med school app requirements: how strict are they?

[saminem]

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How strict are the LOR requirements?

I.e. if they "require" two science and one non rec letters, will they just unilaterally eliminate apps that don't have this?

I currently have the minimum 3 rec letters, but it's two non-sci and one sci. I went this route mostly because the one sci rec is a teacher I have known for 1 year + and the other two know me in a very small group setting so I know they can write me a strong letter. I also happen to be a non-sci major so I have much less access to science professors who would be able to write strong letters on my behalf.

Just wondering whether I need to be asking a second science teacher who I probably won't know very well just to fill out two rec letters (wondering whether it might not hurt me instead to do that), or just go with the three I have and hope adcoms will cut me some slack.

So is the "required" two sci LOR something that is actually required or is there some wiggle room here?

Thanks!

 

[CodeBlu]

Contact individual schools. But... generally... they are non-negotiable.

 

[NickNaylor]

Strict enough that I wouldn't go messing around with them.

 

[pfaction]

I should call and ask if the one non-science can be part of a committee letter.

Unless someone can give me an answer here.

 

[getdown]

Ask or PM LizzyM, she should know.

 

[flatearth22]

I wouldn't be surprised if some schools gave leeway on English/Social Sciences/Humanities requirements once a student is accepted....but I doubt they would budge on the sciences.

 

[mauberley]

Contact individual schools.

I concur with this.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Ask another science prof now. So you have the 2 science. Then if some schools don't require 2 science you can use the 'better' letters.

But in general, that requirement is going to be pretty stringent. You can get away with maybe a GSI writing a nonscience letter at a school that requires "senior professor letters" or something else that may not be noticed because its more minute.

But the main admissions staff is just going to be doing checklists to see if you're complete or not. They'll notice if you're missing a required letter.

 

[LizzyM]

It depends.... it might be ok if the letters are from social scientists with a research bend (economics, psychology, anthropology) and not so much if it is humanities or fine arts. I think that schools take the position that even at the smallest liberal arts college you have to have had at least 3 instructors in the sciences (biology, chemistry, physics). Add in math if you've taken that.

A commitee letter (sometimes written by just the premed advisor rather than an actual committee) with appended LORs submitted to the committee is a substitute for the 2 science/1 non-science.

Frankly, I can't see a school tossing an otherwise stellar application because the letters are from a chemistry professor, and English professor and a anthropologist. OTOH, if the science grades are terrible and there is only one science letter, and the other two are in dance and a foreign language, it will be easy to toss that application aside.

 

[autotroph]

In my experience, I've found that many schools tend to be flexible if you have a good explanation for the deficiency. Just ask. If they say no then don't bother and move on.

 

[glasshalfMD]

I'm kinda playing devil's advocate here. I generally agree that the requirements are the requirements. Then again, I had one 'science' letter (from a cognitive neuroscience - read: psychology) prof. My second 'science' was from my research PI, which they also claim isn't really allowed. My other two letters were from a spanish prof and the medical director of the dept in which I worked (doing research) for two years full-time. I still got four interviews and an acceptance at one of my top choices. So, definitely negotiable depending on the school. Doesn't hurt to call and ask.

 

[pkwraith]

It's something that is up to the individual schools. Some of them are more flexible than others. I had a really difficult time getting LORs being out of school/out of contact for a few years.

What I ended up going with was:

One Biology professor that taught me (this was the only one that strictly matched the science letter requirement)
One Communication Science and Disorders professor that was my PI (soft science, plus didn't taught me)
Biomedical Engineering professor that taught me (some schools will accept engineering as science letters, some will not).

I just emailed most of the schools with the description of the LOR and they were okay with it. Even though my packet did not strictly match the requirements, it was okay at 95% of the schools I looked at.

So, the answer is, get in touch with Admissions for schools you are looking at, describe your letter writers specifically and get an okay.