Letters of recommendation from non-science professor?

[paymaant]

Hey everyone,

Do all the LORs sent to dental school have to be written by a science professor? Would it be appropriate if an English professor wrote my LOR? How many LORs are required in total? Thanks a lot guys!

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[doc toothache]

Hey everyone, Do all the LORs sent to dental school have to be written by a science professor? Would it be appropriate if an English professor wrote my LOR? How many LORs are required in total? Thanks a lot guys!

An LOR from an English prof would be great if you are applying for a graduate program in English.

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

Usually 3 are required, 2 from science and 1 from a dentist. Some schools may require 3 from science or 1 Bio/1 chem. Check the schools website for the requirements. Most of the time they list them under admissions if its something is different.

 

[benzatone]

I believe all schools require at least one science professor (many times two). I had one of my Finance professors write another though because I had a great rapport with him (I took two classes and had been involved in a club with him over the span of 3 years).

I'd suggest get letters from at least two science professors first, but if you think your English professor can write you an excellent LOR, then go for that too.

 

[wizi]

AADSAS will allow up to 4 LORs.

To be on the safe side, you should send all 4 to AADSAS.
2 science profs + 1 non-science (English prof is fine) + 1 dentist.

If your university offers committee letter, then you only need 1 committee letter + 1 dentist.

Find the ones that willing to write you a good letter.

 

[RalphMouth]

Like other people said it depends on the school. Also, certain schools are more flexible than others.

For Columbia which required 3 Sci, I had 2 Sci and one non-sci and they offered me an interview. I actually got a call from Stony Brook today saying that they reviewed my app and want to offer me an interview but I need to get them a third letter from a science professor before they can do that....

 

[letsdoitbama]

I did what wizi said

 

[elespears]

Check the schools website for the requirements. Most of the time they list them under admissions if its something is different.

 

[paymaant]

Well I am looking at Maryland's requirements and it appears they only want 1 committee letter...

"The Committee on Dental Recruitment and Admissions strongly prefers to receive a recommendation package from the applicant’s institutional pre-professional committee. If no such committee is available, letters of recommendation from one professor each in the departments of biology and chemistry may be substituted. The Committee prefers that letters of recommendation be included as part of the application materials submitted to AADSAS. Letters of recommendation should NOT be sent directly to the University of Maryland, except upon specific request by the Office of Admissions."

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

well i am looking at maryland's requirements and it appears they only want 1 committee letter...

"the committee on dental recruitment and admissions strongly prefers to receive a recommendation package from the applicant’s institutional pre-professional committee. if no such committee is available, letters of recommendation from one professor each in the departments of biology and chemistry may be substituted. the committee prefers that letters of recommendation be included as part of the application materials submitted to aadsas. Letters of recommendation should not be sent directly to the university of maryland, except upon specific request by the office of admissions."

......

 

[jvr1989]

I had a letter from a non-science professor, but I was actually a TA for him.. so that made the letter more meaningful and it showed me as a leader. If you had a unique experience in your English class it should be fine. I received 3 acceptances.

 

[Silencio]

Can it be written by the gatorade boy on the basketball team? He's serving gatorade which is sports nutrition which is part of sports science so shouldn't that count as a science rec?

 

[wired202808]

There's a file out here that says what schools want in terms of LORs. I got all my LORs from science professors, only a handful of schools would require a non-science based LOR. So IMO it would be better just to get all the LORs from science profs.

 

[doc toothache]

I had a letter from a non-science professor, but I was actually a TA for him.. so that made the letter more meaningful and it showed me as a leader. If you had a unique experience in your English class it should be fine. I received 3 acceptances.

You may have gotten your acceptances in spite of, not as a result of your LOR from a TA.

 

[Barking Lamb]

You may have gotten your acceptances in spite of, not as a result of your LOR from a TA.

Check yo' facts Doc. He said he was a TA. He did not say a TA wrote his letter.

For my schools committee packet they accepted five letters. Two from sciences, One non science, one from my boss for six years, and another from a dentist. So, as you can see letter composition and amount varies. But, if you are only submitting three it would appear using science professors is the norm.

*Important to note: my "non-science" was a forensic anthropologist. My focus during undergraduate was forensic anthropology and a big part of my application was my interest in forensic dentistry.

 

[doc toothache]

Check yo' facts Doc. He said he was a TA. He did not say a TA wrote his letter.
For my schools committee packet they accepted five letters. Two from sciences, One non science, one from my boss for six years, and another from a dentist. So, as you can see letter composition and amount varies. But, if you are only submitting three it would appear using science professors is the norm.
*Important to note: my "non-science" was a forensic anthropologist. My focus during undergraduate was forensic anthropology and a big part of my application was my interest in forensic dentistry.

OK. Here's the correction. "You may have gotten your acceptances in spite of, not as a result of your LOR from a non science professor".

 

[jvr1989]

OK. Here's the correction. "You may have gotten your acceptances in spite of, not as a result of your LOR from a non science professor".

i know a letter of recommendation will not secure an acceptance for any applicant... I am just trying to tell the OP that some schools will allow you to provide a letter from a non-science professor and still be considered a competitive applicant. I was just providing an example.