Letters of Reference/Evaluations

[deleted518758]

So I just graduated with my BS degree in dietetics in May,but I won't apply for dental school for another year and a half since I am trying to get a few more prereqs in and more shadowing hours. Since graduating, I have sent a few emails here and there trying to stay close with my old instructors/professors, so that when I need the letter of evaluation in a few years they will be more likely to remember me. But the only ones that have been responding to my friendly emails are my instructors with MS degrees. These instructors are not TAs, but they are the course instructors who are Master's level dietitians with the RD credential, making them more qualified to teach upper level nutrition courses than someone with just an MS degree. Would it be THAT looked down upon if I received a LOR from an MS degreed instructor than a PhD? I know a PhD would look better, but my MS degreed instructors appear much more willing to stay in touch with me and help me. Thus I feel they would write a much more personal and frankly better LOR than my former PhD professors. So I guess the question is should I get a better, more personal letter of reference from an MS degreed instructor or a more generic, less personal letter of reference from a PhD level instructor. Anyone else have a similar problem? Thanks!

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[autoclavemonkey]

So I just graduated with my BS degree in dietetics in May,but I won't apply for dental school for another year and a half since I am trying to get a few more prereqs in and more shadowing hours. Since graduating, I have sent a few emails here and there trying to stay close with my old instructors/professors, so that when I need the letter of evaluation in a few years they will be more likely to remember me. But the only ones that have been responding to my friendly emails are my instructors with MS degrees. These instructors are not TAs, but they are the course instructors who are Master's level dietitians with the RD credential, making them more qualified to teach upper level nutrition courses than someone with just an MS degree. Would it be THAT looked down upon if I received a LOR from an MS degreed instructor than a PhD? I know a PhD would look better, but my MS degreed instructors appear much more willing to stay in touch with me and help me. Thus I feel they would write a much more personal and frankly better LOR than my former PhD professors. So I guess the question is should I get a better, more personal letter of reference from an MS degreed instructor or a more generic, less personal letter of reference from a PhD level instructor. Anyone else have a similar problem? Thanks!

I'd choose your MS degreed instructor. They just want the instructor from your college course to confirm that you're a student who can handle the coursework. Just double check with schools that your instructors don't have to have a doctorate degree.

 

[doc toothache]

So I just graduated with my BS degree in dietetics in May,but I won't apply for dental school for another year and a half since I am trying to get a few more prereqs in and more shadowing hours. Since graduating, I have sent a few emails here and there trying to stay close with my old instructors/professors, so that when I need the letter of evaluation in a few years they will be more likely to remember me. But the only ones that have been responding to my friendly emails are my instructors with MS degrees. These instructors are not TAs, but they are the course instructors who are Master's level dietitians with the RD credential, making them more qualified to teach upper level nutrition courses than someone with just an MS degree. Would it be THAT looked down upon if I received a LOR from an MS degreed instructor than a PhD? I know a PhD would look better, but my MS degreed instructors appear much more willing to stay in touch with me and help me. Thus I feel they would write a much more personal and frankly better LOR than my former PhD professors. So I guess the question is should I get a better, more personal letter of reference from an MS degreed instructor or a more generic, less personal letter of reference from a PhD level instructor. Anyone else have a similar problem? Thanks!

This is not so much an LOR from and MS vs a Ph.D. "professor" since an MS with 20 years experience may be more versed in what the letter should be all about than a Ph.D. with one year experience, as it is about the courses that they are teaching. It is also not about being able to write "a much more personal letter", rather about the ability of the applicant to handle more difficult courses. In this respect, a professor of advanced organic chemistry is like to carry more weight than a professor of sports nutrition or weight management.