NEED YOUR HELP/ADVICE/OPINION!!!

[honeybee87]

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[OrthoTraumaMD]

I have no advice except that your “cons” is a good example why being gossipy is always unprofessional. It makes your character he called into question, even if you’re talking about somebody else (I.E., you’re wondering if this professor talks about you as well)

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I do not do med school admissions, so as I said, I have no advice.

 

[honeybee87]

I do not do med school admissions, so as I said, I have no advice.

Oh I see, sorry! Hopefully I can get some more advice though because I’m pretty lost right now

 

[Catalystik]

Sorry for being repetitive, this has just been bothering me and I would like to get some more feedback/advice/opinions on the matter. In short, I will send every medical school I apply to the following LOR:

1 science - strong
1 nonscience - strong
1 science research - average to strong

Now I have 2 additional science LOR that I need your advice on, and the circumstance is below:

First science LOR: some of you may have seen in other threads that I have a LOR from a professor that may be either strong, or may be negative and hurt me, so using this would be a risk. However, I’m also very neurotic and anxious by nature, so I may just be thinking negative things that aren’t true. I have the pros and cons listed below, tell me what you think about it:

Pros:
-I’ve known the professor for many years and have tutored for her
- I’ve graded exams for her
-We have gone out to eat on multiple occasions
- Has written LOR in the past for me before which has won me awards
- Has never said anything negative to me in person

Cons:
- Talks behind other students back negatively (I have no proof that she talks behind my back). In other words, she seems like a troll.
- Asked me if I would be able to see her LOR on AMCAS
- Mentioned (in a joking way) that I argue a lot with the other student who helps grade as we grade her exams
- Submitted the LOR an hour after she emailed me that she would do it after my courtesy reminder (she claims that she re-used previous LOR for me and only added a few paragraphs on the new material I have)

The second science LOR I have is weak to average at best since it’s from a professor whose class I scored the highest in (~70 students) but didn’t interact with much, but I am sure it is positive nevertheless. He did say based off of my grades/EC it would be one of the strongest LOR he has written, but tbh he’s very outdated and is losing his memory so I’m thinking his definition of strong is different from an ADCOMS (he told me to apply to 3 schools because of how good my grades/EC is lol so clearly he doesn’t know the process too well). He also said that he will pretty much just change a LOR he wrote for someone else’s medical school LOR and will just change it a little based on my EC. I have also seen another LOR that he wrote for me for a scholarship (which I won) which was only 1-2 paragraphs (half a page), so that only reinforces my idea that it will be weak.

Would it hurt my application, assuming I have good grades/mcat/EC, and average essays, if I included one weakly positive LOR with my other strong LOR?

So I have 2 science LOR that I am debating on adding and would like your help to figure it out.
@Goro @LizzyM @Catalystik

Unless you feel a bad vibe, I think including the letter #1 is likely reasonable based on the fact that it was taken from another LOR she wrote for you that had a positive outcome.

Letter #2 won't hurt you if it's generic. Just because it's short doesn't mean it will necessarily be weak.

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it! For letter #1, I agree with you and would use it, the only thing that’s holding me back and making me feel uncomfortable is that she asked if I would see it on AMCAS. What do you think of that?

You are obliged to waive your right to see LORs for AMCAS if you want them to carry any weight.

 

[honeybee87]

You are obliged to waive your right to see LORs for AMCAS if you want them to carry any weight.

I agree, and that’s what I told her, but why would she even ask that? Is there any good reason why she would ask that?

 

[Catalystik]

I agree, and that’s what I told her, but why would she even ask that? Is there any good reason why she would ask that?

She wanted some reassurance that her time spent in producing the LOR would be worthwhile for you. Or she is unfamiliar with AMCAS standards for LORs.

 

[Catalystik]

She’s written some LOR for medical school in the past. And sorry, I’m a little confused on how those reasons you gave me relate to why she asked me if I would see the contents of her letter on AMCAS.
Basically, she asked out of no where if I would be able to see the contents of her letter, I said probably not, then she quickly replied something like “oh ok, I have nothing but the best to say about you”, I’m just confused on why she would ask in the first place though.

I have no further insights. Sorry.

 

[LizzyM]

Maybe she is writing nice things and doesn't want you to see them and have them go to your head. I don't believe that she'd be out to sabotage you.

 

[deleted904921]

Yeah Based on what I read I think the 1st option would be better. She probably trolls around you bc shes comfortable around you and likes you.
If her rec letters got you awards then really means it when she says she has nothing but good things to say about you.