Letter of Recommendations

[freeapple123]

When getting letters of recommendations, is it better to get one from an OD who is an alumni of that school or does it not matter?
Let me know! I am trying to get shadowing experiences but no luck really... At this point, I'll get what I can get!

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[tastyshuffles]

Pretty sure it doesn't matter in my opinion.

 

[freeapple123]

Pretty sure it doesn't matter in my opinion.

Thank you for your response!

 

[DoctorOD]

When getting letters of recommendations, is it better to get one from an OD who is an alumni of that school or does it not matter?
Let me know! I am trying to get shadowing experiences but no luck really... At this point, I'll get what I can get!

If you are applying to a program, and there is a renown graduate from that program who can write a letter, that could be beneficial. If the graduate is a small town business owner, that will most likely be a dime-a-dozen. However, if this doc is involved/holds positions in local or state advocacy groups (AOA, etc), is a member of the American Academy of Optometry, is a member of the program's board, etc, the letter is far more likely to hold clout. Does that make sense?

 

[freeapple123]

If you are applying to a program, and there is a renown graduate from that program who can write a letter, that could be beneficial. If the graduate is a small town business owner, that will most likely be a dime-a-dozen. However, if this doc is involved/holds positions in local or state advocacy groups (AOA, etc), is a member of the American Academy of Optometry, is a member of the program's board, etc, the letter is far more likely to hold clout. Does that make sense?

Kinda... I don't think any of the doctors in my city is renowned or famous by any means.. I come from a fairly large city in Canada. Pretty sure they have to be a member of the Canadian Association of Optometrists and what not.

 

[deleted1011568]

I don’t think it will matter too much, although my top choice school asked if I knew any alumni, their names, and their years of graduation. Both of my OD letters of recommendation were from alumni of the program, but I only applied to one school - I’ve worked with these ODs for 4 years, so it wasn’t necessarily intentional that I picked alumni. I don’t think it would hurt your application if your letters of rec are not from ODs