LOR Questions

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OleMiss2012 said:
The schools that he listed are in Texas, except one. Texas schools and SWOSU don't utilize pharmcas so reading instructions on that site will do him no good.....unless he's applying to other schools too (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!)

Each of the listed schools has their own form. When you apply online (except for SWOSU - do they even have online application yet?) for each of the TX schools, you'll get to a page somewhere in the online application for LORs. Each one is different. You'll need the adobe reader. Just read through the instructions for each one.

Read SWOSU's COP website or just call them. The last time I looked at their website, it wasn't very helpful and I just ended up calling them asking for the info I needed.

You left A&M/Irma Lerma Rangel out of your list.......

I suggest you apply everywhere and not just the schools in Tx/OK. Trust me!!!!!!
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Wait, now... What?? Texas schools don't utilize PharmCAS? Why the heck not?

And I will be applying to A&M too. Must of just slipped my mind.
 
To the OP: Approach the professor in person, and with a letter of intent written well in advance (a paper that states what you want to do, why, and what you've done academically and professionally). Btw, professors take a while to write LOR's, so plan accordingly.

As for your professional LOR, find someone else. Any other pharmacists? I find that most pharmacists would love to write a rec even if they don't really know you.

to everyone else: I always tell people to start thinking about LOR's early. Every class I take, I try to get to know the professor. Ask questions, make jokes, do whatever it takes to get their attention (in a positive manner). I think that when I applied, the most stressful experience for me was getting LOR's, mainly because they interviewed me, joined them for lunch, then waited and waited and waited.
 
simplyv001 said:
I was just afraid to submit and then pharmcas sends my application over and the LOR's aren't complete. Wouldn't they just disregard/ put aside my app anyway for not being complete?
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Well, they won't distribute it out to your schools but they will verify all of your information in the mean time. So if you really are completely done with your app, then submit it because the verification process takes like a freaking month.
 
RAMPHARMD said:
Wait, now... What?? Texas schools don't utilize PharmCAS? Why the heck not?
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I didn't stutter when I typed that did I? 😀 I don't know why they don't use PharmCas. You have to go to each COP website for their application. The last three years, A&M made you print out the application, fill it out by pen, and then mail it to them. UH also made you send them some stuff via mail, but not the whole application. UT was the only school that sent LORs electronically. You'll have to print out and then mail the LORS for each of the other schools (not sure about SWOSU though).

I think applications become available online sometime in Sept. or Oct. You'll have to look at the schools' website to make sure.
 
A pharmacist agree to write a recommendation letter but i did not work or volunteer at her place. Will the pharmcas or the schools still ok with it?. Is it considering from a friend?

thanks
 
I wouldn't do it unless you're desperate for an LOC. A good LOC incorporates your good qualities. Someone who doesn't know you can't really subtlety brag about your abilities in their LOC. I'd find someone you worked with or studied under if at all possible. They can talk about how they've WITNESSED your dedication/determination/ambition/whatever... because if the Pharmacist doesn't mention in her letter how she "knows" you, I wouldn't be surprised if they questioned you on it. Be prepared for that, whatever you ultimately decide.
 
Superconduct, I am in a similar situation. I am currently volunteering in an inpatient hospital pharmacy but the pharmacists never overlook what I am doing only the office coordinator tells me my tasks. The tasks include checking expiration dates, labeling bottles, and stocking medication. I do not know if you have similar tasks, superconduct. The only conversation I had with a pharmacist was when she approached me and asked if I was going to become a pharmacist. I told her I was applying to pharmacy school and then she asked what schools. I told her the name of the schools and the conversation ended there. Anyways, would it be a good idea to ask her or another pharmacist for an LOR? I really think my application can be improved with the pharmacist's LOR but in the same case as superconduct the pharmacist does not supervise my tasks.
 
