Letter of rec question

[firstborn]

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Hey guys,
Just wondering if you could help me out with a quick question. I am currently trying to create a list of people that I should look to get letters of recommendation from. However, I am not sure how many I will need or whether I want to use different letters for different schools. Also, what is the best way to go about getting to know science professors? I tend to do fairly well in my science classes and so do not go to office hours often and have not made too many connections.
Currently my options include:

Pre-med advisor (strong)
Volunteer/Leadership position supervisor (strong)
Summer research PI (strong)
Schoolyear research PI (one year)
Semester abroad mentor (semester)
Emergency room volunteer letter from doc (~year)
Philosophy professor (non-science)
Physics or Neurosci professors (science--not sure)

Thanks again for all the responses!

 

[goldenwest]

Get as many as you can without being that pestering nuisance of a person that's always buzzing about the department offices. My Health Professions Advisory Committee had me send them all my LORs and they then sorted through them and decided which ones were the strongest - some of them I never got to read which is a real bummer because it would likely be something like inflated self-esteem cocaine.

 

[NickNaylor]

I wouldn't send out more than 3-4 LORs, including a "cover letter" if that's what your committee produces. More than just seems like overkill, and unless you've got some really unique experiences they're just going to repeat the same information.

 

[alwaysaangel]

In general to be covered for most medical schools you need: 2 science, 1 non-science and 1 other.

The faculty letters are supposed to be people you have taken science/non-science courses with.

To go through your list:


Pre-med advisor (strong) - skip it advisors are useless...he doesn't know you in any valuable capacity
Volunteer/Leadership position supervisor (strong)-get it for your "other"
Summer research PI (strong) - get it for an additional "other"
Schoolyear research PI (one year) - you already have a research letter. If you think this will also be strong then go for it.
Semester abroad mentor (semester) - skip it
Emergency room volunteer letter from doc (~year) - if you think it will be strong you could have a third "other" letter for some schools that don't limit how many you can send (or allow 5-6 letters)
Philosophy professor (non-science) - you will need this
Physics or Neurosci professors (science--not sure) - you will need this

You are 1 science letter short. I suggest you either take a class with one of your PIs so that it could count as a science letter or take a smaller upper div class to get another potential letter writer.