LOR letters of recommendation (time and strategies)

[BennieBlanco]

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How well and how long is good for knowing a professor/doc?

Could you use a prof who has only had you for 1 semester, or a doc you've only known for 6 months?

What are the best strategies for getting a great LOR?

Its tough for me to have the same professor twice because we have a lot of changes even between 1st/2nd semester Ochem/Physics/etc. So I'm getting a new prof every semester.

Does anyone have good tips or could you direct me to an excellent post? I have searched through some for an hour but wanted to just throw the question out. Thanks

 

[TraderDoc]

- I guess the minimum time you need to know a professor would be a semester, but Im sure depending on how you interact (visit office hours, lab...) a couple months might cut it.

- You could definitely ask a prof or doctor who only knew you for a semester or 6 months, but everything depends on how well he got to know you! Did he get a chance to talk to you about your aspirations, goals, future plans... See your work ethic, character....

- I have always been told that you should give your writers at least a month, and that's the very least, to write you a letter. They have others to write as well. Although e-mail is okay, I would definitely encourage you to come to their office and formally ask for a LOR. Just politely mention that you are applying to medical school, and and ask if they would be able to write you a positive letter of recommendation. Profs will more than likely tell you they'll be able to write you one or they haven't gotten to know well enough to write a strong letter of recommendation.

- For me I had physics 1 with one prof, physics two with a different prof. But I always went to my phys 1 prof when I had phys 2 questions (no disrespect to phys 2 prof). So its a good idea to always keep in touch even if you have a new professor.

 

[BennieBlanco]

Thanks, good idea on staying in touch after. I guess I just need to really work on stopping by more often because of the 200+ person classes.