LOR Questions

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Many (most, even) schools require a letter from a professor.

You can't get one?
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I never got to know any of my profs that well. Even then, most of them i've only known for 1 term which is 4 months.

I could definitely ask for one but I do not know how responsive it would be.
 
I'd try to shoot for getting one from a professor. The one from your pharmacist supervisor sounds great though
 
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yeah. Most school require a LOR for at least 2 professors. Most of my schoosl require a minimum of 4 LORs from my professors.
 
All my professors I have known pretty much for 1 semester but I try to build a great rapport with them since the first day and so many of them know me quite well now. It is more than just showing up to class. You have to build a relationship with them so you can be memorable. This will help you when it comes to networking in the pharmacy world.
 
Ji the Captain said:
yeah. Most school require a LOR for at least 2 professors. Most of my schoosl require a minimum of 4 LORs from my professors.
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A minimum of 4 LORs all from your professors? Somehow I find that hard to believe .... the most I've seen is minimum 3 from UCSF, and they only require ONE from a professor, minimally, although they recommend 4 letters total.

But in short.... ONE of your LORs should be from a professor... I think most schools expect that, if not require it.
 
the school I am applying to only requires 2 LOR. I am canadian so I don't have a lot of schools to choose from. I'm planning on UBC.
 
My instinct is to say: neither. The old professor can't really attest to your current academic ability, and a professor you barely know will only write a letter saying "so and so got this grade in my class." Do you have any other options?
 
I don't have much of an option. I was thinking of getting the old professor to write one, my previous supervisor for another, and a pharmacist from where I volunteer. Hopefully the three combine would give them an idea of who I am and what I can contribute to the field. My current grades are sinificantly higher than 20 years ago, but I don't want to get a generic LOR from my current profs. What are your thoughts?
 
Hi guys...I wanted to ask you a question about the LOR. So, I have already gotten 1 LOR from my pharmacist in the Pharmcas. Now, I am planning to get 1 LOR from my Chem professor, and 2 from two other pharmacists.

The problem is that the pharmacist from whom I think I will get the best LOR is on vacation. So, I cannot ask her for the LOR until 2 weeks form today. But I really want to get the LOR from my Chem professor and the other pharmacist completed.

This brings to my question that does it matter what order I submit my request for the LORs? Is it possible to reaarange my referrences after they have submitted their LORs? And do pharmacy schools view the LORs in a specific order?

I will greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you,

Shehzad
 
All I know is that each PharmaCAS school you pick definitely gets all of your LORs. I would imagine that what each one does with the extra LORs is different for each school. Maybe they just read the first ones that match their requirements, maybe they randomly pick, maybe they pick the best ones based on their preferences (e.g. pharmacist over advisor).
 
so do you guys think that sequence and order does not matter in terms of importance and which recommendations the schools choose to see first, and that I should post them in any sequence?
 
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What is the time frame for asking a letter of recommendation? more than one month ahead of the deadline?
 
makingdecisions said:
What is the time frame for asking a letter of recommendation? more than one month ahead of the deadline?
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LOL, you're screwed. Ask for one IMMEDIATELY if you intend to apply this year. If you're asking about next year. Ask for one, between 1-2 months before you want to send you application in. I asked for mine in May.
 
makingdecisions said:
What is the time frame for asking a letter of recommendation? more than one month ahead of the deadline?
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Are you planning on applying to start in Fall 2010?

First of all, you need to plan an extra month when you ask for your letters. So if you need it by such-and-such date, tell the writer you need it a month before that so you have a window if they forget or are too busy.

You will not get accepted if your application is "complete" on the deadline. You will be lucky to even interview for a spot on the wait list.
 
So what time do you guys suggest people have their complete app in? I was going to send mine in mid August bc I wanted Orgo II which I'll have done in the summer on my transcripts and I'll get that grade like August 10. I don't think having the app in by then would hurt right? Considering Early decision applications have until Sept 2 to get everything in. What are your alls thoughts?