GT500 said:
Superconduct, I am in a similar situation. I am currently volunteering in an inpatient hospital pharmacy but the pharmacists never overlook what I am doing only the office coordinator tells me my tasks. The tasks include checking expiration dates, labeling bottles, and stocking medication. I do not know if you have similar tasks, superconduct. The only conversation I had with a pharmacist was when she approached me and asked if I was going to become a pharmacist. I told her I was applying to pharmacy school and then she asked what schools. I told her the name of the schools and the conversation ended there. Anyways, would it be a good idea to ask her or another pharmacist for an LOR? I really think my application can be improved with the pharmacist's LOR but in the same case as superconduct the pharmacist does not supervise my tasks.
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I volunteered as a tech at another place. The pharmacist at that place is a
bit**. She hates me and i don't think she will write me one. The pharmacist that agreed to write one for me is very nice. You can say that we are friend (so so), but i never work at her place.
 
How are you supposed to get a LOR from a pharmacist when the school which requires a pharmacist recommendation also states that they do not accept LORs from ...

Friends
Family Members
Co-Workers

Would this not rule out every pharmacist?
 
Co-workers means people at the same level as you. You want a supervisor, so a pharmacist is fine.

The other two are so people submit letters that evaluate them professionally, such as work ethic, desire to learn, etc. Friends and family members can't evaluate you subjectively.
 
Hello,
Do you think its bad to ask for a LOR from a professor of a class that I took (got A.) The professor knows me by name and I also used to go to her sometimes for quick questions, and one time for a 15 min review session.
Also since I will not be applying for pharmschool untill in about a year and half, Do I ask for the letter now or later?

and how about a teacher that I never went to his office hour but I got A (A- and A) in both his classes (physics I and II)

Thanks
 
this forum is not for ignorant questions such as yours...please search or go somewhere else...

"from a professor of a class that I took (got A)?" <-- is this a joke?
 
wesida said:
Hello,
Do you think its bad to ask for a LOR from a professor of a class that I took (got A.) The professor knows me by name and I also used to go to her sometimes for quick questions, and one time for a 15 min review session.
Also since I will not be applying for pharmschool untill in about a year and half, Do I ask for the letter now or later?

and how about a teacher that I never went to his office hour but I got A (A- and A) in both his classes (physics I and II)

Thanks
Click to expand...

I would suggest telling her that you're interested in getting a recommendation from her next year. Remember to keep in contact with her over the next year so that she doesn't forget who you are. You could even suggest that she write the recommendation now since she knows you now, but not submit/give it to you until it's time for you to apply.

Aside from that, I'm not sure why you would have to ask us our opinion on getting a rec from a teacher you got an A in.

My overall stance on LORs is that you get recommendations from a prof that knows you well, you did expectionally well (and the prof knows you), or in a class you struggled but improved and survived. So there can be a class you got a B in (but you started w/ a D on your first test, you went to office hours a lot, and you worked hard), and you could still get a recommendation from.
 
jyw003 said:
this forum is not for ignorant questions such as yours...please search or go somewhere else...

"from a professor of a class that I took (got A)?" <-- is this a joke?
Click to expand...

no actually that wasn't a joke to answer your question. I was writing the question in a hurry... please if you don't want to answer the question then please don't write and waste your time. all I meant is that I had an A in the class and want to know If i can approach the professor without having to feel that maybe i needed to know the professor more. obviously I wrote all of my interactions with the professor in the question. I've never asked for LOR and don't know exactly the way/timing to do it.

Utterdevotion thanks for the reply.
 
lol its funny cause the jyw person is actually the one being ignorant. we were all in your shoes at one point, and we understand that the simplest things can be confusing as hell. anyways, utterdevotion put it well. when it comes to good LOR's with substance, grades aren't really going to do much for you. you have to get letters from professors that you actually got to know. This way they can write about you on a level that can actually get some information across to admissions. If they write you a letter just cause of an A, then admissions is basically going to get a letter that descriptively tells them something they already knew from your transcript.

If getting LOR's from these profs are your only options, then I suggest that when you ask for the letter, that you take the time to schedule a meeting or lunch with them so you can talk to them for like an hr. Also give them a copy of your PS and resume, this way they can get an idea of who you are and what you want to do.

