LOR Questions

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While a teacher, this person did not directly instruct you in a professional, academic environment, and for this reason, I would not get a LoR if I had absolutely no other option.

I agree.

This individual will be able to vouch for your abilities as a tutor, perhaps, but will not be able to recommend to a Pharmacy school AdCom that you're capable of excelling in a rigorous academic atmosphere, which is (mostly) what they're looking for.

If you check out the AACP website, it has a listing of each CoP and what type of LoRs they require/accept. I could link it for you if the AACP website was functioning properly at the moment but alas it seems to be having some connection problems!

This person is also a poor reference. If you're really out of options, then answer these questions:

When you tutored for her cousins, were you paid? If so, did you tutor other students in a similar situation at any point? If you can answer yes to both questions, you could use the math teacher as a former employer. It's still a weak LOR, and only a last resort, but there's an angle you could exploit if you need to. Still, I'd get a chem prof if you there's any way you can get a favorable letter from one. O Chem would be better.

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http://www.pharmcas.org/docs/ReqTypebySchool.pdf

some schools do accept LORs from friends. If you truly think she can write you a strong LOR , I would probably go for it as a 4th LOR (i'm guessing your schools only require 3)

Just because it's accepted, doesn't mean it's recommended. The minimum GPA requirement at a school is 2.80 - does that mean you're going to aim for nothing else above a 2.80? Hopefully not ...! Like someone else said, as soon as they see it's from a "friend," the LOR will lose much credibility. After all, what friend WOULDN'T write another friend a great LOR? Otherwise, they wouldn't be a very good friend at all, would they?

In fact, I'd say that you should never use LORs from a friend, unless it was for a loan or an apartment rental or something along those lines. But that's just me. If I was on an admissions committee and I saw a LOR from a friend, I would wonder why you could not get a LOR from a professional, why you had to resort to a friend. And that is not a very good impression....
 
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One of my professors that said they would write a LOR for me is now nowhere to be found and won't respond to my emails. Right now I have 2 pharmacists and 1 professor. Should I try to get another professor? It might be a little difficult to find them in the summer ,that is what I am worried about. Would another pharmacist be ok? I wanted to submit my pharmcas app by the end of this week...

What do you guys think? The schools I'm applying to only require 1 professor LOR and 3 total. Is it even worth trying to get a 4th?
 
You have 2 Pharmacist and 1 Professor which totals 3 LoRs, and the schools that you're applying to require 3 LoRs, with at least 1 from a professor, so it sounds like you're going to be just fine even without that 2nd professor LoR.

Don't sweat it - Sometimes going over the requirement on LoR can be a hindrance.
 
Some of my requests didn't go through. How do you resend the email? I can't figure it out! Thanks :)
 
Some of my requests didn't go through. How do you resend the email? I can't figure it out! Thanks :)
I believe it will have a little button pop up next to their name once about 1-2 weeks have passed since you sent the first one that says "Resend email".
 
Here is the deal. My professor for some odd reason wants to send the LOR through mail using a hard copy rather than do it electronically. He has the letter complete and he gave it to me and I noticed that at the end he did not give his signature although he gave out all of his contact information and which department he is located in. Is it required that he sign the signature on the letter or is it okay since he has already done so on the recipient request form?
 
Here is the deal. My professor for some odd reason wants to send the LOR through mail using a hard copy rather than do it electronically. He has the letter complete and he gave it to me and I noticed that at the end he did not give his signature although he gave out all of his contact information and which department he is located in. Is it required that he sign the signature on the letter or is it okay since he has already done so on the recipient request form?



why not just play it safe and bring it back to him to sign??? that seems simple enough to me. Or perhaps you opened/read it to see what he wrote and noticed the no sig.

either way I would just bring it back to him.
 
why not just play it safe and bring it back to him to sign??? that seems simple enough to me. Or perhaps you opened/read it to see what he wrote and noticed the no sig.

either way I would just bring it back to him.

Yeah I know that sounds like the logical thing to do, but the problem is he is hardly ever in his office and hard to get a hold of. It took him long enough as it is for him to write the LOR for me.
 
Here is the deal. My professor for some odd reason wants to send the LOR through mail using a hard copy rather than do it electronically. He has the letter complete and he gave it to me and I noticed that at the end he did not give his signature although he gave out all of his contact information and which department he is located in. Is it required that he sign the signature on the letter or is it okay since he has already done so on the recipient request form?

Just don't forge the signature like I know some people do. In the long run I think its better off if you get the signature. You could gamble and bank on whoever you're sending it to (PCAT/admissions) will just call and verify it using his info, but it is a gamble...
 
