*Letters of Recomendation

[gleneagles3]

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Is it necessary to obtain letters from a committee or from professors? Unfortunately I have not really developed a close relationship with my professors at my university. I always assumed that I had three terrific letters, (one from med school professor i work in the lab with, one from doctor i know very well), I am finally just finding out a lot of the schools I am appyling to are going to ask for the committee letters or letters from professors! How easy is it to ask for a committee letter when I am not confident that a lot of the faculty know me personally?

 

[nick_carraway]

At my school, you aren't supposed to know any of the committee members. They're all emeriti but I don't know if that's the case everywhere.

My committee writes their own letter and attaches LORs from at least 3 professors of my choosing. Are your individual letters used to support your committee letter?

 

[gleneagles3]

To be honest, I have no idea. The letters of recommendation has been the most difficult thing for me thus far, I guess it's asking for favors I'm a little shy. I think I am going to go speak with my advisor tomorrow and see if she can at least steer me in the right direction? Otherwise I could email the pre-med advisor and explain my situation and beg for help? Any other ideas?

 

[Haemulon]

This is very school specific, but you are right that many schools do require either a pre-med committee letter and/or a specified number of letters from professors. Sometimes these letters even have to come from professors of specific fields (such as one from biological sciences, one from physicial sciences, and one from humanities, ... as an example). Try checking the websites and other admission materials for the schools that you are interested in to see what their specific requirements will be. You should also find out how your own school handles this (ie if your school has a committee, some med schools will expect a letter to come from them, so its absence may be conspicuous)

It is always a good idea to try and develop a good working relationship with at least a few of your professors each year for situations like this. You may just be surprised about what kind of connections they may have or knowledge that they may have about other institutions. At this point, pick out a few of your favorite professors and see if they would be willing to write a letter for you. You may want to prepare a brief summary of your academics and remind them of your experiences in their classes.

 

[skinnylindsay]

Don't be shy about asking for LORs! The worst a professor can say is "no". Start with professors whose classes you either did really well in or really enjoyed. Science professors especially are probably used to students asking for letters for med school and understand that many of the classes are large and impersonal.

While she didn't know my face (I never went to office hours because I was making an A in the class), one of my letter writers recognized my name from doing grades. You'd be surprised by how much a professor might know about you already 🙂

 

[gleneagles3]

Would if I actually just submitted my 3 awesome letters to the schools that had specific requirements? Would they just give up on me as a candidate? Its frustrating to think that this is the only thing holding me back at the moment! grades 3.8. MCAT 30, volunteer experience in ER, research for 2 years, shadowing experience and other non medical volunteer work...with my other letter writers loving me lol! 🙄

 

[gleneagles3]

Don't be shy about asking for LORs! The worst a professor can say is "no". Start with professors whose classes you either did really well in or really enjoyed. Science professors especially are probably used to students asking for letters for med school and understand that many of the classes are large and impersonal.

While she didn't know my face (I never went to office hours because I was making an A in the class), one of my letter writers recognized my name from doing grades. You'd be surprised by how much a professor might know about you already 🙂

i might actually have to do this! Even though I am completely squeemish at the thought, I at least have attained decent grades so hopefully the same thing will happen to me as it did for you.

 

[skinnylindsay]

Good luck with getting your letters together! I was so stressed out about LORs until just this Monday when I finally went to my professor. I had two letters, but still needed a third.

Helpful Hint: If you're at all able, go to their actual office or call. Professors tend to be bad with email over the summer. It'll save you the anxiety of wondering if your email just didn't go through or if you're being ignored.