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LORs from non-science professor?

Discussion in 'Pre-Veterinary' started by justinpaws, Dec 2, 2008.

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  1. justinpaws

    justinpaws
    2+ Year Member

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    Hi everyone!

    New poster here, although I have been lurking around for some time :oops:, admiring and envying your stats.

    I searched around but haven't found anything specifically in the veterinary forum, so here's my dilemma: I have two good LORs already in mind, but I'm graduating this year and haven't found a really good science prof for the third one. The problem is I go to a big university (300-500 students/lecture), and unless you do research with a professor, it's hard to get close enough for them, and for a long-enough period of time, to really write you a meaningful letter.

    On the other hand our humanities classes are very small, and I have known one of my writing professors for some time. We keep in email contact, discussing all kinds of non-science related literature and culture issues. I feel like she would write me an excellent LOR...except that it's not really science-related at all. The most I could hope for is that it demonstrates well-roundedness, unique thinking, and good communication skills.

    So, after that very lengthy explanation...what do you guys think? I noticed on your admissions stats pages that no one got an English prof's recommendation, and also that some colleges will only take science pre-req professors. I'm definitely going for Davis, possibly Oregon and CSU.

    Thanks in advance!
     
    #1 justinpaws, Dec 2, 2008
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  2. sambone

    sambone Cornell 2013
    5+ Year Member

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    I relate to your situation. As a nontrad and I took my science prereqs at 2 different large schools where it was hard to get to know professors.

    If I were you, I would put forth a serious effort to get acquainted with 1 science prof in your last semester. I never really needed to go to office hours, but I forced myself to think of questions to ask, or interesting articles to discuss in order to make that connection. In the long term, you'll really benefit from this-the science based academic reference is critical and required specifically at some schools.

    If you think the science recommendation will be weak, I see nothing wrong with supplementing it with letter from a humanities professor who you know will give you a stellar recommendation.
     
    #2 sambone, Dec 2, 2008
  3. FlyOnTheWall

    FlyOnTheWall
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    I would rather hear from a humanities prof that knows you and can speak about your study habits and work ethic than a science prof who had you in a class. The LOR's from undergrad faculty are there to tell us how likely you are to succeed in a graduate program. Many of the qualities that would make a good grad student in English would serve someone well in a vet program.
     
    #3 FlyOnTheWall, Dec 2, 2008
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