LOR from Pastor Bad Idea?

[Chromium Surfer]

The head pastor of my church knows me really well as in 10+ years. He is more than willing to write me a letter and he wrote one that I ended up not using for a summer internship that I got into. Would it be bad to submit a LOR from him for med school apps next cycle? I was thinking that he could talk about my intra-personal competencies. Would this turn off most med schools? I'm a devout Christian but I am not applying to christian based schools such as Loma Linda.

Thanks for your time!

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[doctorleospaceman]

I don't think any schools would view it negatively. The question is how good of a LOR will it be? Have you been actively involved with the church through volunteer efforts? Unless the pastor has physical examples/support for why you'd be a good candidate, a purely emotional/personal letter would be a weak one.

 

[Chromium Surfer]

I volunteered as a sunday school teacher for 4 years, but since it was during high school I assume that experience wont be valid. I also volunteered as a camp counselor at the summer camp for high school students after he personally asked me to. This was during college.

 

[deleted407021]

I don't think any schools would view it negatively. The question is how good of a LOR will it be? Have you been actively involved with the church through volunteer efforts? Unless the pastor has physical examples/support for why you'd be a good candidate, a purely emotional/personal letter would be a weak one.

Aye.

The point of a rec letter is to provide reasoning, backed up with examples and evidence, from a person who has known and worked with you enough to be a valid and reliable witness to your abilities, character, strengths and weaknesses. But this isn't a generic letter for a job. It's a letter for medical school. The letter writer is supposed to be backing up why you will be a good medical student and physician. People with experience working in healthcare and hard science education are the ones who can speak on these points legitimately.

Can your pastor meet the criteria for a legitimate letter writer? Does he have insight into your community service work, at least?

It certainly won't hurt you to have a character witness (unless he writes something negative or perceivable so about you), but I would look for quality clinical and science letters, as well.

 

[Chromium Surfer]

Yeah, I have other sources and people to ask for a LOR. I was just wondering that since this letter came from a relatively unique source, if it would make a difference. Thanks for your input!

 

[OMG I'm going to be an MD]

I included religious activities in my application last year. I am a devout Christian, and I'm very unlikely to stop being one in the coming years. My faith influences my decisions including the one to being a physician. If I left out "religious things" on my app, there would have been gaping holes in my app. I think stuff like ethnicity, sexual orientation and religious affiliations is about presentation. Being a christian put me in contact with people I could have never met (missionary trips etc), increased my awareness of social situations and increased my ability to be a passive observer when necessary (ie observing and learning before judging/ giving my opinion). I think those things will make me a better physician. Your pastor is in a perfect situation to give you a wonderful recommendation. Have your Pastor emphasize how your religious conviction has helped you "outside" the church. I think you should also make sure you get letters from "academic people". Don't write all of your essays from a religious point of view or based on your religious experience. I think as long as you're not using your religion as a cover for hatred, a LOR from your Pastor will be fine

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Personally, I would only include it if your pastor has more to say about you than just your personal qualities. Have you been involved in some way in your church or community and can your pastor speak to that experience and what it shows about your character? If so, I'd say go for it! But if it'd just be your pastor saying what a good person you are (without specific examples of church involvement or community service to back it up) then it would basically just be a personal character letter, which won't add much. And in that case, I think you'd be better off with a letter from a volunteer supervisor or someone who can really comment on what you've done and not just what they like about you.

So I don't think it's the religious stuff you should worry about but more just the general "is this letter adding anything significant to your app?" stuff.