Letter of rec from MD needed?

[nehuHI]

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I'm planning to ask 2 close professors (Ph.D.) and a boss (Ph.D.) for recommendations. Will my lack of a recommendation from an MD hurt my chances?

 

[lrkoehle]

I think some schools might require a letter from an MD, so it would hurt your chances at those schools. If you want to cover all your bases get 2 from science faculty, 1 from non-science, 1 from MD, and maybe 1 more from some other volunteer related activity. At least that is what I was told should cover you at pretty much any school.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I think some schools might require a letter from an MD, so it would hurt your chances at those schools. If you want to cover all your bases get 2 from science faculty, 1 from non-science, 1 from MD, and maybe 1 more from some other volunteer related activity. At least that is what I was told should cover you at pretty much any school.

Assuming you are a traditional applicant, most schools require either a combination of 2 science professor and 1 non-science professor LOR or a committee letter. I don't know of any schools that require a letter from a physician, but I could be wrong. It has been posted in various threads within the Pre-Allo forum that the faculty letters (and research letters if applying to research-oriented programs) carry nearly all of the weight.

 

[genswim24]

I'm planning to ask 2 close professors (Ph.D.) and a boss (Ph.D.) for recommendations. Will my lack of a recommendation from an MD hurt my chances?

None of the 25 schools I applied to needed a letter of recommendation from an MD so you should be fine in that aspect. TooMuchResearch is correct that several schools will require a combination of 2 science professor and 1 non-science professor LOR or a committee letter. Either way, it looks like you need one more LOR from a professor.

 

[nehuHI]

Thanks guys for the help. I'm a non-traditional student and graduated undergrad (bio) in 2003 and then grad school (MS) in 2006. Do you think I'll still need a LOR from a non-science professor?

 

[BlueElmo]

I'm pretty sure you don't need a MD letter. Science and non-science letters should be fine.