LOR Questions: nonnative, nonscience; also, JHU/Harvard?

[felixfelicis]

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In addition to significant hard science research (2.5 years w/ 1 summer, 3rd author), I have spent a significant amount of time on a cultural research project (don't want to be too specific). I work with a mentor who is native to the country involved, and his English is definitely understandable but it isn't polished (sentences are nearly grammatical). I'm going to be asking him for a recommendation, but I'd like to hear your thoughts and experiences concerning:

1) how helpful it can be to have an LOR from a non premed-related but significant project
2) (subconscious) prejudice against LORs that say great things but are not that grammatical

 

[candav]

I think it's VERY helpful to have a letter from this professor -- it seems like a really interesting project, and these schools are very interested in applicants with diverse perspectives gained through their experiences. I also did research on stuff completely unrelated to medicine (including, among other things, college drop-out rates across Canada), and did not hesitate to collect letters from those PIs.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the grammar in the letter. I'm sure admissions people see letters written by non-native speakers all the time.

Best of luck!