LOR from a professor with a B...?

[Qwerty2013]

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How does it look if you get a LOR from a chem prof that gave u a B in the course?
I still maintain a good relationship with him and I did try hard in the course. In the end he even offered to write a LOR even though I didnt even ask for one... Is it a good idea to submit his LOR for med school one day?

 

[Boolean]

How does it look if you get a LOR from a chem prof that gave u a B in the course?
I still maintain a good relationship with him and I did try hard in the course. In the end he even offered to write a LOR even though I didnt even ask for one... Is it a good idea to submit his LOR for med school one day?

Sure. If anything, the fact that he offered to write the LOR for you without your prompting is a very good sign. He'll likely write more than "Student got a B, class size was X"

 

[AquiVoy13]

If he offered to write it without you asking, then I would take it. He would probably write a strong personal letter. You can always just have the letter on file and not use it if you manage to replace it with another letter from a prof who gave you an A (and whom you also had a good relationship with).

 

[Scribblers]

I had a professor for Physical Chemistry who told us that the strongest letter he ever wrote was for a student who ended up with a B- in his class. He said the key was that this student showed initiative and interest in understanding the subject matter on a deeper level in office hours and as part of the lab course. She didn't have the best luck with tests, but she really impressed him in their interactions outside of class. He felt that this spoke much more about her potential than the letter grade on her transcript. The takeaway is that LORs should illustrate positive qualities you have that may not shine through in other parts of your application. If this professor can give a good impression of you as both a student and a person, then I would definitely take them up on their offer.

 

[blueheron]

My PChem professor told the class not to expect an A, even if you were pre-whatever and never made a B in your whole life. He said we would have to do extremely well and that a B+ or higher was a outstanding. He also said if that one grade kept you out of school he would call the dean personally. We learned a lot about ourselves that semester in that class, in addition to PChem.

 

[Lya]

Keep your academic relationship with that professor, and keep the conversation going. I would take that letter if I were you.

 

[Scribblers]

My PChem professor told the class not to expect an A, even if you were pre-whatever and never made a B in your whole life. He said we would have to do extremely well and that a B+ or higher was a outstanding. He also said if that one grade kept you out of school he would call the dean personally. We learned a lot about ourselves that semester in that class, in addition to PChem.

That was pretty much what we were told as well. Our professor used the letter anecdote to illustrate that the grade is not the most important thing to take away from PChem, so it's also good for thinking about the other skills not related to the course material you should develop in a class. Some of those are the things that I think should reflected in a good LOR and are totally independent of the letter grade you have at the end.

 

[blueheron]

I don't know a whole lot of people that have had PChem that aren't pretty close with their profs. Two of my strongest letters came from them. If you want to be set for LORs and getting into school, do well in that sequence.