Letter of Recommendation

[premed91]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I just finished my first semester of bio and bio lab and asked my bio lecture professor to write me a letter of recommendation seeing as I was her best student in her classes and recieved an A in her class. She aggreed to writing the letter but she asked me

"I'm going to need more info! Who is it to, addressing it, etc... And some info about you, your goals, etc."

and I do not know how to answer these questions. I mentioned it is for med school but I do not know what else to include for her to use in the letter of recommendation. Can someone please help because I do not know what else to include.

Thank you.

 

[Anamine]

Your professor knows nothing about you, just give her a list of your highlights. This might be a copyandpasta letter though.

 

[premed91]

I do not really know what a list of my highlights would be. Should I say I am a good student, passionate about medicine, very smart or something along those lines because that seems somewhat cheesy and seems as if it would be of no help. I literally have know idea of what to tell her for the letter of recommendation.

 

[mimelim]

I do not really know what a list of my highlights would be. Should I say I am a good student, passionate about medicine, very smart or something along those lines because that seems somewhat cheesy and seems as if it would be of no help. I literally have know idea of what to tell her for the letter of recommendation.

If you don't know what you want in a LOR or don't know what a professor should be highlighting, it is going to be by definition a poor LOR. LOR after a single class with a professor based solely on doing well rarely are any good, much less strong.

 

[premed91]

I dont know what I want in a letter of recommendation because I never really asked for one before. I don't really know what is supposed to be in. Hnoestly I would just like some advise as what to tell her to write about me, or in other words what would look good in a letter of recommendation.

 

[Bacchus]

I just finished my first semester of bio and bio lab and asked my bio lecture professor to write me a letter of recommendation seeing as I was her best student in her classes and recieved an A in her class. She aggreed to writing the letter but she asked me

"I'm going to need more info! Who is it to, addressing it, etc... And some info about you, your goals, etc."

and I do not know how to answer these questions. I mentioned it is for med school but I do not know what else to include for her to use in the letter of recommendation. Can someone please help because I do not know what else to include.

Thank you.

How far along through undergrad are you?

I'd recommend staying in touch with her and request the letter when you're applying to medical school. That way, you can provide her a copy of your transcript, your personal statement and a CV so she can write the best letter possible. Staying in touch also lets her get to know you as a person rather than "the student who received an A."

 

[dannybht]

Expressing yourself is difficult because its a broad question. However, a good way is to write down a list about what you have done so far in college...EC such as volunteering at a clinic or joining a fraternity. Then see what you learned about yourself from it. Example: Tutoring/mentoring taught me that I like to improve a person's well-being and academics. So find the things you like to do. It doesn't have to be extraordinary. That will help you define yourself and the qualities you have.

 

[mimelim]

I dont know what I want in a letter of recommendation because I never really asked for one before. I don't really know what is supposed to be in. Hnoestly I would just like some advise as what to tell her to write about me, or in other words what would look good in a letter of recommendation.

What characteristics can this professor attest to that are going to make you a good physician in the future? My point is that unless you are poorly characterizing your relationship with this professor, this is a poor person to get one from.

LOR are broken down as such:

1) What the writer can talk about (what qualities and characteristics they can highlight)
2) How well they know you
3) Who they are

A good letter will excel in two of those. A strong letter will excel in all three. The letter you are proposing fits NONE of those. If a LOR can be distilled down into the same info as a single letter grade on your transcript, "He is a good student", it is a failure.

 

[BABSstudent]

Sounds like a freshman. This who thing is why I don't suggest getting letters until later in college. You have time to build up more extracurriculars that professors can use when writing a letter.

I even gave my letter writers a rough draft of my personal statement so they could see how I thought everything fit together.

 

[premed91]

I am a junior in college.

 

[ACal]

Here is what most people usually recommend giving your LOR writer:

Your college transcript
Full resume/CV with all your extracurricular activities
A copy of your personal statement for medical school

Anything you want the letter writer to emphasize (qualities that make you a good physician)

You should tell your writer that it's a letter to recommend you for an M.D. program (Or whatever you are applying for)

A professor who you've had one class with might not be the BEST person to get a LOR from but it's better than nothing. Especially if they've agreed to write one, I would definitely get it or you might regret it later.

 

[hobbity]

I reiterate that you should give your LOR your transcript, resume/CV, your activities list (hopefully sounding a lot like what you're going to submit in your primary), and a copy or rough draft of your personal statement. Also give them any other information you want them to know.
It also can't hurt to mention that you're willing to go to your professor's office hours to talk about any of those things so the professor can ask you any questions and get to know you a little more before writing the letter.

Another thing to do is to see if your institution has a prehealth committee that compiles a letter packet. If you don't have one of those, then don't worry. But my committee actually asked questions to help them write their cover letter for my application - if you have a committee who does this, give those responses to your letter writer also.

That said, I do feel that you're just going to end up with a very generic science LOR. This might be fine as long as you have other amazing LORs - but it's not going to make you stand out. Since you're a junior just finishing intro bio (I'm guessing?), I would recommend getting the letter just in case and also consider taking an upper division science course with a smaller class size so you can fish out a stronger LOR. Since you did so well in bio, having a generic letter + a stronger letter to give your two science letters should be okay. But of course, it's preferable to have two strong science letters.

Good luck, OP.

