LOR from a professor you got a C with?

[chemdoctor]

Does it look weird to do this? What if the professor knows you and you worked with him on projects?

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[Stellaartwa]

It depends on what the average of the class was and how hard you worked for that C. If this is P-chem and you worked your butt off, going to office hours and staying on top of things -- definitely. If this was gen chem or orgo chem and you were one of those kids who didn't try very hard and just wanted to pass, definitely not. You need to be honest with yourself. Additionally, if you decide to request a letter from this professor, ask directly if they feel comfortable writing you a "strong letter". Most people will be honest and say something like "I think there are people who know you better that would be a better choice." if they wouldn't.

 

[chemdoctor]

It depends on what the average of the class was and how hard you worked for that C. If this is P-chem and you worked your butt off, going to office hours and staying on top of things -- definitely. If this was gen chem or orgo chem and you were one of those kids who didn't try very hard and just wanted to pass, definitely not. You need to be honest with yourself. Additionally, if you decide to request a letter from this professor, ask directly if they feel comfortable writing you a "strong letter". Most people will be honest and say something like "I think there are people who know you better that would be a better choice." if they wouldn't.

Yeah it was in Orgo... I tried hard and didn’t have the mindset of “anything to pass”... I tried I just had some extenuating circumstances that semester... I did research with him and he’s offered me a letter but idk... I did get a C. No excuses. He does know me though and he likes me personally. I don’t think he’d deliberately try to sabotage my letter...

 

[Goro]

Does it look weird to do this? What if the professor knows you and you worked with him on projects?

Do not do this. Your judgement will be called into question.

 

[chemdoctor]

Do not do this. Your judgement will be called into question.

Yeah I wasn’t too sure about it. Forget it then. Sucks Bc he’s my PI ...

What about a professor I got a B+ with? That should be OK right?

 

[Goro]

Yeah I wasn’t too sure about it. Forget it then. Sucks Bc he’s my PI ...

What about a professor I got a B+ with? That should be OK right?

That will be fine

 

[chemdoctor]

Would it be necessary to get a letter from my research PI because I have very productive research Would it look weird if I don’t get a letter from my research PI he is very hands off and I got a C

 

[chemdoctor]

@Goro

 

[chemdoctor]

@LizzyM

 

[LizzyM]

Not having a letter from your PI might be important if you are gunning for T20 schools and you are clearly someone who is interested in having research as part of your career. If you are just hoping to be an MD (or DO) and just hoping to get into any school, I wouldn't try to get a letter from someone who gave you the letter "C" on your transcript.

 

[chemdoctor]

Not having a letter from your PI might be important if you are gunning for T20 schools and you are clearly someone who is interested in having research as part of your career. If you are just hoping to be an MD (or DO) and just hoping to get into any school, I wouldn't try to get a letter from someone who gave you the letter "C" on your transcript.

Yeah makes sense... maybe I’ll just look for another one of my science professors. I just figured the PI would be able to write a strong LOR since I have good research. But then again, he gave me a C!

I’m gonna get ones from my other upper division science professors

 

[Mike Bagwell]

Dumb move. The last thing you want is a LOR that speaks about everything BUT your academic potential.

For academic LOR's get them from professors who's course you aced and whom you have impressed. To be more clear, get the LOR from a professor who has been impressed by your work.

If you are really medical school material, you will be shining in at least one or two of those pre requisite classes and your professor will notice.

 

[chemdoctor]

Dumb move. The last thing you want is a LOR that speaks about everything BUT your academic potential.

For academic LOR's get them from professors who's course you aced and whom you have impressed. To be more clear, get the LOR from a professor who has been impressed by your work.

If you are really medical school material, you will be shining in at least one or two of those pre requisite classes and your professor will notice.

Absolutely. I aced most of my prerequisites, like gen chem I, II, physics I, II, calc, stats, struggled in orgos, and Biochem I, doing well now in my Neuro classes (and upper division electives)...

Only reason I struggled in a Orgo was Bc of some extenuating circumstances...

So I’ll get some other ones... hope I’m “med school” material

 

[Mike Bagwell]

Absolutely. I aced most of my prerequisites, like gen chem I, II, physics I, II, calc, stats, struggled in orgos, and Biochem I, doing well now in my Neuro classes (and upper division electives)...

Only reason I struggled in a Orgo was Bc of some extenuating circumstances...

