Letter of Recommendation from Academic Advisor

[Sheemu]

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I have 3 faculty letters for medical school, but I would like to include a fourth letter to vouch for my engagements with community work. I have 2 letters from direct supervisors for volunteer positions I've done, but I'm unsure of the quality of the letters simply because the writers were likely busy.

However, I do have a good relationship with my academic advisor, and we've chatted quite frequently regarding my career motivations towards medicine, and he has a good understanding of the type of experiences I've been involved in, and I am certain he would write a really good letter. I am also going to be doing AmeriCorps in July and he would definitely include that fact in the letter.

Question is, should I use the letters from direct supervisors, and would a letter from an academic advisor not have very much impact since he has not actually observed me at work? Also getting a letter of rec from an AmeriCorps staff would probably be too late if I start in July right. Thanks everyone

 

[mellie0]

I would say go with the academic advisor one. I think having a good letter from this academic advisor is better than a poor letter from one of your volunteer supervisors, especially if you already are suspicious of the quality of those letters. Although your advisor cannot directly speak to those activities, he can speak about how you have reflected upon them when you two talk, or how he has seen you grow as a result of these experiences, etc etc.