Btw I thought that would be okay bc Orgo II would be my last prerequisite. So I'd be applying with everything done except for physics II, which I gathered is not as important to most schools anyway.
 
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bellakk said:
Are you planning on applying to start in Fall 2010?

First of all, you need to plan an extra month when you ask for your letters. So if you need it by such-and-such date, tell the writer you need it a month before that so you have a window if they forget or are too busy.

You will not get accepted if your application is "complete" on the deadline. You will be lucky to even interview for a spot on the wait list.
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Hey, Do you know how many needed to be submitted by Pharmcas.. Is it 4 total or 2????
 
bellakk said:
You will not get accepted if your application is "complete" on the deadline. You will be lucky to even interview for a spot on the wait list.
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What are you talking about. This applies only for rolling admissions. There are many schools that are not on rolling admissions, and only care as long as you have your application complete on the deadline.

You will only be guaranteed rejection if you turn in your application late.

Do you know how many needed to be submitted by Pharmcas.. Is it 4 total or 2????
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It depends on the schools you are applying to. Most require 2-3, from what I've seen. Check each schools' requirements.

LOL, you're screwed. Ask for one IMMEDIATELY if you intend to apply this year.
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What's with the negative outlook on LORs on this thread. You are not screwed. You might be a bit late on the ball if you're applying early decision and/or california schools. But it's September. The standard is to give your LOR person a month to write it. It is always good to have a little bit of leeway time (2-4 weeks), so it is ideal to give your person 1.5-2 months.

Besides, there are TONS of schools who have January, February and even March deadlines. Those are mostly rolling admissions schools from my research, so the sooner the better, but if you ask now, you can get it in by December just fine.
 
Okay, this is my situation. I am a pharmacy tech at a large pharmacy that services about two entire states on its own and there are about 50 pharmacists employed at this particular business when you include the consultant pharmacists. This leaves me in a bit of a predicament when asking for letter of recommendations, and i'm quite sure all of these people would give me a LoR.

1. The director of pharmacy is the person who interviewed me for the job and is tempting to ask for the letter because of his more prestigious job position. The problem is that we dont talk or see eachother too often and we never work together, and im worried a LoR from him would be kind of ineffectual and generic.

2. The pharmacist in charge: This pharmacist is directly below the director of pharmacy and we work together every so often. This is sort of the middle ground for me.

3. Then there is any of the pharmacists that regularly work throughout the day. I imagine the LoR I would get from them would be good and would be a more personal kind of LoR. The only problem is that in my eyes everybody will have one of these letters so i'm tempted to go for the ones that would stick out more.

I may just be overthinking this whole thing :confused:, but any thoughts or advice anyone has on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
 
In my opinion, a letter from a pharmacist is a letter from a pharmacist. Their position really shouldn't matter. If you could score a really good letter from the district supervisor, then by all means, get it. But, since you hardly know director, I think it would be a better idea to get a letter from someone who could actually speak about your work ethics and your dedication. These types of letters are much much better than any generic one that the director would probably write for you. In fact, I think those generic letters would even hamper your application.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Sooo i'm currently in the process of getting all my LORs done and out of the way for the year. I know that for some schools, they require that one of the LORs be from an employer...HOWEVER, what if the employer is a relative? is that a problem?? would that still count?
 
i actually was in a similar situation. i had shadowed my cousin for a while and they wrote me a letter of reference. upon submitting my supplemental application to the school, i was contacted by the admissions counselor because although my letter would be accepted, under the circumstances, she recommended that i go ahead and submit another letter, but it did not have to be from another pharmacist.
 
oh okay...thank you! so i'm thinking that i will probably go ahead and put in an lor from them, but ill make sure to put an extra one in there just in case? because i read over their guidelines and it didnt say anywhere who an lor can and cannot be from.
thanks for your response!
 
