Letter of Reccomendation Advice

[chrisski]

Here's my situation. I am a freshman in college. I am currently taking an English composition course. It is a relatively difficult course(there are no other A's in the class) and I actually have an A+. The teacher and I are on excellent terms and share interests inside and outside of class. Sounds great right? Well here is where my conundrum arises. The teacher is still a graduate student. This is her last year teaching(therefore I cannot take any more classes with her) before she moves onto her dissertation. Additionally, I know that she has a very heavy course load this year. However she is an excellent writer(hence the English PhD) and I would imagine could write a very strong recommendation.

1. Would it be appropriate to ask a person in this situation for a letter?( I mean a person who is very busy w/ teaching, classes, and dissertation)
2. Would it be advantageous to ask a person in this situation for a letter for medical school purposes(I mean a person without a PhD)

-It should be noted, If the second is no, but the first is yes, I could still ask for a letter and use it for study abroad etc. Thanks for the input.

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[ElegantWeapon]

At one point my freshman year I asked an ELIT graduate student teacher for a letter of rec. He said he would be happy to write it if it would help, but strongly advised that I reconsider because he did not yet complete his training and thought that someone that had their full training (PhD, etc) would be better to write.

 

[chrisski]

At one point my freshman year I asked an ELIT graduate student teacher for a letter of rec. He said he would be happy to write it if it would help, but strongly advised that I reconsider because he did not yet complete his training and thought that someone that had their full training (PhD, etc) would be better to write.

Thanks. Any more thoughts

 

[WaterBird]

Most medical schools want letters from professors. Even if you get a letter from a TA with a PhD, most people get the professor to co-sign.

So, No to question 2. Yes to question 1 - writing letter of recommendations is part of the work that comes with teaching classes. But, you might want to consider not imposing this burden on someone if the letter will not be that useful to you.

 

[artx2008]

1. Yes
2. I am not sure. I don't think it is that important whether he/she has PhD or not; the quality of the letter is more important. I had one of my letters from a person with MS degree and didn't have any problems with that.

Just don't assume that she can write you an excellent LOR just because she is an excellent writer and is working on her PhD in English.
Personally, I would look for someone with more experience.

 

[shaggybill]

Med schools want letters from instructors who have taught you and are familiar with how well you preform in a given subject. It doesn't matter whether they are a Phd or MS.

 

[jturkel]

Med schools want letters from instructors who have taught you and are familiar with how well you preform in a given subject. It doesn't matter whether they are a Phd or MS.

i had an hour phone conference with Dean Witzburg of Boston University School of Medicine and he told me that his school and most other competitive programs will only seriously consider what is written in the letters of professors with Ph.Ds....not from graduate students or others who may be in the process of getting their Ph.D.

 

[artx2008]

i had an hour phone conference with Dean Witzburg of Boston University School of Medicine and he told me that his school and most other competitive programs will only seriously consider what is written in the letters of professors with Ph.Ds....not from graduate students or others who may be in the process of getting their Ph.D.

What about M.S.?

 

[jturkel]

What about M.S.?

i would imagine that an M.S. is better than a graduate student without a Master's Degree....

The REAL reason competitive schools want the big degree (Ph.D, M.D, etc) on your letter is for credibility........More than likely, individuals with those well-respected professional degrees and teaching at institutions have been in their field, teaching, and researching for many years. They have taught hundreds if not thousands of students and known many on a personal basis.

The letters from these professors or professionals are more credibility when they discuss the merits or personality etc of the person the letter they are writing is about. For a graduate student to say that "Bob....is the best student they have ever had......".....means much less than when a full professor with a Ph.D., teaching for 20+ years, says "Sandra is an bright individual, one of the smartest I have encountered in my 20 years of teaching....she would truly be an asset to your school.....etc"

And a professor knows how hard it is getting into competitive schools and programs as many have gone through them themselves. They are therefore (guessing here) less likely to write a truly amazing letter unless the individual really deserves it. They stick to the truth and their years of experience (again, being repetitive here) gives them more credibility when they say things about a student.

This is what I was essentially told by the dean, with whom I am friendly. After not getting in last year, he told me my letters were weak because of the lack of "professional credibility"

I previously had letters from:

1 Ph.D
1 M.D.
2 "graduate students", both with masters, currently finishing up their Ph.D. degree.

Now I have letters from:
4 Ph.Ds
2 M.D.s

hope that helps

edit:

and to go along with how well the letter writer knows you, YES the person must know you....but try to get to know a Ph.D really well. my two letters from my Ph.D students were very personalized. I TA'd one of their classes for two semesters and got lunch with weekly.....and the other I biked with on weekends as he trained for triathalons. they both knew me VERY well...but it didn't matter apparently

 

[TheMightySmiter]

OP, you're in your first semester of college. You have plenty of time to get LORs from actual professors and I think you would be much safer doing that.

 

[artx2008]

OP, you're in your first semester of college. You have plenty of time to get LORs from actual professors and I think you would be much safer doing that.

Good point

 

[WashMe]

haha

reccomendation (sp) + "A+" = ironic and priceless

 

[Anita817]

Absolutely get the letter-- getting it doesn't marry you to it. Obviously an English instructor is not going to be able to speak much about your ability to perform well in medical school, but certainly this person can comment on your character and general abilities that would lend themselves well to a career in medicine. If you have other experiences along the way that you think would amount to better LORs, then get those and toss this one--but what if you don't? It's a lot harder to get a glowing letter from someone who has not seen your face in a few years, or to get that person to write it in a timely way if they no longer consider you a light in their life! One of the letters I am using is from an employer who originally wrote it as a recommendation for my study abroad program. The letter did not mention medical school OR study abroad--it was strictly a character reference, so it actually worked great. I figured it just goes to show I've always been this awesome (and modest lol), and it didn't just start when I began applying to school