letters of rec. for older applicants

[old lady]

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Hi,
I graduated from a large university over four years ago. I do not even remember many of my professors' names, and they certainly won't remember me now. I don't live anywhere near my school so I can't visit them. I would like to send letters from employers and other professionals who have known me more recently instead of letters from professors. Is there anyone else out there in this situation? I have asked schools directly, but it is sometimes hard to tell what they would prefer me to do, even if they say it is okay to substitute.
Thanks for any advice!

 

[mpp]

I am in the same situation. I graduated 5 years ago. I had one of my professors (whom I spent a lot of time with - she was my neighbor) tell me that she didn't want to send a letter since it would not be on university letterhead. I am including some professional letters along with the academic letters that I can get. You definitely won't be the first person to get accepted to medical school without the exact recommendation letters the schools request (e.g., one from chemistry, one from physics, etc.). Good luck!

 

[spacecadet]

I can't believe you guys think you are old! I graduated in 1992 so I've got you beat. 🙂

I didn't get any letters from undergrad. However, I've been taking courses over the last couple of years to finish my premed requirements and had one of my profs write a letter for me. Also, I'm having my boss and my old boss write letters.

If you did any volunteering or research, it would be good to have someone write a recommendation for you also.

Hope this helps!

 

[Zack90]

old? I think I've got you beat SpaceCadet - received my Bachelor's in 88, and Masters' in '90.....
I also didn't get undergrad letters.... just letters from current employers in the health care field as well as a few from the profs from the premed classes I completed this past year or so....

 

[mj]

I'm another old timer in the same boat and have been beating my head on this one. I'll have great letters from employers and from shadowing, but letters from professors are difficult to come by. I don't know about you all, but most of my pre req. requirements that I'm going back to finish are in these mongo huge auditoriums where you need binoculars to even see the professor through the sea of students. And it feels silly going to office hours for the sole purpose of "getting to know you"..."hi, will you be my friend?" 🙄

I'm also trying to figure out what to do about schools who request a committee letter. I'm cluging together my pre reqs. from whatever schools offers the best schedule. Last semester I had classes at 3 different schools. I don't really have a school to gete a committee letter from.

For those of you who didn't submit rec letters from profs are you in the process now or have you been accepted?

I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

mj

 

[BeckyG]

Hi all,

I graduated in 1997 and am going to med school this Fall. My undergrad school has a pre-med Committee and they REQUIRED me to have 2 science prof letters, one from humanities and two letters of rec from whomever I wanted. Luckily, I had kept in contact with my profs from undergrad and it was a small school. So, I ended up with 2 letters from undergrad (my biochem/thesis prof and my orgo prof), one from an english prof at UCLA (where I took a pre-req in '99-'00), one from my clinical research advisor (who I did volunteer work for) and one from a previous health care consulting employer I worked for. It worked out fine for me.

The only thing I would recommend is that you get 2 science recommendations (from science profs) -- from what my pre-med advisor told me, the Adcoms want these recs to make sure you can "handle" the courseload, etc. Other than those 2 (regardless of what science discipline it is), you pretty much can have whatever types of recs you want. Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

 

[spacecadet]

Originally posted by mj:
•...I'm also trying to figure out what to do about schools who request a committee letter. I'm cluging together my pre reqs. from whatever schools offers the best schedule. Last semester I had classes at 3 different schools. I don't really have a school to gete a committee letter from...
•

I have also taken classes at three different schools to complete my prereqs. However, I started talking to the premed advisor at one of the schools, and he agreed that the committee would write letters for me. However, only one professor on the committee knows me at all (he was my org. chem. prof), but for some reason the schools like the "committee" letter (written by him basically) better than just a letter from him. I am also sending work letters, even though the schools don't require them if I have the "committee" letter.

My advice would be to talk to the premed advisor at the school where you know at least one of your profs. See what they think, and don't be afraid to approach your professor about a letter. Profs are totally used to students surfacing out of the swarm to ask for letters.

Good luck mj.

Pam

 

[old lady]

Just an update on what I have found out about this topic...
One school (Tulane) said that I could substitute other letters but they didn't sound very encouraging about it.
Another school (Albany), said they wanted the letters to be from professors, no substitutions.
So I am going to email some professors and say "you don't know me but I was in your class 10 years ago, so can you write me a recommendation."
I think this is ridiculous and irrelevant, but I think it is better to give the schools what they are asking for.