Here is the deal. My professor for some odd reason wants to send the LOR through mail using a hard copy rather than do it electronically. He has the letter complete and he gave it to me and I noticed that at the end he did not give his signature although he gave out all of his contact information and which department he is located in. Is it required that he sign the signature on the letter or is it okay since he has already done so on the recipient request form?

Hold on...you waived your rights to view the letter though right? He's just giving you another copy yeah?
 
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Here is the deal. My professor for some odd reason wants to send the LOR through mail using a hard copy rather than do it electronically. He has the letter complete and he gave it to me and I noticed that at the end he did not give his signature although he gave out all of his contact information and which department he is located in. Is it required that he sign the signature on the letter or is it okay since he has already done so on the recipient request form?
Make him sign it
 
Hey guys,

I am planning on applying to at least five pharmacy schools. The person that I will ask to write me a LOR is an alumni at this X college which i will be applying to, so should i ask him to write the LOR specific (customized) toward this X college or make it a general? Or, can i ask him to write a paper LOR in which I could sent this to the X college and have someone else write an electronic (for pharmcas) for a general LOR?

Thanks in advance.
 
if you're asking that person for only one recommendation for that X college, then you can ask him to make it specific. but only if you're sending that in directly to the college. for PharmCAS, admissions people usually recommend making the LORs general, so if you will be asking him for a recommendation to use with pharmcas, ask him to make it general.

if the X college uses pharmcas, and you're applying to other schools using pharmcas, then make the LOR general. if you're applying to the X college on a separate application, then make it school specific.
 
if the X college uses pharmcas, and you're applying to other schools using pharmcas, then make the LOR general. if you're applying to the X college on a separate application, then make it school specific.
The X college does use pharmcas, but can i sent the LOR directly to X college or will that be frowned upon? :confused: The problem with having two LOR's in pharmcas and one additional LOR sent directly to X college is that the X college requires only TWO LOR, no more. I think if this alumni wrote the LOR-specific, it will look better than a general one. Or, does the alumni thing help at alll?
 
call that school to see what they would prefer. that seems like the best thing to do right now.
 
Hello. I am taking the PCAT this August and will e-submit based on how I do. However, I have created a problem with my LORs. I have one confirmed science instructor reference but need another instructor and employer reference. I know you can e-submit before receiving your LORs but they must be sent to your references before you e-submit right? I am currently volunteering at a nursing home and will probably be able to use my supervisor as a reference because the schools I'm applying too would accept them(I'll check again). But I would likely have to wait until the late fall before asking one of my professors from the coming semester for one. The two instructor references I had planned to use haven't come through. One hasn't replied to my email and the other said she couldn't because she is a TA and made sure she wouldn't be able to. So does anyone have any ideas or advice on maybe an alternative I can do? I wanted to submit kind of early instead of during the busy part of the cycle. Pharmcas has already received my transcripts.
 
Problem: you need one more instructor and a supervisor. The supervisor is taken care of though (nursing home). However, the last instructor LoR is difficult because you have basically hit a dead end from people you've asked so far.

Solution is murky. Your options include going back further into your past to ask a prior teacher who might not know you as well as you'd like. You can also wait until Fall, like you said, to procure that LoR. However, you're really pushing a lot of school deadlines (November, December) by doing so.

However, I don't really see any other way around it. I don't know what all classes you've taken and if you have not contacted every single one of your teachers in a desperate attempt to procure an LoR.

Also, consider the possibility of enriching your application in this cycle and simply applying in 2010 for matriculation 2011. Not ideal, again, but you're sorta between a rock and a hard place right now. I appreciate that difficulty, trust me on that. I know waiting another year seems like torture, but it's better you do that than blow all the money on applications and supplementals and end up short on an LoR and maybe a subpar PCAT score.

Just my opinion of course...
 
Hey Passion, would one Science teacher recommendation, two pharmacists, and one pharmacy online class teacher be suffice?

(Sorry for posting out of the blue).
 
Hey Passion, would one Science teacher recommendation, two pharmacists, and one pharmacy online class teacher be suffice?

(Sorry for posting out of the blue).

4 seems overkill. Do you really need 4? More does not mean better.... especially if one or two of them are simply mediocre letters. Additionally, an online class teacher seems to be questionable to me. Did you personally interact with the teacher? It seems hard to judge one's character by interactions only seen from online .... that's my 2 cents tho.

To goracing88: Consider your deadlines. If your earliest is in December, then it might be worth waiting for the fall semester before submitting your application. On the other hand, if you have early November deadlines, it seems tough to get a LOR in before then. You have to consider your own options and application - ie, if you have a superb application, one mediocre LOR is not going to hurt you.
 
The two instructor references I had planned to use haven't come through. One hasn't replied to my email and the other said she couldn't because she is a TA and made sure she wouldn't be able to. So does anyone have any ideas or advice on maybe an alternative I can do? I wanted to submit kind of early instead of during the busy part of the cycle. Pharmcas has already received my transcripts.

