LoR

Started by nimish
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nimish

Full Member
15+ Year Member
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So what marks the difference between a good letter of recommendation and an excellent one?
A)Is it simply the title/rank of the person that is signing it?
B)Is it the diction that the writer uses?
C)The mood of the person reading it?
D)A little of option A and a little of option B?
E)Something that I am overlooking?

What do I need to do to get an "excellent" LoR?
 
None of the above. The essence of an LOR is what they say about you. In order for them to write an exception letter, they must know you.
 
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You want to get LOR's from respectable individuals that know you well and can talk about your personality, work ethic, etc. Titles are good but not completely neccessary.
 
My priorities were, in this order:

1) People who knew me best
2) People from activities that were important to me
3) People from activities that related somehow to medicine
4) Title
5) The person's ability to write


The person who knows you best is going to be able to write the letter with the most content, giving adcoms the ability to find out legit info about you. If this person is in an important/related activity, it shows your commitment to that thing. If you work with a team of physicians, and they all know you equally, get the director of them to write it, can't hurt. I don't think a person's writing ability is much of a factor, because all that matters is that they can say unique and good things about you, you don't need a degree in English to do that.

Just my approach. Good luck!👍