LOR and Composite Letter?

[Johnny Appleseed]

I'm not applying until next cycle (2018 entering class), but I am going to start asking for LORs now so I can stay ahead of the game. I met with my pre-med adviser (who is awesome and extremely helpful) and he said I need to get 7 LORs (8 if I'm applying DO) and then he will write me a composite letter. He was quite specific and said I needed letters from a science professor (1), any other professor (2), a research mentor (3), a volunteer supervisor (4), someone who observed me in a leadership role (5), someone who supervised me in a patient exposure role (6), an MD (7), and a DO (8).

I am wondering how beneficial it is to have 8 LORs and a composite letter. How would adcoms view so many letters, would they even read them all??

How many letters did you all submit this year when you applied? Did you have a composite letter as well?

Thanks!

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[Johnny Appleseed]

LOL Your premed adviser is insane. You don't need all those letters, but I would play it safe with a minimum of 2 professors (at least 1 science) and 1 MD/DO physician (DO preferred if you're going DO). Some schools require a letter from a premed committee, but I don't think this really benefits/harms you because some schools don't have premed committees.

Go for quality, not quantity. You want people who can speak to your character using specific examples.

Okay, if I do go the route of getting all the letters is there anyway to highlight the top three or anything like that?

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[dial1010usa]

Many schools require 2 science, 1 non science and 1 from MD/DO.