LOR issues.

[MrMunkily]

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I'm having a bit of a problem with my LORs, and I'm wondering If I'm misunderstanding the way this is supposed to work and have already "screwed up."

My school has a MD evaluatory comitte which collects 3 LORs, does an interview and makes a composite letter. Supposedly they also deal with MD/PhD specific issues addressed in the individual LORs (the originals are also copied to each school when submitted.) I used this to my advantage and had my undergrad research PI submit a letter that is heavily PhD oriented to the comittee.

However, now I'm reading up in secondary procedures that many schools want 3 LORs (or committee letter) for the M.D. admissions procedure, and 2-3 additional "research oriented" letters for the PhD procedure.

Since my "medical" reccomendation packet was supposed to address everything, I could ask for a more detailed letter from my PI but then I'd have 2 letters from the same person! Can I resubmit the same packet to both offices?

 

[Thundrstorm]

My pre-med advisor (we have no committe; it's just her) is also my research advisor and professor, so that was even more confusing, but anyway...

This is how I addressed this problem:

My composite letter included comments from:
1 sci prof
1 hum and sci prof
1 research PI
1 comm. serv. advisor
1 employer
and comments from my advisor to tie it all together.

I also asked her to write a separate letter from a research perspective, since she was my PI for 2 years as well.

I had her send the composite lttr to the MD programs, and the originals of her research letter and my other PI's research letter to the MD/PhD programs. Some schools were more complicated (like Cornell, who wants all letters sent only to the MD/PhD office and none to the med school). Thus, some schools got repetitive material (overlap b/t the composite and the research letters), but I feel that I addressed all of their requirements, so I don't really care. I put it all together into a Word document, which I would be happy to share as a model of what I did. It might clarify my comments above.

In your case, I would probably just submit your PI's letter separately to the MD/PhD program, and see if the schools care. I wrote several programs to inquire about the rigidity of LOR requirements, and they've all been flexible (e.g. some demand 3 research letters, but I only have 2 and that's just that).

I'm having a bit of a problem with my LORs, and I'm wondering If I'm misunderstanding the way this is supposed to work and have already "screwed up."

My school has a MD evaluatory comitte which collects 3 LORs, does an interview and makes a composite letter. Supposedly they also deal with MD/PhD specific issues addressed in the individual LORs (the originals are also copied to each school when submitted.) I used this to my advantage and had my undergrad research PI submit a letter that is heavily PhD oriented to the comittee.

However, now I'm reading up in secondary procedures that many schools want 3 LORs (or committee letter) for the M.D. admissions procedure, and 2-3 additional "research oriented" letters for the PhD procedure.

Since my "medical" reccomendation packet was supposed to address everything, I could ask for a more detailed letter from my PI but then I'd have 2 letters from the same person! Can I resubmit the same packet to both offices?

 

[imsotired]

Mount Sinai is being really anal about having 3 LORs for the MD/PhD program. I had to bust my but trying to get that last letter... 👎 Other than that, I just sent my 2 research letters to all the MD/PhD programs and committee packets to the MD offices unless specifically instructed not to do so. It doesn't matter if it's repetitive. Better safe than sorry!

 

[Thundrstorm]

Mount Sinai is being really anal about having 3 LORs for the MD/PhD program. I had to bust my but trying to get that last letter... 👎 Other than that, I just sent my 2 research letters to all the MD/PhD programs and committee packets to the MD offices unless specifically instructed not to do so. It doesn't matter if it's repetitive. Better safe than sorry!

Wow, really? Mt. Sinai was really great about letting me just submit 2 research letters. I wrote a quick e-mail stating that I only had 2 and that I had no current research advisor since my NIH gig didn't start until September, and they wrote back right away that it was fine.

 

[MrMunkily]

good to hear how others are dealing w/it.
imsotired: Did you have 3 letters total or 3 in addition to med school only letters?


btw Thundrstorm your PM box is overfilled so I cant reply to your message.

 

[Thundrstorm]

btw Thundrstorm your PM box is overfilled so I cant reply to your message.

oops, all clear now.

 

[sharpnerd00]

I don't understand the way that the LORs work at some of the schools. For example, Northwestern - they say if you have a composite, they only want 2 recs - do you have to send them in separately? Does Chicago give leeway? I am confused.... and have about five schools I'm not sure of if anyone can help me out.

 

[sharpnerd00]

I don't understand the way that the LORs work at some of the schools. For example, Northwestern - they say if you have a composite, they only want 2 recs - do you have to send them in separately? Does Chicago give leeway? I am confused.... and have about five schools I'm not sure of if anyone can help me out.

Another thing:

If I worked at one place, can I have two people from that place write me a rec? Obviously, the PI is writing me one... but what about the person whom I directly worked under. Is it not kosher to get two recs from one place? (as opposed to an unrelated research experience, i.e. different field)

 

[imsotired]

MrMunkily: I sent in 2 letters that talk about my research to all the schools. For Mt. Sinai, I sent in 3 letters. I only sent letters geared toward MD admissions to the MD office.

Thundrstorm: Really? I called the admissions office and talked to someone. He said "The three letters are a pretty stringent guideline. Email the dean and ask him if it is ok." I ended up asking the postdocs in my lab to write me a letter so it worked out fine. Now, I'm contemplating whether or not to send it to other schools. I also started a new job at Baylor and I didn't want to ask for an LOR so early on so I totally understand where you are coming from.

sharpnerd00: I got a letter from the PI and a letter written by 2 postdocs. I did the same when I applied to a summer research program and it wasn't a problem at all.

Did anyone apply to UMDNJ-RWJ? I am a little confused on their admissions process.

 

[MrMunkily]

I'm applying there - NJ resident and all. I like their program...

I think we need to submit the M.D. supplemental as well as the MD/PhD application for RWJSM. I haven't glanced at it in a while but it's next in line for me to deal with...

 

[imsotired]

I'm applying there - NJ resident and all. I like their program...

I think we need to submit the M.D. supplemental as well as the MD/PhD application for RWJSM. I haven't glanced at it in a while but it's next in line for me to deal with...

Oh goodie. Maybe you have some more info on how that goes. I received an email saying that I was complete, but they said that the MD office is the one who initiates contacts with the students. Does that mean that the med school has to invite you first? This is kind of confusing.... From their secondary, it seemed as if they worked together to invite the students. I was hoping to get an interview there so I could go see my friends at Rutgers~ 😀

 

[Thundrstorm]

imsotired: I sent an e-mail to [email protected] and it was answered by Kim McCollum, the admissions coodinator. If anyone would like her e-mail or phone, you can pm me.



sharpnerd00: I don't have the LOR instructions in front of me, but based on my LOR chart, I sent my composite letter + my separate research letters (2) to both U. Chicago and Northwestern. For Chicago, they went straight to the MD office, and for Northwestern, they went to the MD/PhD office with their LOR forms attached. If you need the addresses, let me know.