 

[premed91]

I am not sure If math is part of "science " in the sense of LOR's but I am almost certain I can get a strong LOR from my calc professor. I am going to ask but I asked my bio professor first because I was one of her best students but I didnt know so much went into the LOR process. I just assumed it was as simple as getting good grades and asking the professor were you recieved the good grade because your grade has reflected the kind of student you are. Thanks everyone for the help and responses.

 

[premed91]

Also if anyone has any more advise please let me know.

Thank you.

 

[mimelim]

I am not sure If math is part of "science " in the sense of LOR's but I am almost certain I can get a strong LOR from my calc professor. I am going to ask but I asked my bio professor first because I was one of her best students but I didnt know so much went into the LOR process. I just assumed it was as simple as getting good grades and asking the professor were you recieved the good grade because your grade has reflected the kind of student you are. Thanks everyone for the help and responses.

Most people have never had to really ask for a LOR before, it is pretty common for students to not know exactly goes into them. Better to learn now than later 😉. Just remember that every part of your application from grades to MCAT score to ECs to LOR to personal statement is a data point that ultimately as an aggregate turns into a story for adcoms to read. In the same way that you would hate to read the same chapter over and over in a book, reiterating the same information over and over in an application is counter productive. Things should compliment each other, but should not simply repeat what has already been said. In this case, your grade will reflect your academic prowess. LOR should say something else, something beyond, "is nice" or "is good student". What other qualities do you have that make you a good fit for medicine? LOR don't need to tell adcoms the kind of student you are because you already have a GPA, transcript and MCAT to do that.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I just finished my first semester of bio and bio lab and asked my bio lecture professor to write me a letter of recommendation seeing as I was her best student in her classes and recieved an A in her class. She aggreed to writing the letter but she asked me

"I'm going to need more info! Who is it to, addressing it, etc... And some info about you, your goals, etc."

and I do not know how to answer these questions. I mentioned it is for med school but I do not know what else to include for her to use in the letter of recommendation. Can someone please help because I do not know what else to include.

Thank you.

I feel you made a good decision in choosing her as your LOR writer because she is asking you these questions. This is a good indication that your impression to her will strengthen the letter even further. Talk to her about your reasons for going into medicine and what kind of person you are. Spare the details on how good a student you are and your were leader of XYZ clubs (she knows how good of a student you are). Just talk about your drive for medicine.

 

[premed91]

Can you explain what you mean when you say talk about my drive for medicine. I have my reasons but I was planning on putting those in my personal statement. Maybe I am just having a hard time understanding, I really do not know how to explain my drive for medicine unless I tell a story, but a story of why I want to become a physician doesn't seem, to me, what is important in a LOR.

 

[An MD Hopeful]

Your LOR should not just say that you are a good student who gets good grades. The medical schools will already know that from your transcript. You should give your LOR writer your CV and personal statement so that they know more about your activities and goals. An LOR should explain qualities and experiences that you possess that would make you a great medical student and a great doctor.

Here are some links that can tell you more about what LORs should and should not do:

http://studentdoctor.net/2008/04/pre-med-preparation-getting-letters-of-recommendation/

http://studentdoctor.net/2010/03/the-art-of-obtaining-a-stellar-letter-of-recommendation/

http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472031887-appendixg.pdf
This link gives 3 LOR examples. The first one is the one that you really want someone to write for you.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Can you explain what you mean when you say talk about my drive for medicine. I have my reasons but I was planning on putting those in my personal statement. Maybe I am just having a hard time understanding, I really do not know how to explain my drive for medicine unless I tell a story, but a story of why I want to become a physician doesn't seem, to me, what is important in a LOR.

When I refer to drive I mean certain events in your life that made you want to become a doctor. Also how these events lead you to activities (maybe volunteering in a hospital or research).

Academic excellence is important in an LOR but it is just as important to show that you are motivated to go into medicine. I had letter writers in the past, who not only were my professors of academic classes, but also PIs in a lab. They know myself not only in an academic basis but also as a person. I have also told them my reasons for going into medicine. I felt this added a greater dimension to my letters instead of "this person went to my classes everyday and office hours for help and got an A in my class."

 

[IslandStyle808]

Your LOR should not just say that you are a good student who gets good grades. The medical schools will already know that from your transcript. You should give your LOR writer your CV and personal statement so that they know more about your activities and goals. An LOR should explain qualities and experiences that you possess that would make you a great medical student and a great doctor.

Here are some links that can tell you more about what LORs should and should not do:

http://studentdoctor.net/2008/04/pre-med-preparation-getting-letters-of-recommendation/

http://studentdoctor.net/2010/03/the-art-of-obtaining-a-stellar-letter-of-recommendation/

http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472031887-appendixg.pdf
This link gives 3 LOR examples. The first one is the one that you really want someone to write for you.

+1

This elaborates on the details better than my response.

 

[circulus vitios]

Your LOR should not just say that you are a good student who gets good grades. The medical schools will already know that from your transcript. You should give your LOR writer your CV and personal statement so that they know more about your activities and goals. An LOR should explain qualities and experiences that you possess that would make you a great medical student and a great doctor.

Here are some links that can tell you more about what LORs should and should not do:

http://studentdoctor.net/2008/04/pre-med-preparation-getting-letters-of-recommendation/

http://studentdoctor.net/2010/03/the-art-of-obtaining-a-stellar-letter-of-recommendation/

http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472031887-appendixg.pdf
This link gives 3 LOR examples. The first one is the one that you really want someone to write for you.

Good post. 👍

 

[premed91]

Thanks everyone for the help