letter of rec from non-phd/md/do

[call me x]

Hi everyone,

I am currently working at a small biotech company and was thinking about getting a letter or rec from my boss. He happens to be the only "manager" at the company without a Ph.D. (he has an M.S. degree). I heard that sometimes adcoms don't really care for letters not from some sort of doctor. This letter would be in addition to my under-grad committee letter. Any thoughts on if I should send it or just hold on to it?

Thanks so much,
X

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[adeline]

If he has something new to say, send it.

 

[Trexate]

I asked for a LOR from my boss. If nothing else it lets them know that you aren't a complete ass-hat in the working world.

 

[call me x]

thank you both for your input....i most likely will send it....i guess an extra letter can't really hurt

 

[IceMan0824]

thank you both for your input....i most likely will send it....i guess an extra letter can't really hurt

An extra letter can hurt but probably not in the situation you have on your hands there.

I've known professors that have written letters that describe students as average with no standout qualities. Letters can hurt.

 

[call me x]

An extra letter can hurt but probably not in the situation you have on your hands there.

I've known professors that have written letters that describe students as average with no standout qualities. Letters can hurt.

valid point....i think my boss likes me though haha.....also that is a really cruel thing for a professor to do.....i would hope that most professors would just say "no" when asked to write a letter instead of doing that

 

[Red1263]

Hey I'm thinking of applying to Loma Linda, known for their religious perspectives, if I can get a LOR from my church, would that help, perhaps make them see that I'm a religious man as well as a man of Medicine?

 

[adeline]

Hey I'm thinking of applying to Loma Linda, known for their religious perspectives, if I can get a LOR from my church, would that help, perhaps make them see that I'm a religious man as well as a man of Medicine?

What are they going to say about you? What position do you hold?

Bringing faith into this debate generally goes downhill, if this would be an LL only letter, it might work. For the wider world, you're expected to cleave to what your patients' faith requires of them.

 

[Mattabet]

I heard that sometimes adcoms don't really care for letters not from some sort of doctor.

Total and complete lie. Squelch that rumor.

Definitely send your boss's letter if he can speak to what a great, smart, hardworking, etc employee you can be. Send letters from the people who can write well for your cause, the letters after their name are trivial. Two of my 4 letters came from non-docs, and one of my 'docs' was a Ph. D., the other, a Ph. D./MD.

 

[Trexate]

Hey I'm thinking of applying to Loma Linda, known for their religious perspectives, if I can get a LOR from my church, would that help, perhaps make them see that I'm a religious man as well as a man of Medicine?

Some places like that actually require letters from your church. Even if they don't, it might benefit you to look into getting one.

 

[Red Potato]

Okay -- I hope people don't mind I'm high-jacking this thread.

But I have a problem -- one of my letter-writer sent the LOR (sealed and unopened) to me instead of uploading it to virtualeval. Can I submit the LOR to amcas letter service, along with the request form and the amcas letter ID attached? Will AMCAS accept that?

Or do I have to ask my evaluator to upload the letter instead? He's on vacation and i don't know when he'll be back and even then, he rarely checks his e-mail.

 

[TopSecret]

Hi everyone,

I am currently working at a small biotech company and was thinking about getting a letter or rec from my boss. He happens to be the only "manager" at the company without a Ph.D. (he has an M.S. degree). I heard that sometimes adcoms don't really care for letters not from some sort of doctor. This letter would be in addition to my under-grad committee letter. Any thoughts on if I should send it or just hold on to it?

Thanks so much,
X

The letter wouldn't have much impact. I'd get a letter from a doctor. You could do this by volunteering at a doctor's office or at a university hospital where you could spend a few afternoons with the younger attendings. The teaching attendings are usually open to getting younger people involved in medicine and the local docs like to have volunteers around to bring enthusiasm and energy to the front office.

 

[TopSecret]

Total and complete lie. Squelch that rumor.

Definitely send your boss's letter if he can speak to what a great, smart, hardworking, etc employee you can be. Send letters from the people who can write well for your cause, the letters after their name are trivial. Two of my 4 letters came from non-docs, and one of my 'docs' was a Ph. D., the other, a Ph. D./MD.

His boss may speak well of his work ethic but a letter from a doctor would have a lot more weight since medicine is considered a very exclusive club.

 

[adeline]

His boss may speak well of his work ethic but a letter from a doctor would have a lot more weight since medicine is considered a very exclusive club.

some schools req letters from employers as applicable.

