LOR requirements

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HelloNello

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Hello SDNers. So I know certain schools have requirements for where to get your LORs from. ex: 1 from academic person and 2 from a vet. What if you don't have a professor you would ask for a letter from? Is it looked down upon to have all your LORs from veterinarians and none from a teacher? I have many professors I have "bonded" with, but I don't feel like any of them REALLY know me. I spend a lot of time in office hours and I am a good student, but I haven't been a TA or done research and don't feel like any of my professors could accurately write about me as a person. What does everyone think? Should I ask for an LOR from a professor and meet the requirement, but not have my LOR as strong as it could be OR should I get all 3 from vets I've worked with and not meet the requirements. Has anyone out there had this predicament and if so how did you handle it? Thanks!


Sorry if there is another post similar to this one. I looked and didn't see any that were directly related to vet schools.

Oh, and congrats to everyone accepted this cycle! 😀 So exciting!!!
 
It really depends on the school's specific requirements. For instance, the most specific school I applied to was probably OSU--they required 2 licensed vets and 1 non-relative. Others just wanted 1 vet and 2 non-relatives, or 1 vet, 1 science professor, and 1 non-relative.

If you have an issue finding a professor, and a professor isn't specifically required, have you considered an academic advisor? That may also be acceptable.

As for it being looked down on to have 3 vets, as long as that fits your specific school's requirements, I have no idea why it would be looked down on. For instance for me, it would have fit OSU's requirements (2 vets, 1 non-relative) but not a few other schools (1 vet, 1 science professor, 1 non-relative). I found that all my schools' requirements could be satisfied with letters from 2 vets and 1 science professor, and I knew just the people to ask, so it worked out well for me.

Overall, I think that if the position of the reviewer is vague or unspecified (can it get more non-specific than "non-relative"???), it is most important to find a person you know can write you a specific, good recommendation that addresses your potential to succeed in not only vet school, but in the profession of veterinary medicine. If you can find someone non-traditional who can write you a letter like that, I'd say it would be much more valuable than a "traditional" recommender who can't write you as strong a letter.
 
You can always submit 3 letters from vets AND a letter from a prof to VMCAS. Some schools will only read 3 and will ask you to name the ones you want them to read. Some will only read the 3 they feel like reading. Some will read everything.

At least this will cover all the bases in case a school finds it fishy that you didn't provide an academic reference.
 
HelloNello said:
Hello SDNers. So I know certain schools have requirements for where to get your LORs from. ex: 1 from academic person and 2 from a vet. What if you don't have a professor you would ask for a letter from? Is it looked down upon to have all your LORs from veterinarians and none from a teacher? I have many professors I have "bonded" with, but I don't feel like any of them REALLY know me. I spend a lot of time in office hours and I am a good student, but I haven't been a TA or done research and don't feel like any of my professors could accurately write about me as a person. What does everyone think? Should I ask for an LOR from a professor and meet the requirement, but not have my LOR as strong as it could be OR should I get all 3 from vets I've worked with and not meet the requirements. Has anyone out there had this predicament and if so how did you handle it? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Well, if it is indeed a "requirement", it means that your application could be discarded by overlooking it. Kind of like saying, "Well I don't like organic chemistry so I'm not going to take it. I hope that's OK with everyone!" However, if it's just a suggestion you could get away with not having it.

I'm not sure where you are in the application process, though you aren't applying this year, obviously, so that gives you time! I would suggest trying to get a TA or research position with one of your professors. My "academic" LOR was from a professor I had and got an A in her class and then TA'ed for.
 
that redhead said:
Well, if it is indeed a "requirement", it means that your application could be discarded by overlooking it. Kind of like saying, "Well I don't like organic chemistry so I'm not going to take it. I hope that's OK with everyone!" However, if it's just a suggestion you could get away with not having it.

I'm not sure where you are in the application process, though you aren't applying this year, obviously, so that gives you time! I would suggest trying to get a TA or research position with one of your professors. My "academic" LOR was from a professor I had and got an A in her class and then TA'ed for.
Click to expand...

Its true. If it's a requirement you most certainly should not blow it off.

I had my academic advisor write me one. I know not all students are familiar with or have an academic advisor, but he was a good choice for me for several reasons:

- having a professor/advisor write you a letter will highlight your academic goals and accomplishments, and show the committee a different side of you, than your work ethic (which will be highlighted by the vets). The vets writing your LOR will be telling the committee how you are as a person, just as a professor would.

- professors/advisors are usually with you throughout your undergrad career and see you achieve your goals along the way and help you through hardships. If you don't know anyone, you can still talk to someone in your department whom you have "bonded" with, and sit down and let them know what you want and see if they will write you a positive letter.

*PLEASE read that last sentence* No matter who you get to write you a letter, it will mean nothing if they don't write a positive one. Why wouldn't they do that, you ask?? I don't know, but it happens. Applicants ask for recommendations, and don't ask the writers if they can write a positive one, and then the writer writes a negative LOR, sabotaging the applicant. Whatever you do, have a conversation with your LOR writers and be clear about the things they will include in the letter. It's their letter, but you need to be showcased in the best light possible.
 
