Letters of Rec

[HappyFeet14]

Forgive me, but I did not know where to post on this topic so I defaulted to the MD forums.

My question is how much emphasis gets put on the proper ratio of LORs from individual sources (ie: science faculty, physicians, research directors/PIs, volunteer leaders, etc.)

I currently have 1 STRONG letter from a science faculty member whose class I received an A in, 1 STRONG from my research directors/PIs (1 was an RN and 1 was a physician, though the letter is only signed by the RN), 1 STRONG letter from my clinical volunteer director (I volunteer in a surgery recovery unit), and 1 STRONG letter from a previous employer.

I notice that a lot of schools stress 2 LORs from science faculty and some don't really care about physician LORs or vice versa. For those that are educated on the selection criteria and influence of LORs I would greatly appreciate some info on the topic!! I'm in a bit of a situation because it will be very difficult for me to get another LOR from a science faculty member from my current college due to transferring schools and moving to another state. How much (relatively) does this affect my future application? Do my current LORs not reflect what medicals currently want from applicants?

Thanks SDN!

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[HappyFeet14]

bump

 

[milkandcereal]

bump

Depends on the school. Do some research into the schools that you think you might apply to and see if any of them strictly require 2 science letters. You have a great set of letters so far; 1 more science and 1 non-science professor and I think you would cover your bases at virtually any school.

 

[HappyFeet14]

Depends on the school. Do some research into the schools that you think you might apply to and see if any of them strictly require 2 science letters. You have a great set of letters so far; 1 more science and 1 non-science professor and I think you would cover your bases at virtually any school.

For the schools that "strictly" require 2 science letters, do they screen out all applicants that do not submit 2? I know that is a weird question and the answer seems obvious but I just want to make sure. I am most certain that it will be near impossible to get another science letter from the school I transferred to (which is also in a different state than my old school) as I don't know many professors and I am still within my first year of attending the school. I suppose that I should just not apply to those schools (that require 2) at all?

Even if I could argue that I may be able to get another science LOR, I don't feel that it would be a STRONG letter and therefore be useless.

 

[milkandcereal]

For the schools that "strictly" require 2 science letters, do they screen out all applicants that do not submit 2? I know that is a weird question and the answer seems obvious but I just want to make sure. I am most certain that it will be near impossible to get another science letter from the school I transferred to (which is also in a different state than my old school) as I don't know many professors and I am still within my first year of attending the school. I suppose that I should just not apply to those schools (that require 2) at all?

Even if I could argue that I may be able to get another science LOR, I don't feel that it would be a STRONG letter and therefore be useless.

I have no idea if they actually toss your app if you don't have the right letters, but it would be a shame to sink an otherwise good application because you don't have one extra LOR. You don't think you'd be able to get one from a professor at your old school? Obviously you can't ask in-person, since you're in another state, but I think it would be worth a shot to explain your situation and try via email.