non-science prof. A few want a physics letter (Jefferson). And some give you freedom and ask for a 'letter that speaks to you character". So in terms of allo schools, you will, at most, send 1 MD letter (assuming the MDs did not teach your classes) to any given school, and to several, you will send 0.

DO schools do tend to require a DO letter, but also require letters from profs who have had you in a class.

jefferson wants a physics LOR? glad i withdrew before they could see i didn't have one.

 

[UnitedWay211]

Okay obviously from the title I have a number of M.D. and 1 D.O. doc that I have requested LORs from or they have offered to write me LORs. The list is below.

1 ICU intensivist (M.D.)
2 Internists (M.D.) (one is my personal physician and the other I worked with)
1 Internist (D.O.)
1 premed advisor/ professor
1 research mentor

I have worked closely with or spent a great deal of time with all the individuals listed above so I feel confident that they can vouch for my performance.

Back to the point. I have lots of work and volunteer experience. Problem is, I dont feel confident requesting LORs from majority of my former employers not because I dont think I performed my job well but because I don't think they would be proficient letter writers. Its sad to say that but many of them probably have never written anything close to an LOR and may even jeopardize my chances of a potential interview. Okay let me get to the point.... I know each and every former employer Ive had and their writing and English speaking skills may be subpar for what is expected for an LOR. Am I being paranoid or what? The people who I requested are in the medical field or associated with the only university here and understand the weight that the LORs have on the application itself. Advice please

You need science professors that you have taken courses from and possibly one from a humanities course. Only your professors/TAs know your academic ability. Physicians in the community would not have this information about you.

 

[JFK90787]

So I'm assuming this has been asked several times before on this forum, but how closely are we supposed to know the non-science professor? Because I will be two years removed from college when I apply, and I went through all of undergrad without saying more than two words to most of those guys. None of them will know who I am

 

[Ilovewater]

jefferson wants a physics LOR? glad i withdrew before they could see i didn't have one.

They say they do, but they don't really care.

But I'd go ahead and ask for letters from bio and chem professors just so you have a variety. Some schools do have specific requirements like that. The physics LOR isn't that common, I think.

 

[LizzyM]

So I'm assuming this has been asked several times before on this forum, but how closely are we supposed to know the non-science professor? Because I will be two years removed from college when I apply, and I went through all of undergrad without saying more than two words to most of those guys. None of them will know who I am

Do you have an employer or a supervisor of a major volunteer activity? Sometimes I've seen that as a non-science letter. I've also seen varsity coaches used as "non-science".

 

[lolasmommy]

Just an update. I had been going over my MSAR for about a week now and listed the required LORs for each school and here is what I have so far:

2 M.D. docs (had previously worked with them)
3 science faculty
1 non-science faculty
1 research mentor

My school does not have a premedical committee and sadly my premedical advisor (listed as one of the 3 science faculty) is very ill. She will most likely not be able to write the letter though she would be the most qualified to vouch for my academic and personal abilities because I had spent much of my undergraduate career taking her classes, being her TA, and helping her as often as I can. So hence why I opted for the 2 extra science faculty. Advice to those who will be applying next cycle would be to ask your LOR the writers well in advance (sometime in April or sooner) so that letter writers can have them in by May and well before June. Thus far, only 3 of 7 letters were sent in so far. Good luck to all this cycle.

 

[KTownGT]

Keep in mind that the typical letter opens with how long the writer has known you and in what context. Letters from neighbors, personal friends, parents of friends, your personal physician, and people for whom you have worked in a non-professional capacity (e.g. nanny) are pretty much worthless as they are not considered unbiased.

The first thing we're looking for with letters is your classroom decorum and performance particularly preparation and handling of workload, teamwork, stamina, class discussion, and written assignments.

Would getting a strong LOR from an English professor be worth asking for? I'm a Microbiology major and Chem/hist minor.

I worked my but off in a poetry class, participated in everything, never late, never said, "I don't know," always was more than prepared, and even got off topic with the TA(He just finished his dissertation), and knew me fairly well.

EDIT: I sent my History of War professor an email asking for a letter too... I didn't make myself as known in his class though. :/

 

[steelblue89]

If I'm a psyc major is it alright to have 1 science prof, 1 psyc prof, 1 liberal arts, 1 research PI, 1 MD?

 

[Salad1n]

Is it OK to have a D.O. send a letter to M.D. schools? I will be applying to both.

 

[searun]

You need three letters from professors. Not TAs. Two letters from the science faculty and one letter from a professor in the social sciences or the humanities. A fourth letter from a physician is also helpful. If your college or university has a premed committee, then get a committee letter which evaluates you in terms of how you compare to other graduates of your school. Your committee letter will include your individual letters of recommendation as attachments.

That is it.

 

[Penner]

Okay obviously from the title I have a number of M.D. and 1 D.O. doc that I have requested LORs from or they have offered to write me LORs. The list is below.

1 ICU intensivist (M.D.)
2 Internists (M.D.) (one is my personal physician and the other I worked with)
1 Internist (D.O.)
1 premed advisor/ professor
1 research mentor

I have worked closely with or spent a great deal of time with all the individuals listed above so I feel confident that they can vouch for my performance.

Back to the point. I have lots of work and volunteer experience. Problem is, I dont feel confident requesting LORs from majority of my former employers not because I dont think I performed my job well but because I don't think they would be proficient letter writers. Its sad to say that but many of them probably have never written anything close to an LOR and may even jeopardize my chances of a potential interview. Okay let me get to the point.... I know each and every former employer Ive had and their writing and English speaking skills may be subpar for what is expected for an LOR. Am I being paranoid or what? The people who I requested are in the medical field or associated with the only university here and understand the weight that the LORs have on the application itself. Advice please

Oh wow, good luck getting into any medical school without 2 science recs and 1 non-science rec... And no committee letter?

 

[Penner]

If I'm a psyc major is it alright to have 1 science prof, 1 psyc prof, 1 liberal arts, 1 research PI, 1 MD?

No. 2 science recs.

Not that hard people. Get recs from:
(2) science professors who have taught you
(1) non-science professor who has taught you
Every PI you've done research with
Others who know you well and are in a position to speak well on your behalf

If your school does committee letters, make sure you get one or it will raise flags.

Also, many schools cap their LOR limit at 6 recommendations. OP - your 7 recommendations may annoy some admissions offices. Make sure you call the ones who say "we accept up to 6 letters" and get permission.

 

[KTownGT]

You need three letters from professors. Not TAs. Two letters from the science faculty and one letter from a professor in the social sciences or the humanities. A fourth letter from a physician is also helpful. If your college or university has a premed committee, then get a committee letter which evaluates you in terms of how you compare to other graduates of your school. Your committee letter will include your individual letters of recommendation as attachments.

That is it.

I believe he's an assistant professor and PhD after my semester. Guess we'll see in the morning what he can do.

I sent my Hist teacher an email too... I think he's finishing up his PhD though.. DANGIT.