Someone in the successful applicants thread just mentioned that Penn disqualified them because they did not have an academic reference. So... they mean business! Don't skip if they specifically ask for it.
 
LORs are stressing me out the most. I cannot handle someone else possibly ruining my chances of getting in. My absolute biggest fear is someone writing me a negative letter. This all being said: I am not particularly close to any professor at my school or an advisor or any staff member. There are professors who I have visited in office hours and have gotten As in their classes, but its not like I sit down and have heart to hearts with them. I guess my O chem teacher would be my best bet, but its so nerve wracking to ask someone else to submit a letter you have no control over. I am thinking my Ochem teacher because I went to his office hours weekly, went to all of his review sessions, attended every class (and stayed awake), and got an A.

Another thought: I am graduating in the fall and still don't have an academic advisor (yupppp budget cuts rock!), so I was thinking about going to one and asking her for some help with asking for LORs or else asking her to get to know me and write me one. Would that be wayyy too upfront to just go in and ask her to get to know me so she can write me a letter? I'm really stuck on this.

What would you do if you were in my situation of not being close to any professor/staff and not having an advisor? I feel like I ****ed myself over on this one by not thinking ahead.
 
I'd probably go ahead and try to find the professor that has the best combination of these "traits":

1. teaches a science course that you took (preferably recently, but not 100% necessary)
2. you scored well in their class
3. you are on speaking terms with

I think "close" is nice but unnecessary. Make sure to ask them if they feel comfortable writing you a favorable recommendation, and thank them heartily. Your ochem prof sounds like a good bet to me. You don't have to have BBQs with them on the weekend or know all their kids' names in order to have a good professional relationship with them.

I do just want to make one note here. Recommenders don't write you a bad letter to sabotage the student. (OK, some may but they're the rare minority.) In 9/10 cases, the student was simply not giving enough thought to who they asked for the recommendation. If someone is asked to write a recommendation, they are obligated to write what they know. If all they know is bad things about you, they are obligated to write that--very unethical not to do so. One would hope that the interviewer would simply say that they did not feel comfortable writing you a recommendation if they could not write you a favorable one, but I feel no ill will towards those people whose policy is to write letters for those people who ask for them--telling what they know. Therefore, if you think there is even a tiny chance that the person you're considering asking for a recommendation might review you more poorly than positively, you should not be asking them. Find someone else. Make sure you ask every recommender if they feel comfortable writing you a FAVORABLE letter of recommendation. That's YOUR responsibility.
 
twelvetigers said:
Someone in the successful applicants thread just mentioned that Penn disqualified them because they did not have an academic reference. So... they mean business! Don't skip if they specifically ask for it.
Click to expand...


That was me. I overlooked this and lost out on opportunity to attend Penn, and whatever it cost to send GRE's scores and VMCAS fees.

Edit: I'd also like to add my 2 cents on LOR's
Have a plan and follow through with it, what I mean is: I decided to get LOR's from visible DVM's who have taught at Universities in the past. I knew that I really needed to show them who I was in order for them to write a PERSONAL LOR. I knew they had written numerous LOR's for vet school, residencies, and jobs. I set up meetings with each person to discuss how I can cultivate personal LOR's. It's one thing to have a 'copy and paste' LOR but it's the PERSONAL LOR's that really get noticed. Put yourself in the adcomms shoes, can you imagine how many LOR's probably sound the same? HTH and good luck.
 
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"You don't have to have BBQs with them on the weekend or know all their kids' names in order to have a good professional relationship with them."

Bahahah this makes me laugh! Okay, okay you all have encouraged me to go ask for a letter... Thank you everybody for your help!
 
Yeah just be careful and make sure to read each schools requirements carefully. I had an app thrown out because I didnt read the LOR requirements closely enough.
 
HelloNello said:
I cannot handle someone else possibly ruining my chances of getting in. My absolute biggest fear is someone writing me a negative letter. This all being said: I am not particularly close to any professor at my school or an advisor or any staff member.
Click to expand...

For the rest of your career, you are going to have to interact with people and generate favorable impressions. LOR's are a way to measure that. May not be the greatest method, but a method. There are also going to be a lot of things that happen that you have absolutly no control over. In this case, you have a ton of influence on this part of your application. And this is a lot like developing mentors that can help you in the future (even outside of your field...I have a business mentor and a legal mentor, and those individuals are hugely helpful to my goals in vet medicine.)

Go to your best option, sit down and have a conversation. Ask them for a glowing recommendation that illustrates X, Y, and Z. Tell them if they have any concerns but would like to write the letter, you will be happy to provide evidence and spend more time sharing your experiences to assist them. If they don't seem very willing to write a very positive experience (and you can even ask directly if they are able and willing) say that you appreciate the honesty. Then move on to your next option. Start this process earlier so that you have time to help provide evidence if your LOR writer needs it.
 
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