Letter of Rec question

[Hopeful_vet]

So I'm a little nervous about my current letters of rec. I'm a bit of a nontrad. I went to a private university for 2 years before spending 4 years in the Army. Since returning to school I've taken nothing but science classes, so there's really no way for me to get a non science academic letter. I have one decent letter coming from my Genetics professor. I sat down with him on a few occasions and had talks about my future plans, etc. My only other academic letter will be coming from my cell bio prof who doesn't know me all that well but we'll be in contact extensively from now until he finishes writing it. I'm basically just getting that one to check another academic letter off.

My other letters I feel like are very strong.

-Supervisor for 3 years in the Army, including 10 months in Afghanistan
-PI of the lab I did 10 months of research in (on the med school executive admission committee at my school)
-Director of the Genomics center at my university where I've worked for almost two years

Until recently I didn't think I should worry, but as I've come to learn, some schools may be very strict on their LoR requirements.

I guess I'm just looking for any insight into how this will be perceived? Will I be screened out due to the letters I have/lack?

Edit: Forgot to say how many months of research I did.

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[Ismet]

You should be more than fine at the vast majority if not all schools. 2 science profs + 1 PI letter (which often can count as a science letter), supervisor letter (maybe doubles as a character letter), and employer letter.

What letters do you think you lack?

 

[Hopeful_vet]

The thing I was concerned about the most was not having a non science professor letter. That and my 2nd science prof letter is going to be fairly weak.

The cell bio prof letter is definitely going to be my weakest letter, and if possible I would like to submit my other 4 ahead of that one. I feel like 5 letters is excessive for most schools. But that means only 1 academic letter. I guess it just depends on the school. If a school wants 2 science profs then I can use the weak letter.

I think the classic SDN Neuroticism may have made me worry more than I should.

 

[aldol16]

Schools generally want 1 science from someone who taught you in a science, 1 other science (PI or taught), 1 non-science, and 1-3 more whatever you want. If you adhere to that template, you should hit most if not all medical school requirements. The science letters are important so give it some thought - you want these to be as strong as possible.

 

[Cookiess]

Since you're planning to be in touch with/meet with your Cell Bio professor frequently over the next few weeks, you can use that opportunity to strengthen your relationship with him so he gets to know you and your motivations for pursuing a career in medicine in a little more depth. You can always try to obtain a LOR from a non-science professor as a backup just in case a school specifically requests it, but you should be fine with your 5 LORs for most schools.