Ok so i have a letter of recommendation from a pharmacist and also one from my volunteer coordinator at the hospital I volunteer in but Im having a little trouble getting one from a professor. You see I really never talk to any of my professors, so they wont know who I am, and I'm kind of embarrassed to go in there and ask for a letter when they've never even seem me lol. Would they give me one? Any schools not require one from a professor? Are professors really easy going about this? Im really dreading this situation and I just keep putting it off and putting it off.
 
I'm actually the same way. After five years of school there are maybe 2 profs who actually know me.

What I found out though is that many of them are aware of you even if you aren't aware of them. It really doesn't hurt to talk with them even if its a simple "You may not remember me, but..." and see where you stand with them.
 
Hi guys,

Quick question. I'm about to start asking for LOR's from people, and I'm wondering do I absolutely need a LOR from a pharmacist (I'm applying to all Texas schools). I've worked my entire college life at the Dean's office doing clerical work (worked there 20/week, always had a more than full class load), so I can get a great LOR from my boss, but I haven't had the time to work in a pharmacy as my job right now pays a lot more than working in a pharmacy. Since I'm a student, I obviously chose the higher paying job.

Another question is do I need a science prof LOR or could one do from an economics professor? I'm an economics major, and am really close to a lot of my professors, but I haven't really made any connections with any of my science profs. Albeit, I don't have the best bio grades, but I have a stellar PCAT score to make up for those.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...and yes, I do want to go to pharmacy school, but I need to pay bills, so I took the school job when the opportunity was presented.
 
tahi193 said:
You'll need to check the website for each school and see what requirements they have for recommendations. The schools I'm applying to don't specifically require a letter from a pharmacist. However, I believe most do require a letter from a science professor. If you're taking any science classes between now and the time you apply then make sure to go out of your way to build up a relationship with a professor. Go to office hours if you can or ask questions after class.
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Call the schools you applying to if you are still not sure about the answer after visiting their websites.
 
Table showing who your letters can be from/have to be from/cannot be from

http://www.pharmcas.org/docs/ReqTypebySchool0910.pdf


Also, make sure your professor actually writes it. I asked my Physics teacher and reminded him at least once a week throughout the semester, then the day of the final... then a polite email... then a thank-you card (aka the Guilt A-Bomb) . still no letter, luckily only one of my schools required it.
 
Are you applying now or do you have some time? I've been out of school for a long time and knew no one would remember me. When I started back to finish up prereqs, I made it a point to get to know my ochem teacher. She only writes letters for those who get As in both semesters of her class. I let her know that this was my aim. As I got through each exam, I joked with her that she'd better sharpen her pencil! I'd go by every couple of weeks to ask relevant questions and sat near the front so she would recognize me. She was terrible at names and didn't bother to learn students names, but I made sure she knew mine. After grades came out, I asked her if she would write the letter so we met for lunch so she could find out more about me and write something above generic. Hope that helps.
 
those are some great ideas, Ill try them out. thanks.

that spreadsheet is perfect too thanks for that.
 
if my school asks for 2 LOR and I submit 4, are they going to read all 4 and hopefully consider the good ones or are they going to randomly pick two and toss out the other "potentially great" letters?

I really don't know what my evaluators wrote about me.
 
KMIMSM said:
if my school asks for 2 LOR and I submit 4, are they going to read all 4 and hopefully consider the good ones or are they going to randomly pick two and toss out the other "potentially great" letters?

I really don't know what my evaluators wrote about me.
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If they require 2, and you send 4, they're going to randomly choose 2 from the 4 and toss the other 2.

In other words, don't send over what they request. If they say that they require 2, but will ACCEPT more, then by all means go forth and do so. But be careful not to go over stated maximum for LoRs.

You might should have been a bit more careful in choosing your authors...
 
Passion4Sci said:
If they require 2, and you send 4, they're going to randomly choose 2 from the 4 and toss the other 2.

In other words, don't send over what they request. If they say that they require 2, but will ACCEPT more, then by all means go forth and do so. But be careful not to go over stated maximum for LoRs.