Good luck!
 
Drug Doc,
Thanks a bunch for the tip👍
 
Can somebody explain the whole letter of recommendation process? Does the person fill out a form online or on a paper? Is it via pharmcas or is it sent to pharmcas? Explain! Thanks.
 
WWE said:
Can somebody explain the whole letter of recommendation process? Does the person fill out a form online or on a paper? Is it via pharmcas or is it sent to pharmcas? Explain! Thanks.
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LORs can usually been done online or mailed in, but online is preferred because it's faster and won't get lost in the mail. If you are applying to PharmCAS schools then the LORs go to PharmCAS. If not, they go directly to the school.
 
fenixtnlfan said:
LORs can usually been done online or mailed in, but online is preferred because it's faster and won't get lost in the mail. If you are applying to PharmCAS schools then the LORs go to PharmCAS. If not, they go directly to the school.
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Thanks! I am going to ask that the writers keep their letters on file just in case i have to reapply again.
 
I am working w/ a pharmacy techinician as a volunteer in a hospital. Should I ask a recommendation letter from the phamarcy technician, or should I ask LOR from a pharmacist? Since I am working with the technician, he knows me better than a pharmacist, but the pharmacy school might like to see a letter from a pharmacist. Could somebody tell me whose letter is more helpful for my appliaction? Thanks!
 
I think it is without question that the pharmacist LOR is going to hold more weight. I would just find out what the school you are applying to is asking for. Some schools may require only professors with a PhD and pharmacists.
 
Your LOR's should be written by either a professor or a pharmacist, not from your coworkers.
 
Thank you all. But Phamacist doesn't work with me adn doesn't know me well.His LOR might be very general. If I get LOR from the technician, his letter would be very specific.
 
There's no way you can get a LOR from a technician that would carry any weight whatsoever. You need to make an effort to let the pharmacist get to know you. I do not know of any school that would accept a LOR from a non-pharmacist or co-worker.
 
Yea that should be the whole point of working or volunteering at a pharmacy.. getting to know the pharmacist and better understanding what they do and if this is what you want to do in the future. I know for people who are a bit shy it is difficult, but you got to break the ice... tell them about yourself and that you want to become a pharmacist... usually they will try and help you. Ask them questions to show your interest.
 
YiYaoYue said:
Yea that should be the whole point of working or volunteering at a pharmacy.. getting to know the pharmacist and better understanding what they do and if this is what you want to do in the future. I know for people who are a bit shy it is difficult, but you got to break the ice... tell them about yourself and that you want to become a pharmacist... usually they will try and help you. Ask them questions to show your interest.
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exactly, i know most of the time the rph is very busy and u don't want to annoy him/her. But, u need to make an effort to learn and communicate with the rph. A letter from a tech is not accepted in most places.
 
Thanks for all replys. I am a little bit shy and I didn't talk much to pharmacists. I talked to the technician I am working with about LOR. He is not happy with my idea of getting LOR from pharmacist . He insists that he knows me best and he should be my reference. I will talk to him again next Monday. Thanks again!
 
Has anyone ever gotten in to pharm school with NO letter of recs from a pharmacist or a health care professional?

I ask this because I've only been working at Rite-Aid pharmacy for one month and I don't feel the pharmacists know me well enough to write me a letter of rec.
 
rycetrix said:
Has anyone ever gotten in to pharm school with NO letter of recs from a pharmacist or a health care professional?

I ask this because I've only been working at Rite-Aid pharmacy for one month and I don't feel the pharmacists know me well enough to write me a letter of rec.
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Check the website for the school you want to attend because sometimes they will take one from a professor if you have never worked at a pharmacy. The school I'm applying to said that they would except one from my supervisor. The only way to find out is to ask the school.
 
Yes, I did. I had an LOR from two chemistry professors and one from my supervisor at the bank I was working at. I had excellent academic and professional relationships with all three people and they recommended me without reservation.
 
