Non-academic letter of rec?

[bluedaisy]

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I know a lot of schools say that they don't want "character references," but they accept letters of rec from research advisors, etc. Well, for the last five years I've been involved with this program teaching English abroad. It's a small, charitable organization, and I've travelled out of the country 3 times with the program. Like I said, it's small, and there's always a lot of uncertainty, leadership opportunities, whatever, and I've also been involved in recruitment/training, etc.

Anyway, my point is, the director now knows me very well. I know she'd write me a really excellent letter of rec. Would any schools be interested in that at all? Or should I even bother to ask her?

Thanks! 🙂

 

[tacrum43]

I know a lot of schools say that they don't want "character references," but they accept letters of rec from research advisors, etc. Well, for the last five years I've been involved with this program teaching English abroad. It's a small, charitable organization, and I've travelled out of the country 3 times with the program. Like I said, it's small, and there's always a lot of uncertainty, leadership opportunities, whatever, and I've also been involved in recruitment/training, etc.

Anyway, my point is, the director now knows me very well. I know she'd write me a really excellent letter of rec. Would any schools be interested in that at all? Or should I even bother to ask her?

Thanks! 🙂

I'm sure that the schools would like a letter from the director. You know her in a professional way, so it should be acceptable and not a "character reference" by a family friend or something. I would ask her to emphasize that it was a worthwhile and long term EC.

I've been working at a summer camp for children with speech and language disabilities for three summers (will be four this summer) and I had the director write a letter for me. Of course, take my advice with a grain of salt because I didn't get in this year, but I'm sure that was more of a GPA problem than LOR (confirmed by a med school dean).

 

[LabMonster]

I'm using a boss (laboratory manager) and lab director (pathologist) - for my particular demographic, read non-trad, these are applicable and make the most sense. I also have the professors that everyone else has.

Point being - if the activity is relevant to your pursuit of medicine, and they can write you a good letter - do it. 🙂

 

[LabMonster]

BTW tacrum - the line about the mighty echidna slays me every time.

 

[tacrum43]

BTW tacrum - the line about the mighty echidna slays me every time.

Echidnas are awesome. They really don't get the recognition they deserve as an egg laying mammal.

 

[tinkerbelle]

Anyway, my point is, the director now knows me very well. I know she'd write me a really excellent letter of rec. Would any schools be interested in that at all? Or should I even bother to ask her?

Thanks! 🙂

Definitely get the rec. I think schools would be interested in seeing a non-academic side of you.

 

[dr.z]

It will be a good idea to get a letter from the director.

 

[klp14]

This is just anecdotal, but I worked with a similar program and asked the director to send an LOR while I was applying to grad schools. The director of admissions at Columbia's MPH program specifically told me that a professional letter should be from an MD, PhD, or other doctor.

 

[caliente]

I don't think sending the reference could possible hurt. At the schools I applied to, the application would say, "at least X SCIENCE (e.g. biology, chemistry...) and/or Y NON-SCIENCE academic references. Applicants are welcome to submit other letters from employers, supervisors, religious leaders, etc., but these will not replace the required academic/science references".

Get the LOR. It sounds like the director really knows you as a person and will write you a fabulous letter. I don't see how it could possibly hurt you unless the school specifically asks only for academic references, or unless there is a limit to the amount of references allowed.

 

[bluedaisy]

So, it sounds like I should just go on a school-by-school basis in deciding where to send that LOR.

Thanks for all your help! It was just one of those things where I woke up in the middle of the night wondering (worrying) about it. I feel much better now!