Letter of Recommendation Questions

[558363]

Hey everyone,

I have some brief questions about LORs that I was wondering could be answered.

1.) What is the maximum number of letters you can send to a MD or DO school, typically?

2.) Is it disadvantageous to send fewer letters than the maximum?

3.) What's the usual pattern of LORs? Is it 2 science professors and one non-science individual [does it need to be another professor]?

3.) I'm having trouble thinking of a non-science professor who can write me a letter. Would a Stats professor count as a non-science professor?

4.) If my lab PI is writing me a letter, could that substitute for a non-science professor recommendation? Or a physician writing me a letter?

5.) I honestly haven't been to many office hours for a lot of my classes. I mean, some classes I went to office hours, but I never sat in them long enough to have extended conversations with the professor (it was mostly just to get my questions answered).

I did well in my Intro Bio class and my Stats class, but I took both classes over a year ago, and I don't think the professors remember me. Is it worth contacting these professors, and schedule meeting(s) with them to talk to them? I don't think it would appropriate for me to use up time in their office hours, which are meant for students taking their classes. OR should I just try to get LORs from the professors of the classes I have currently?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LuciusVorenus]

Hey everyone,

I have some brief questions about LORs that I was wondering could be answered.

1.) What is the maximum number of letters you can send to a MD or DO school, typically?

2.) Is it disadvantageous to send fewer letters than the maximum?

3.) What's the usual pattern of LORs? Is it 2 science professors and one non-science individual [does it need to be another professor]?

3.) I'm having trouble thinking of a non-science professor who can write me a letter. Would a Stats professor count as a non-science professor?

4.) If my lab PI is writing me a letter, could that substitute for a non-science professor recommendation? Or a physician writing me a letter?

5.) I honestly haven't been to many office hours for a lot of my classes. I mean, some classes I went to office hours, but I never sat in them long enough to have extended conversations with the professor (it was mostly just to get my questions answered).

I did well in my Intro Bio class and my Stats class, but I took both classes over a year ago, and I don't think the professors remember me. Is it worth contacting these professors, and schedule meeting(s) with them to talk to them? I don't think it would appropriate for me to use up time in their office hours, which are meant for students taking their classes. OR should I just try to get LORs from the professors of the classes I have currently?

1. Most schools need at least 3 (some 2) and most will accept 5-6 max (although some only want the required letters).

2. I'm not done with my cycle, but my opinion is that if additional letters don't add anything, then don't waste the adcom's time. For example, if you have to choose between 3 great letters and 3 great letters+2 okay letters just go with the former.

3. If you want to meet every requirement for almost every school you need two science letters, one non-science letter, one letter from your major (this can be one of your science or non-science letters), and a letter from a research adviser if you were involved in research for an extended period of time. Some schools, like Thomas Jefferson, have really unique letter requirements (1 bio, 1 physics, and 1 chemistry), and you can only find out about these by looking at the websites of the schools you're interested in.

3. Stats is going to count as a science letter (it's technically a math class). Non-science professors are traditionally from the humanities, social sciences, etc. However, it's important to note that maybe only 1/4-1/3 of med schools actually have a non-science requirement, so if you really can't get one it's not the end of the world.

4. I have had some success with using my research letter in place of my non-science letter - however, this was only because my PI is in a non-science department. It seems that schools which word it as a "faculty letter" or "academic" requirement are more accepting of this than schools that word it as a "letter from a professor" requirement. The physician will not substitute for it. In fact, unless you know this physician really well, there's really no point in sending a letter that says you shadow well. This is different for DO schools since many of them require a letter from a DO.

5. Professors, especially prepreq professors, are extremely accustomed to writing LORs for premeds. Some of them probably write dozens at the same time every year, so just remember that you're not asking anything unusual. I would email first unless their office hours are unusually empty. However, a letter from someone who can say nothing but "this person got an A and studies well" is pretty much useless. If that's the only kind of letter you can get from former professors, I would go for the more current professors. I would also make sure you schedule a meeting with them so that they can get to know more about you (bring your resume, transcript, personal statement, list of activities, etc). Also, make sure you ask if they can write you a "POSITIVE letter."

Some final words of advice: Depending on how long you worked with your PI that will most likely be the most vital letter for you (this person knows you the best and adcoms know this). Make sure you ask early and keep your options open (you never know when someone will change their mind because of scheduling conflicts or takes too long to write your letter). And most importantly, make sure all your letters are signed and on official institution letterhead.