Number of LOR's for Gen Surg

[DrBorisCA]

Was wondering what the consensus is for number of letters of rec for General Surgery categorical application, both to academic and community programs.

On many of the program websites, they will say "3 letters of recommendation". Does this mean 3 or 4 (ERAS limit), or only 3? I was planning on sending 4 across the board unless explicitly instructed to send either three or four, but I don't want to get dinged for not following instructions.

Thanks!!!

😀

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[Treg]

As far as I can tell, you should send a minimum of 3, maximum of 4. Some programs specify that they want the Chairman's letter, some don't. You have to look through every program's website to find out. I don't think you will be penalized for sending 4, that is of course unless the 4th is less than stellar 😉 However, there are several posts on this forum (and elsewhere) suggesting to NOT send more than 4. The only way to do this is to send 4, have them downloaded, then designate a different letter, in which case the program gets sent the additional letter(s). According to Winged Scapular, aProgramdirector, etc., this is very annoying when they have hundreds of applications to review. I think 4 is reasonable, as it most likely breaks down like this:

1. chairman's letter
2. clerkship letter
3. sub-I/elective letter
4. research letter

Just my humble, inexperienced opinions though!

Treg

Was wondering what the consensus is for number of letters of rec for General Surgery categorical application, both to academic and community programs.

On many of the program websites, they will say "3 letters of recommendation". Does this mean 3 or 4 (ERAS limit), or only 3? I was planning on sending 4 across the board unless explicitly instructed to send either three or four, but I don't want to get dinged for not following instructions.

Thanks!!!

😀

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

Yeah, obviously I had my own questions about this, but my understanding is the goal is Chairman + 2 surgeons for 3 total. Doesn't really matter where you get the 2 surgeons, but the hard thing is finding balance between someone that knows you well and choosing someone that's well known. Is having a form letter from a prominent surgeon better than the associate professor you spent a month with and who will write a very strong, individualized letter? That's the debate.

The 4th is good if you have a research mentor or someone might be able to add something that the others could not.

To answer your question more specifically, I can't see how places would ding you if you send 4. They require 3, but they'll accept four. If you have 4 strong letters, it's not going to be a problem. The only time I might consider sending 3 and not 4 is if I know I have a chairman's plus 2 that are very strong, and then a 4th that is for whatever reason just mediocre. If that's the case, I might just send 3.