For the professor who didn't reply to your email, did you ask them in person? It's a pretty big no-no to ask for a LOR through email. If you really don't think you can find another professor to ask, I would try and find this one and ask in person. The worse that could happen is they wouldn't write you a LOR and you'd be in the same position you're in now.

If that doesn't work then I would dig further into your past to see if you could find a professor who would write you one like Passion said. Otherwise you are stuck with waiting till the fall.
 
Sounds like you didn't plan this out very carefully.
 
I'm a little confused about submitting LORs to Pharmcas, hope you guys can help :).

I'm in my 2nd year of college, and planning to apply the summer of my 4th year.

1. when would it be best to start asking for LORs?
2. I read on Pharmcas that you have to use their LOR form, by logging in and printing one to give to your evaluator. So let's say I ask during my 3rd year when I don't apply yet, how would I get the form? (please clarify these for me)

thank you!!
 
I'm a little confused about submitting LORs to Pharmcas, hope you guys can help :).

I'm in my 2nd year of college, and planning to apply the summer of my 4th year.

1. when would it be best to start asking for LORs?
2. I read on Pharmcas that you have to use their LOR form, by logging in and printing one to give to your evaluator. So let's say I ask during my 3rd year when I don't apply yet, how would I get the form? (please clarify these for me)

thank you!!

1. You can choose to ask early and remind them again later. You'll have to bank on the fact that they'll remember you well enough to write you the LOR at a later time as well as remember that they promised to write you one. Personally, I think it's just better to wait until the actual application cycle and ask several months before PharmCAS opens. I asked my evaluators in January/February and they all remembered their agreement when I reminded them in June when PharmCAS opened.

2. LORs can be submitted either using the paper form or the eLOR (electronic). PharmCAS prefers eLORs because of easier processing, but the decision is up to you and your evaluator. You can't access the form until you actually apply (as far as I know.. someone correct me if I'm wrong). I personally prefer the electronic method as well, it's a lot less to keep track of, since you'd have to make sure your evaluators actually mailed it in time, etc.

Hope that helps.
 
I asked one of my professors in June, and it took him over 2 months to actually do it and submit (after several reminders). So you could never ask too early :)
 
I plan to get at least 2 LORs this upcoming semester, but don't plan on registering until next year, is that still ok?
 
I plan to get at least 2 LORs this upcoming semester, but don't plan on registering until next year, is that still ok?

If you are using pharmcas they will delete it after a year.

Just build a relationship with your lors. Meaning stop by their office during office hours every now and then & just have a talk with them. Make sure you tell them you want to go into pharmacy.
 
Open an account at your school letter service.
tell ur letter-writer to send his or her letter to the letter service.
You can request your school to send the letter to Pharmcas when you apply.
PharmCAS accepts letters from school letter service.
 
Open an account at your school letter service.
tell ur letter-writer to send his or her letter to the letter service.
You can request your school to send the letter to Pharmcas when you apply.
PharmCAS accepts letters from school letter service.


Mmm...I didn't know you could actually do this.
 
Okay, I know we have several of these, but I am really not sure who to choose. I read recently around the forums that UCSF strongly recommends 4 LORs. I hadn't counted on that, and I had 3 lined up. Well, now that I am considering a fourth, I am not sure who to choose. I have it narrowed down to the following:

-Psychology research professor, where I took a class one semester on research methods. I did extremely well in her class (top grades, always participated, met with her during office hours), but I got the feeling that for some reason, she wasn't particular fond of me. I'm thinking it MIGHT be just a paranoid feeling though.

-My current PI at my research job at NIH. Normally, I would choose this over my psych professor. But I actually only started working mid-July, so I would have barely known him for a month now. Not very impressive, in my eyes. Also, he's incredibly busy as he recently went to Italy and got the flu immediately afterwards so he's backed up with about 2 weeks worth of work. But ... it's still the NIH! My friend says the title in itself is noteworthy, and it might be suspicious NOT to get a LOR when I'm working at the NIH.

Suggestions, ideas? My other LORs are a pharmacist at a hospital where I volunteered, and 2 science lab professors.
 
Both 1 month and 1 semester are relatively short periods of time, and the guy at the NIH has a more salient feel than the psychology research methods professor.

I'd take the NIH guy, so long as he could agree to write a personal, descriptive LoR for you.

I'm not one to recommend questionable practices but perhaps, since he's so busy, you could suggest "helping" with some talking points and then he can fill in some stuff, ink his name and git-r-dun. If he won't play ball, the psych. professor won't be a BAD choice, since you did well and are known to her, and she's probably very accustomed to writing academic LoRs.

tl;dr, Both are excellent options. I'd start with NIH.
 