I did also. I haven't worked in a pharmacy so I just made sure to avoid the schools that required that kind of LOR.
 
I am in the same position. I have volunteered in the hospital pharmacy for two months and feel weird about asking for a rec. I used to work for CVS last year and thought about going to ask them for a rec but I feel weird about that also. What do you guys think? To OP, I don't mean to "hijack" your thread, I just want to get some opinions.
 
anomrxer said:
I am in the same position. I have volunteered in the hospital pharmacy for two months and feel weird about asking for a rec. I used to work for CVS last year and thought about going to ask them for a rec but I feel weird about that also. What do you guys think? To OP, I don't mean to "hijack" your thread, I just want to get some opinions.
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I volunteered in pharm for 1.5 yrs and i still felt weird. However, sometimes u need to be selfish. Explain to pharmD how much you want to attend pharm school and explain that it's a requirement to get a letter of rec. Old pharmd might not be aware of it, the newer ones are. Then ask what you can do help them with the process. Find a good time to ask when they're in good mood and not overly busy. Good luck!
 
Don't submit a LOR from a tech to pharmacy schools. That's a bad idea.



Ask the pharmacist you know best or the one you are most comfortable talking to for a LOR. Explain to him/her that you realize he/she may not know your personal qualities, work habits, or your desire to become a pharmacist. Explain to the pharmacist that a technician you work with highly recommends you, but that you would appreciate it if a pharmacist wrote you a LOR. Ask the pharmacist if you can shadow him/her or gain any extra experience under him/her, and ask him/her for a LOR.


Give the pharmacist a LOR from the tech, along with a resume, and sit down and talk to the pharmacist about your educational and career goals. I'm sure the pharmacist could write a good LOR for you.
 
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Because I work with the technician, I thought I should talk to him about LOR first and he would not care. And the pharamcist probably will check with him for opinion. Now I realize that I was totally wrong. If I could not get the letter from the pharmacist, i would go to some professors in my school. Between an application with a LOR from pharmacy techinian, and an application without LOR from pharamcy, which one do you think is better? Thanks a lot!
 
Thank you very muich! Klemmentine. I will try to talk to a pharmasist. I hope the technician won't get mad on me.
 
green life said:
Because I work with the technician, I thought I should talk to him about LOR first and he would not care. And the pharamcist probably will check with him for opinion. Now I realize that I was totally wrong. If I could not get the letter from the pharmacist, i would go to some professors in my school. Between an application with a LOR from pharmacy techinian, and an application without LOR from pharamcy, which one do you think is better? Thanks a lot!
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You are starting to make sense - but we need to tweak something...

You are trying to become a pharmacist - An LOR from a technican will not say anything about you... You do not receive LORs from subordinates.

An LOR is a vote of confidence in your abilities. That vote coming from a pharmacist resonates louder than all others. I would follow it up with a professor or two. I would not put in a technicans LOR - in any circumstance.

~above~

~above~
 
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aboveliquidice said:
You are starting to make sense - but we need to tweak something...

You are trying to become a pharmacist - An LOR from a technican will not say anything about you... You do not receive LORs from subordinates.

An LOR is a vote of confidence in your abilities. That vote coming from a pharmacist resonates louder than all others. I would follow it up with a professor or two. I would not put in a technicans LOR - in any circumstance.
Click to expand...

Perfectly said. OP, maybe the next couple times you go volunteer, you could shadow the pharmacist instead of the technician? Working with a tech is a great way to learn how the pharmacy as a whole works, but shadowing the pharmacist (as they calculate CCr, dose antibiotics, talk with nurses & physicians, approve orders, maybe even go to rounds??) will let you see first hand how the pharmacist fits in to everything.

The fact that the technician is upset with you means that he/she has no idea what you're trying to do. Sounds really weird to me. A LOR from a tech would at best be tossed in the trash.. at worst, spark a question about why you could get a letter from a tech but not a pharmacist?? You're gonna have to tell the tech, sorry, but pharmacy school does not want a letter from a tech (and check the recommender list for your school - a lot of schools outright say it's a no-no).
 