You might should have been a bit more careful in choosing your authors...
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I submitted 4 on pharmcas because some schools require up to 4. Lipscomb is one of them. Thus, the schools that require 2 will automatically get 4 becuase pharmcas forwards it to all schools.
Usually writers who won't write me a good letter will say so beforehand. So I had hopes that they were all good letters. I just don't know if some were good but not supportive with evidence, etc or not.
 
KMIMSM said:
I submitted 4 on pharmcas because some schools require up to 4. Lipscomb is one of them. Thus, the schools that require 2 will automatically get 4 becuase pharmcas forwards it to all schools.
Usually writers who won't write me a good letter will say so beforehand. So I had hopes that they were all good letters. I just don't know if some were good but not supportive with evidence, etc or not.
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In which case they'll take 2 and toss 2. No biggie, except they might, by happenstance, draw 2 of the worst ones.
 
KMIMSM said:
if my school asks for 2 LOR and I submit 4, are they going to read all 4 and hopefully consider the good ones or are they going to randomly pick two and toss out the other "potentially great" letters?

I really don't know what my evaluators wrote about me.
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Passion4Sci had it right. My university asks for 3 and if you send me 4 then it's eeny meeny minny moe if you know what I mean.

Off the record, I don't understand why universities continue to allow letters of recommendation. Anybody can write one and through my experience I've noticed that they don't mean anything. Many of my pharmacy students have submitted terrible LoR from terrible sources and are doing great.
 
AdmissionsMan said:
Passion4Sci had it right. My university asks for 3 and if you send me 4 then it's eeny meeny minny moe if you know what I mean.

Off the record, I don't understand why universities continue to allow letters of recommendation. Anybody can write one and through my experience I've noticed that they don't mean anything. Many of my pharmacy students have submitted terrible LoR from terrible sources and are doing great.
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terrible LORs and they were accepted?
 
Hi, I didnt even get the chance to know any of my professors. I come from a public university so each class size is around 300 ppl so i didnt get to know any of my professiors, however, most pharm schools require at least 1 lor from a science professor?

For ppl in my situation, how were you able to get a lor from a science professor?
 
if you do research for a professor or go to a professors office hours a lot, then the professor can know more about who you are.
 
I was in the same boat as well so I asked the professor I had any contact with at all. There is one that I saw at the gym outside of class and I made it a point to acknowledge him. Then I set up a meeting to tell him my goals regarding pharmacy and asked if he'd consider writing me an LOR. He agreed and to help him know me even better I gave him copies of my resume, personal statements, etc. He ended up writing me a very good letter and we have continued our contact throughout the process. I know it is best to get an LOR from someone who knows you well but since all my classes are huge, or they were administered by a teaching assistant (labs), and the fact that a professor I did know did not complete the LOR - I had to make it happen my way! Be sincere and persistent and you can too!:luck:
 
Horrible, isn't it? I went through this last admissions cycle. After I got the LORs, I ended up not even applying to the schools because of a bunch of stupid garbage that happened in life. Now, I'm in a totally different school, know NONE of my professors, and I'm completely out of touch with my old professors. FML on this one.
 
apteryx said:
Horrible, isn't it? I went through this last admissions cycle. After I got the LORs, I ended up not even applying to the schools because of a bunch of stupid garbage that happened in life. Now, I'm in a totally different school, know NONE of my professors, and I'm completely out of touch with my old professors. FML on this one.
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even if you don't know your professors, there's a chance they might know you well enough to notice things you do like improve on test scores, ask questions frequently, or visit office hours. i once had a microbio teacher i didn't know very well, and on my second test, she would say "you improved. i noticed. just study hard and keep this up and next time you could make 100%.
 
crazybob said:
even if you don't know your professors, there's a chance they might know you well enough to notice things you do like improve on test scores, ask questions frequently, or visit office hours. i once had a microbio teacher i didn't know very well, and on my second test, she would say "you improved. i noticed. just study hard and keep this up and next time you could make 100%.
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That is why it is always good to visit those professors and get to know them because you never know when you may need their help.
 
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