Not getting an LOR from a previous PI

[music2doc]

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Hey guys,

I'm working on my app to med school and had a question.

I am choosing LOR writers and have several professors I have worked for at my current school. I also had a previous PI with whom I presented some research but she is at my previous school and we have not talked in awhile. Do you think it would be bad to list the research I did w/ her but not get an LOR from her? Would adcoms have a problem with that? I think it would be easier to simply use my LOR writers at my current school since the other school and professor are in another state. The other professor is a nonscience professor.

My thought was that I would get letters from:
2 science professors (taken classes from both; 1 was also a supervisor when I taught a lab and the other supervised me when I tutored in our science learning center)
1 from an RN that supervised me for a year in my part-time job as a tech at the hospital
1 from the medical director of the clinic I volunteer at

Am I missing anything? Do the supervisor letters account for the nonscience letter?

 

[crixx]

I think you should try to collect a set of letters that will present you best to the adcoms. If you think this former PI will write you an absolutely stellar letter, then by all means ask him/her for it. If the letter would be very similar to your other PI's letter, then it probably won't add an extra dimension to your app or help you out much. I wouldn't worry about putting the time you spent in research on your app w/out the letter, though. I worked with three different PI's but I only got letters from two of them and the absent letter has never been a problem.

 

[Spin]

It sounds like the letters you plan to get will make a great package. Some schools will want a letter from a non-science professor though, so find someone to ask for one. You can just send it to the schools that really want it, and only send your better letters to the other schools.

Now, I'd go ahead and ask for the letter from the former PI. You might decide to include it at a school that emphasizes research. Or one of your other letter writers might wait til December of your app year to finally write your letter. Who knows? It's always good to have an extra letter on the way, and you're lucky enough to have an extra person who knows you and would probably be willing to write one.

Edit: Some Florida schools (UCF, USF, UF) also want "peer" letters, so depending on where you're applying, consider getting one of them. A peer who was an officer in one of your extracurriculars is best for USF.