lor/committee letter

[anniemal]

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This question is for those who did an informal post bac and have gone through the whole application process...did you get a committee letter from your school(s)? If so, was it required?

 

[MJB]

I'm in the process of putting a committee together...hopefully.

All the profs at my original undergrad are retired I think....or at least the ones I would ask.

 

[relentless11]

This question is for those who did an informal post bac and have gone through the whole application process...did you get a committee letter from your school(s)? If so, was it required?

I did an informal post-bacc and intend to get a committee letter from my school. Mainly because I am an alumni so I have access to this service. Also that most schools state that they require a committee letter or at least 3 letters of rec. At least the schools in CA.

 

[FDoRoML]

I did 40 credits of post-bac informally and didn't get a letter from that (about 4 different schools!). I did get two letters from my grad work. I didn't get a letter from my old UG work because it was too old (nobody there would even remember me, and I wasn't pre-med-- heck, all those profs are probably passed away by now anyway!!).

I also did get letters from my work and volunteer stuff. Since work has been my life for 10 years, and it's relevant, it worked out really well for me.

The advice from my advisor was:
1. coursework letters are required (most schools specify them coming from profs who taught you in a formal course) but the grad coursework was the most recent and would carry the most weight in my case
2. significant work experience should provide a letter from a supervisor. In my case it was relevant to medicine but even if it wasn't, they could say something about your personality and work ethic and if they would want YOU to be their doctor and why... blah blah blah
3. significant volunteer experience or shadowing letters are VERY important


I ended up having a lot of letters, but as a non-trad it was really necessary to really showcase all that I have done and am now. I think it was 2 from science profs who taught me, 3 from work, 2 from physicians I shadowed, and 1 from volunteer stuff I did (plus when I applied DO I added another shadowing letter from a D.O.). Yep, ridiculous excess, but this is your time to shine.

Get your BEST letters (quality is more important than quantity). In the case of non-trads who have been out of school for a while, the committee letter or letters from profs might not be that great and glowing unless they REALLY remember you well. So, dig down to what you do now and find people who can write strong letters for you.

If you ever need advice... I'm here for the PMing. 🙂

 

[RosaVerde]

I thought my letter line up was fine until I've been reading about the 2 from science courses that everyone seems to have. I tried contacting the undergrad ochem professor who I had a good relationship with, but she's retired and won't write letters anymore.

I was thinking of submitting letters from:
1. my grad school advisor
2. an undergrad professor who is an MD and taught a global health class I took (not exactly science, but kinda close)
3. a supervisor from an internship I had in Zimbabwe, and
4. my current supervisor.

Do you think, if all these letters are really strong, I could get away with leaving out the undergrad science profs? I called UCLA and asked them whether they required these, but the lady I spoke with said it was highly suggested, not required. hmmm

 

[FDoRoML]

I was thinking of submitting letters from:
1. my grad school advisor
2. an undergrad professor who is an MD and taught a global health class I took (not exactly science, but kinda close)
3. a supervisor from an internship I had in Zimbabwe, and
4. my current supervisor.

No worries. The only thing you could add is one from a grad school course (yes, I know your advisor will be good for sure). Or did you not have to take any classes for grad school (I know some programs are like this)?

I actually had one science and one "business" (more like the business side of science!) profs from grad school write me letters. I couldn't get ANY letters from UG courses (even post-bac). It didn't seem to matter to any schools where I applied.

 

[newbie1kenobi]

I also did an informal post-bac from 3 different schools, obtained LOR's from profs that knew me recently, LOR's from physicians at work, and from my supervisor. It apparently worked, got 9 interviews this past cycle and will be attending med school this coming fall. ( finally, after 3 attempts!) 😀