Letter of recommendation

[deleted158872]

I have some questions regarding LoRs :

Regarding whom I should ask for LoR, I can know it by now. But... how can you figure out whether a professor is most likely to write a GOOD LoR ? My friend told me that when she came to ask for LoR for grad school (not Med school), a prof told her that: "Hey I don't really know you but I'm glad to write you a letter". He didn't ask her more about herself and he actually wrote her one...

But in situations like that, would you still ask him to write one for you, or would you go asking another prof ?

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[[pj]]

You could/should straight up ask whether they'd write a good letter for you. At first I thought this would be weird, but it is pretty common and will only help you in the end.

 

[RySerr21]

does anybody know if it matters if your LOR from a doc is from a DO or an MD. It would be from an orthopedic surgeon (DO). I dont imagine that it would....

 

[adam5aby]

I have some questions regarding LoRs :

Regarding whom I should ask for LoR, I can know it by now. But... how can you figure out whether a professor is most likely to write a GOOD LoR ? My friend told me that when she came to ask for LoR for grad school (not Med school), a prof told her that: "Hey I don't really know you but I'm glad to write you a letter". He didn't ask her more about herself and he actually wrote her one...

But in situations like that, would you still ask him to write one for you, or would you go asking another prof ?

ask profs that you have a relationship with outside of raising your hand in class. and if you dont have any profs like that, you better start attending office hours and making yourself known.

also you need a LOR from every major experience you've had in college (or your college years)...doesnt need to be a prof (like if u volunteered/worked somewhere not associated with your undergrad) but needs to be a higher up...hopefully the head of the program.

major experience= about 3 months or more.

i got ALL of my LOR from my junior and senior year. 2 science profs from senior year. start being active in the connections you desire to have with your profs so that they can write you good LORS

 

[deleted158872]

How could you establish relationships with professors besides working in their labs or becoming their TA ?
I find it hard to ask for a letter even though I get A's in their classes

 

[shippudenfan]

How could you establish relationships with professors besides working in their labs or becoming their TA ?
I find it hard to ask for a letter even though I get A's in their classes

Just do the same stuff we used to do in highschool when we wanted to suck up and get a good mark. Go to their office hours with lots of prepared good questions (this means you will have had to study specifically for this purpose). You would be surprised to find how many times a prof is just excited that someone is thinking about the material or is just glad to have someone to talk to. After about the second or third office hour, try to think up topics not related to the class. I asked the prof how they came to be a prof of ___.

Mention that you want to go to med school. This way, they'll unconsciously stereotype you as a hardworking student.

Bottom line: just be a student that the prof grows to actually like and would give a job to if the opportunity comes up. Notice that this doesn't mean you have to be a T.A/research assistant in their lab.

 

[175961]

You could/should straight up ask whether they'd write a good letter for you. At first I thought this would be weird, but it is pretty common and will only help you in the end.

probably the best and easiest way to do it. let them know you are applying to med school and ask them if they could write you a good LOR...make sure they understand the good part. if (for whatever reason) they dont think they can write you a good LOR i would say thank you and look elsewhere

 

[TheMemoirist]

does anybody know if it matters if your LOR from a doc is from a DO or an MD. It would be from an orthopedic surgeon (DO). I dont imagine that it would....

If you know the doctor well and they can write you a good letter, the fact that it is a DO shouldn't make any difference. Most MD schools don't require letters from a physician though, and I've heard mixed opinions on whether or not you should even include one (I did, and I think it helped, but that's totally anectdotal.) At any rate, you'll probably still need letters from a science prof. As for DO schools, if you're applying to any--you'll probably need a DO letter anyway, so this would be a safe bet.

 

[DoctorDreamer]

Adcoms can tell whether a professor actually knows you or not. Don't go for a writer who would write a "form letter," positive or not. Develop real relationships with several professors, then when it is LOR time (give them plenty of time to write), simply ask them, "Dr. _____, I am needing a letter of recommendation for my med school apps, and I was wondering if you would feel comfortable writing me a strong letter of recommendation."

If they hesitate, move on. If they jump to the occasion, they are likely to write you excellent letters.

