Letter of Rec Advice

[deleted77919]

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[kumar28]

ask them now..before u finish rotation. just explain that you dont have a ps yet but do have a cv. Tell them about your interest and you should be fine...but do it now so you don't have to go back...

 

[josehernandez94]

i'd definitely ask them now while you're still fresh in their mind and probably have a well defined (hopefully positive) opinion about you, but let them know that you realize it's early and that you'd like to give them your updated information (cv, summary of other accomplishments, personal statement) next spring/early summer before they write it. damn that was a run on sentence... i feel like william faulkner.

from personal experience, it doesn't much matter when you ask.... these people are busy and will probably procrastinate as much as possible. i asked my psych clerkship director to write my letter in march and i know he didn't have it finished until august or maybe even early september (after several gentle reminders on my part).

 

[LizAlf82]

Dakota - I'm in the same spot. Amazing experience on psych, really think my attending loved me, and we got to spend tons of one-on-one time together...so she seems ideal for a rec. For me the confusing thing about it is that there's a form for ERAS that we're supposed to give people we ask for the letter, and MS3s can't get into ERAS yet.

So my question for everyone is: would you all say to just ask for the letter now and have them hold onto it until closer to application time?

 

[Still Kickin]

i'd definitely ask them now while you're still fresh in their mind and probably have a well defined (hopefully positive) opinion about you, but let them know that you realize it's early and that you'd like to give them your updated information (cv, summary of other accomplishments, personal statement) next spring/early summer before they write it. damn that was a run on sentence... i feel like william faulkner.

I second this advice. They probably wouldn't/shouldn't spend too much time working on a "letter" for you right now, at this point. (You could still fall in love with another specialty, etc.) (Of course, they still might be a good person to get a letter from even if that did happen...)

But if you talk to them now they will know you are interested & will make a point of remembering you. (Who knows, maybe even might jot down a couple notes about you to help jog their memory come next summer, etc.)