letters of recommendation: can 2 sci letter be in any subjects?

[Yogi Bear]

Hi,

I'll be asking for recs pretty soon. i was wondering if 2 scie letters can be bio and physics, or does it have to be bio and chem? could it be 2 bio courses? does any school you've applied to specifical say that you have to have letters from a certain subject?

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[Wendy926]

Bump I'd like to know as well.

 

[imtiaz]

Some schools specifically say (Jefferson does for example), and others don't (most don't). I have 4 Chemistry letters, and a History letter, and a letter from an MD I shadowed. Never had problems, but I didn't apply to Jefferson.

 

[THE instiGATOR]

I think it is more important to get letters from profs who know you well than to try to fill a quota. Because I'm a chem major, I asked two chem profs who are pretty familiar with me for their assistance. I haven't had any problems...that I know of.

I did apply to Jefferson. Maybe that's why they wouldn't respond when I tried to schedule an interview around my MCPHU invite.

 

[oldman]

I got 6 letters of rec

2 from humanity profs (history and anthro)
1 from director of volunteering
1 from supervisor at work
1 from research/engineering class (biomedical eng)
1 from engineering class (mech eng)

i didn't have any schools tell me i needed a science letter, such as bio/chem/physics (all of which i got B's in anyway)

(i did get an interview offer at jefferson)

 

[Jalby]

I would say that as long as the recommendation is going to be good, get the letter. I don't think most schools care if your science letters all come from the same area. I applied to Jefferson, and I think I was missing one of their requirements, and I still got an interview. I'm not even sure if it is a big deal there, because only one person is responsible for sending out interview intvites and she reads the entire aplication.

 

[oldman]

jalbrekt,
your sig file has a typo.

the -> they

 

[Yogi Bear]

also, is it ok to get a rec from an english class where you got a A- (english seminar).

oldman:

how come you got 6 letters? were you applying MD/PhD or something cuz I think my school says 4 is max.

 

[oldman]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by coenocyte:
•also, is it ok to get a rec from an english class where you got a A- (english seminar).

oldman:

how come you got 6 letters? were you applying MD/PhD or something cuz I think my school says 4 is max.•••••i got 6 cause i wanted to get the 4 letters (2 science and 2 non-science), but then i realized that i could get a letter from my boss at work and from the director of volunteer services at my school. also the pre-med advisor for biomedical engineers said we should ask for 6 cause they will probably toss out 2 of them.

 

[none]

MOST schools are not nearly as strict about their letter requirements as they appear on paper. Don't worry about it, but contact the schools in question, if you must.

 

[Vader]

At most schools, it does not really matter which scientific discipline the letters come from. Like others said, it is much more important that they know you and can really vouch for your academic ability and potential as a future physician. The general rule is you want at least one from a science and at least one from a non-science professor. Make sure you comply with the specific requirements at the schools to which you apply.

Good luck.