So I’ll get some other ones... hope I’m “med school” material

If you aced all of those courses and you came here to ask about getting an LOR from a professor who gave you a C, then that comes down to what @Goro said about poor judgment.

You absolutely do not want to have that label attached to you. Let the person who aced orgo, get the LOR from the orgo professor.

 

[LizzyM]

On the other hand, if you had a really serious situation going on and this professor knew of it and could address it in a letter that was supportive and put your letter grade of C in context then it might be good to have that professor write a letter. I'm thinking of something really profound like your family had to evacuate due to wild fires or your sibling was abducted during that semester which caused you to have things outside of the usual school work and ECs to deal with. If it is that sort of thing, then it might be worth getting a letter from a sympathetic professor who can put your grade in context.

 

[chemdoctor]

If you aced all of those courses and you came here to ask about getting an LOR from a professor who gave you a C, then that comes down to what @Goro said about poor judgment.

@Mike Bagwell
You absolutely do not want to have that label attached to you. Let the person who aced orgo, get the LOR from the orgo professor.

Yeah you’re absolutely right... it’s just Bc I did research with the professor and we’ve grown a lot. He knows me personally, and I always figured it’d be good to get one from someone that knows me ... the other professors know me just as well so I guess I’ll go to get letters from them

 

[chemdoctor]

On the other hand, if you had a really serious situation going on and this professor knew of it and could address it in a letter that was supportive and put your letter grade of C in context then it might be good to have that professor write a letter. I'm thinking of something really profound like your family had to evacuate due to wild fires or your sibling was abducted during that semester which caused you to have things outside of the usual school work and ECs to deal with. If it is that sort of thing, then it might be worth getting a letter from a sympathetic professor who can put your grade in context.

It was a grandparent’s passing... not as extreme as the scenarios you’re mentioning. What do you think? I don’t think it constitutes that much. I was just dealing with grief

 

[Goro]

Would it be necessary to get a letter from my research PI because I have very productive research Would it look weird if I don’t get a letter from my research PI he is very hands off and I got a C

No, this is an area that pre-meds seem to be obsessed about. You don't need research to get into medical school, and med schools aren't looking for grad students.

 

[LizzyM]

It was a grandparent’s passing... not as extreme as the scenarios you’re mentioning. What do you think? I don’t think it constitutes that much. I was just dealing with grief

While not negating your grief (and I know it first hand; one of my kids lost two grandparents in a single semester and had to travel >5 hours to each funeral), I was thinking about a much more serious and ongoing situation that a faculty member could attest to.

 

[chemdoctor]

While not negating your grief (and I know it first hand; one of my kids lost two grandparents in a single semester and had to travel >5 hours to each funeral), I was thinking about a much more serious and ongoing situation that a faculty member could attest to.

Yeah I understand. I’ll just remove him from my LOR list then. I bond well with faculty so I have a lot of other options thankfully

 

[EGITMS]

Hi @Goro and @LizzyM, I am in a similar situation and I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this. There is one science professor who really knows me well and I am going to ask her for a LOR. In our school, she is really famous for being a tough grader so that she knows students avoid taking her classes. I took three of her classes and got one B+ and two Bs. She knows that her classes are extremely hard so she told me that she always explains how hard her classes are in her LORs, trying to convince adcoms that a grade is just a letter in her classes.

But a B is still a B, not an A and I am afriad that adcoms would veiw this negatively. I am sure she would write me a strong letter but the grades I got in her classes are the only concerns. I saw Goro's comment saying that it is fine to get a LOR from a professor I got a B+ with but I feel like it is okay but not good enough. Should I still get a LOR from this professor? How do you think? I would really appreciate your opinions.

 

[Goro]

Hi @Goro and @LizzyM, I am in a similar situation and I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this. There is one science professor who really knows me well and I am going to ask her for a LOR. In our school, she is really famous for being a tough grader so that she knows students avoid taking her classes. I took three of her classes and got one B+ and two Bs. She knows that her classes are extremely hard so she told me that she always explains how hard her classes are in her LORs, trying to convince adcoms that a grade is just a letter in her classes.

But a B is still a B, not an A and I am afriad that adcoms would veiw this negatively. I am sure she would write me a strong letter but the grades I got in her classes are the only concerns. I saw Goro's comment saying that it is fine to get a LOR from a professor I got a B+ with but I feel like it is okay but not good enough. Should I still get a LOR from this professor? How do you think? I would really appreciate your opinions.

Let's get the record straight here...you don't need an A in a class to get an LOR. But a C is questionable.