My question is do you absolutely need a 4th? Only reason I ask is because I was in a similar position last year where I had 3 really good recs (1 prof, 2 pharmacist) and I decided to add another professor. I didn't know the guy to well I just got an A in the class and I think it hurt my overall application. I don't remember which school this was, but one of them actually sent me an email asking if I wanted to submit another letter in his letters place because his rec wasn't very informative of me.

Your psychology teacher would be who I would choose if you were to add the 4th letter. It sounds like you wouldn't have the problem I had since you built a relationship with that teacher, but if it's more than just paranoia and you don't think she'd write you a good letter, maybe consider not sending one.
 
UCSF doesn't require four. I submitted three, but we'll see if that ends up biting me later. I doubt it, but who knows.

Maybe you could hold that fourth LoR in the wings just in case you don't get accepted and need to re-apply; UCSF requires one new recommendation on the next year's application cycle.
 
I do not absolutely need a 4th, like Passion4Sci said, but since it is recommended, I don't see a harm in trying to get a 4th. UCSF is my top choice, so I really want to up my chances of getting in, even in the smallest ways. And unfortunately, if I don't get into UCSF this year, that's it. I'll be going to whatever school accepts me (..... assumign I get in of course....). I was supposed to apply last year, but I did not want to, so I got the NIH position to stall me for a year. My parents will not appreciate my delaying attending school anymore just because I didn't get into UCSF (they don't want me to go to CA for school anyway, so it'd be better for them....). So there will be no "saving" for next year.

Thanks for your opinions, guys, I'm still mulling it over. Hmmm.
 
I also would go with the Psych professor, mainly because it seems like the PI at the NIH one might be busy or distant and those are incredibly frustrating qualities to deal with when trying to get your letters in on time. But like others said, I don't think that your application would be weighing on one letter of rec if your stats are solid in all other respects. I know UCSF recommends 4, (in fact Joel said "it's beyond me why you wouldn't submit 4"... ugh :/) but they also put a heavier emphasis on your supplemental application, and to me that would be the more beneficial area to concentrate your focus on.
 
Yeah, when I talked with him on the phone, he sounded very exasperated and annoyed, even though I thought I was asking reasonable questions (ie. questions not easily answered on the website or whatever). Oh well.

Thanks guys, I think I am going to ask my NIH boss come September. I'll have to do SUPERBLY amazing at work for the next 3 weeks, lol.
 
Hey, had a quick question about LoRs in general. Say you score a decent LoR from someone but don't get accepted into any pharmacy schools this year. Would that LoR still be on my application or would I have to ask the writer for another one for the following year? Thanks!
 
Hey, had a quick question about LoRs in general. Say you score a decent LoR from someone but don't get accepted into any pharmacy schools this year. Would that LoR still be on my application or would I have to ask the writer for another one for the following year? Thanks!

You'll need to re-submit the LoR, and depending on the school, you might need to actually secure an additional, new LoR to add to your package.
 
some stupid questions regard LOR

  1. should I ask for a LOR from an organic chemistry professor (where I got a B) or from a biology professor where I got a A? or it does not matter?
  2. LOR's from professors in different departments (chemistry & biology) is better of than LOR's from professors in the same department.
 
General rule of LORs are:
Ask the professor that knows you best, regardless of what subject they teach. It's preferred that you did well in the class, particularly a science class, but if the letter doesn't really play up your strengths it's basically useless.
It's better to get LORs from different fields: for example one from a professor, one from a pharmacist, one from a supervisor, one from a volunteer coordinator, rather than all from professors.
 
The grade that you get is not as important as how well you know the professor. Think back and try to figure out which professor you knew better. Got a perfect 100 in my physics 2 class with a professor who I never talked to at all. Got a B in Ochem class and I was really close with the teacher. I chose the OCHEM prof
 
Quick question. when you say a lor from a supervisor, what supervisors specifically are you talking about? Thanks
 
I am doing the prelim and getting ready to apply for some schools. I read somewhere on the forum that the person you should ask to write LOR should be the one that knows you best. Well I graduated back in 1993 and the professors back then knew me the best. We hangout and even go fishing together. I am also very close to my former supervisor and a couple pharmacists. I can get LOR from them with no problem. My question is should I get one from one of my professor that knew me back in 1993 or from one I barely know currently?

Thanks for any help.
 
I need 2 LOR and I plan to get one from a pharmacist I volunteer with and one from a recreational volunteer coordinator.

I dont have a one from a PROF that will describe my academic potential, however I do plan on providing my resume and transcripts to both of them so they can discuss my academic potential.

Is it any disadvantage that I have dont have a PROF LOR and Ive only know both of my planned LOR for only 8 months?
 
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