 

[TheMemoirist]

How could you establish relationships with professors besides working in their labs or becoming their TA ?
I find it hard to ask for a letter even though I get A's in their classes

Just start attending office hours with questions or other pertinent conversation starters related to the class. Eventually, after you've been enough, the prof will remember you--and since you'll probably be one of the very few who actually goes to the office hours, the prof will likely be more than happy to write you a good letter--especially if you do well in the class. But then again, if you're friendly and warm to the prof, you probably don't even need to be in the top 10% to get a really nice letter.

 

[supafield]

My break was getting on the Health Science Teacher Awards committee at my school. They need an undergraduate rep. but it is all big faculty members that decide who gets the Health Science teaching awards. I asked the associate dean from our faculty to write me a letter and he said yes if I'm comfortable with him writing one on the knowledge we had of each other...


I offered to take him out for lunch one day when he was free and chat about why I want to do medicine and supplied him with a CV and an unofficial transcript...

While it can be hard to get to know professors to the point where you would consider each other legitimate friends with a little effort and willingness on the professors side you can easily get your relationship to a point where they can make a reasonable statement about your potential and relevant qualities to you success as a doctor.

 

[deleted158872]

Has anyone here ever ask a professor to write TWO recommendations for two purposes ???? Is it favorable or unfavorable to do so ??

 

[deleted158872]

One more question:

WHEN is the BEST time to ask for recomm. ?? Would you rather ask :

1/ Right after you finish a course/work, when your image is still fresh in a professor's mind, OR
2/ A few months before you apply, so that you can give the prof. your PS ??

 

[Imlost]

I have the same question I said I need a strong letter of recommendation to most of the professor that has never seen me with a class of 500 students. But i said it in a casual way like hey professor I really need a strong letter of recommendation for med school blah blah and all he said was ill be glad to write it... I don't know if they just skipped the strong part and it is quite embarassing to say are u going to write me a strong one in a direct way... and another thing is that there box in the application where it allows me to review the letter and I don't know if I should put a check in it because most professors wouldn't like it.. But I would really love to read it and see if it is a strong letter or not without offending him one way or another....

 

[dd128]

One more question:

WHEN is the BEST time to ask for recomm. ?? Would you rather ask :

1/ Right after you finish a course/work, when your image is still fresh in a professor's mind, OR
2/ A few months before you apply, so that you can give the prof. your PS ??

Probably either one is fine, as long as you give the professor plenty of time to write the letter. I approached a professor well in advance after finishing the class to talk with him about the letter. He agreed and I just told him I would give him a shout when I started getting secondaries. I sent my p.s. and stuff immediately, and a little over a month later I sent him a note, about the schools I was applying to and he got them out fairly quickly.

 

[unsung]

Just do the same stuff we used to do in highschool when we wanted to suck up and get a good mark. Go to their office hours with lots of prepared good questions (this means you will have had to study specifically for this purpose). You would be surprised to find how many times a prof is just excited that someone is thinking about the material or is just glad to have someone to talk to. After about the second or third office hour, try to think up topics not related to the class. I asked the prof how they came to be a prof of ___.

Mention that you want to go to med school. This way, they'll unconsciously stereotype you as a hardworking student.

Bottom line: just be a student that the prof grows to actually like and would give a job to if the opportunity comes up. Notice that this doesn't mean you have to be a T.A/research assistant in their lab.

Haha, I specifically try NOT to do this, as I find many profs will then immediately typecast you into the "suck-up who only cares about getting a good grade & has no real interest in this material" pile".

Hell, that was my bias before I became a pre-med, myself Instead, I would advocate trying to show an honest interest in the material, beyond asking repeatedly "Will X be on the test?" "Will Y be on the test?" I always winced whenever the pre-meds did this in class... no wonder so many profs have negative impressions of pre-meds.

 

[xrevision]

Lucky for me I go to a small liberal arts school, and I'm getting one from the head of the chemistry department, and another from an organic professor. They both happen to know me very well.

 

[deleted158872]

Probably either one is fine, as long as you give the professor plenty of time to write the letter. I approached a professor well in advance after finishing the class to talk with him about the letter. He agreed and I just told him I would give him a shout when I started getting secondaries. I sent my p.s. and stuff immediately, and a little over a month later I sent him a note, about the schools I was applying to and he got them out fairly quickly.

Hey, thanks for the reply!
Of course a combination of both ways is the best, but right now I haven't written much for my PS yet. Well... what did your PS look like when you gave your profs ? Was it a complete one ? Do you have any advice on what I should tell the profs in my PS ?