 

[Mattabet]

His boss may speak well of his work ethic but a letter from a doctor would have a lot more weight since medicine is considered a very exclusive club.

I respectfully disagree, in most cases anyway. The exception would be if the letter happens to come from a doctor who has ties to the institution. Then it clearly does make a difference, as the letter writer may hold some sway with the adcoms (and would fit your exclusive club scenario).

But to assume that an MD letter holds more weight is to forget the purpose of a LoR. If MD letters are so great, why do schools specifically require so many of them not to be from MDs? Typically, up to three letters are required to be from professors in both science and non-science rolls.

The LoR is supposed to speak primarily to a candidate's attributes and qualities that may help them as a medical student. They are not looking for, "this person is like me, and I'm a doctor, so they can be too". Instead, they want to hear that an applicant is smart, hard-working, determined, competent, ethical, etc from people who are in a good position to assess those traits. Often, these are professors for whom the applicant has done good work. And an employer is also often in a good position to write such letters.

The body of an LoR is more important than the signature 99 times out of 100.

If you happen to know a doctor somewhere who can write well to the kinds of qualities the adcoms are looking for, great. But if you forgo a good letter to get a letter from a doc you've only known a short time, it's going to end up biting you.

 

[atomi]

Hi everyone,

I am currently working at a small biotech company and was thinking about getting a letter or rec from my boss. He happens to be the only "manager" at the company without a Ph.D. (he has an M.S. degree). I heard that sometimes adcoms don't really care for letters not from some sort of doctor. This letter would be in addition to my under-grad committee letter. Any thoughts on if I should send it or just hold on to it?

Thanks so much,
X

-

 

[atomi]

Hey I'm thinking of applying to Loma Linda, known for their religious perspectives, if I can get a LOR from my church, would that help, perhaps make them see that I'm a religious man as well as a man of Medicine?

-

 

[call me x]

Where did you hear this? I had a letter from someone who never graduated high school and it didn't hurt me -- in fact I think that letter was one of my best ones. As long as you have 2 faculty letters in there somewhere, the rest shouldn't matter.

i heard it from a bunch of over-achieving pre-meds, some "claimed" to have gotten the info from various adcoms/current med students....i guess i should have realized then that it was bs.....i have a committee letter from my undergrad which includes a letter from the ph.d. i did a summer internship with, my gen chem professor who knew me beyond the classroom, and a d.o. who i would say is basically my mentor....in addition i am sending a letter from one of my grad professors who was the former dean of the master's program i was in and i was considering adding this 1 extra letter from my boss....after everyone's responses (thank you all, btw) the only thing that makes me hesitant in sending a letter from him is that english is not his first language and i am unsure how well he would write it....but that is not an issue for sdn haha

....thank you everyone who has left feedback!

 

[TopSecret]

I respectfully disagree, in most cases anyway. The exception would be if the letter happens to come from a doctor who has ties to the institution. Then it clearly does make a difference, as the letter writer may hold some sway with the adcoms (and would fit your exclusive club scenario).

But to assume that an MD letter holds more weight is to forget the purpose of a LoR. If MD letters are so great, why do schools specifically require so many of them not to be from MDs? Typically, up to three letters are required to be from professors in both science and non-science rolls.

The LoR is supposed to speak primarily to a candidate's attributes and qualities that may help them as a medical student. They are not looking for, "this person is like me, and I'm a doctor, so they can be too". Instead, they want to hear that an applicant is smart, hard-working, determined, competent, ethical, etc from people who are in a good position to assess those traits. Often, these are professors for whom the applicant has done good work. And an employer is also often in a good position to write such letters.

The body of an LoR is more important than the signature 99 times out of 100.

If you happen to know a doctor somewhere who can write well to the kinds of qualities the adcoms are looking for, great. But if you forgo a good letter to get a letter from a doc you've only known a short time, it's going to end up biting you.

You're right in that what is written is what is more important. But all things being equal a letter from a physician or surgeon would carry more weight and may convince the interviewers that you are also well qualified. In general the med school admissions committees are composed of medical students, basic science faculty, the dean and faculty physicians. Most of the screening work is done by basic science faculty and students but the interviews and the final decisions are left to the dean and faculty physicians. So you want to go through all the hurdles.

By the way I had a friend who was a medical student and serving in the admissions committee, and he remembered all of the attractive females in the applicant pool and hoped that they would come to the school. And the women serving in the committee were the same too in regards to the male applicants. It's probably like that everywhere whether people admit to it or not.