The technician knows my purpose of applying for pharmacy school very well. And he said he wrote LOR for several volunteers who worked with him before. I beleives his words becasue his knows the formation of LOR from pharmCAS.

Thanks for all suggestions!
 
green life said:
The technician knows my purpose of applying for pharmacy school very well. And he said he wrote LOR for several volunteers who worked with him before. I beleives his words becasue his knows the formation of LOR from pharmCAS.

Thanks for all suggestions!
Click to expand...

Well not everyone knows the rules, so don't just follow blindly like everyone else the tech convinced. Even if getting an LOR from tech doesn't hurt your chances (although for some places it might), it probably won't ever help you because it doesn't carry weight. Most techs actually become very close friends and that makes LORs from coworkers lose a lot of credibility. Either get another one from professor or ask the pharmacist. Even if the pharmacist LOR isn't very good, as long as the pharmacist doesn't dislike you the LOR should help your application. Since pharmcas now uses up to 4, if you really don't want to hurt the tech's feelings than just ask him for one to fill it up... but most schools will probably toss it.
 
To the OP: People are telling you its a bad idea, whether or not you want to listen is up to you. You can justify it all you want but in the end his recommendation will be as worthless as the paper its written on.
 
A letter of rec from a tech? I believe it's something like 40% of the people even applying are in fact technicians, why would they care about a letter of rec from one? A technician is a co-worker. This is just as absurb as me asking "I'm a tech, can I write my own LOR?" You need a pharmacist to write it. No question. You're only hurting yourself by submitting a LOR from a tech. Ask the pharmacist and if he chooses he can talk with the technician about what he should write.
 
Actually, more schools require LORs from a professor than a pharmacist. As long as you have some from a professor you're ok. Maybe just don't apply to the schools that require one from a pharmacist, which is probaly only 10 schools.
 
Just as a side question, it shouldn't matter if the pharmacist is a Dr. or Mr. right? Some of the older pharmacist have baccalaureate in pharmacy while the younger have doctor of pharmacy. The ones I'm asking are the older pharmacist and one is the director of pharmacy, but both have Mr. title. Thought all pharmacists were "doctors" as I don't know the history that well.
 
YiYaoYue said:
Just as a side question, it shouldn't matter if the pharmacist is a Dr. or Mr. right? Some of the older pharmacist have baccalaureate in pharmacy while the younger have doctor of pharmacy. The ones I'm asking are the older pharmacist and one is the director of pharmacy, but both have Mr. title. Thought all pharmacists were "doctors" as I don't know the history that well.
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it's fine, mine didn't have a pharmD. Just make them sign it as: "John Smith, RPh." Everyone knows what an RPh is.
 
YiYaoYue said:
Just as a side question, it shouldn't matter if the pharmacist is a Dr. or Mr. right? Some of the older pharmacist have baccalaureate in pharmacy while the younger have doctor of pharmacy. The ones I'm asking are the older pharmacist and one is the director of pharmacy, but both have Mr. title. Thought all pharmacists were "doctors" as I don't know the history that well.
Click to expand...

If I had to talk to a pharmacist formally, it will be Dr. blah, if you are writing a paper/letter, I'd say Bleh Blah, Rph or PharmD.

Most pharmacists I know just prefer their first name, and cringe at hearing the word "doctor" followed by their last name.

Yeah, I understand some of the old school pharmacists only have BA's, but I still call them "dr. so n so" out of professional courtesy if I don't know them well enough.

P.S. When interview time rolls around, all faculty interviewers should be "Dr. So n So", and all student inteviewers (pharmd students) are "Mr/Miss", but not Dr's.... 🙂
 
I've been searching through the threads, but I can't find a clear answer: Once a reference agrees to writing a LOR, are they sent a checklist (or standard guideline) of rating an applicant, or do they write an actual letter? Or is it both?

I feel like its a stupid question, but I'm just making sure. Thanks.
 
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