*~*~*~*Official Letters of Recommendation Questions Thread 2011-2012*~*~*~*

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oh thank you all! this was so encouraging, i will definitely go see him in person.

:love::love::love::love:
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If I took a statistics course through the psychology department (which will count as BCPM) and asked the professor who taught this course to write me a LOR, would this count as a science rec or a non-science rec?
 
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Will AMCAS inform me if my letter writers don't submit their letter on letterhead with their signature? One of my professors did not sign her letter or print it out on letterhead. I'm just worried that some of my other letters might have the same problem :scared:
 
I'm in graduate school right now, graduated with my BS in 2009.

Do I need to do a pre-professional advisory committee from my undergraduate institution? I still know the department head and a senior lecturer in my department, but I was planning on asking them for individual letters. I'm not quite sure what benefit a pre-professional committee would have since much has changed for me during the past 2 years.
 
EnergyDrink said:
I'm in graduate school right now, graduated with my BS in 2009.

Do I need to do a pre-professional advisory committee from my undergraduate institution? I still know the department head and a senior lecturer in my department, but I was planning on asking them for individual letters. I'm not quite sure what benefit a pre-professional committee would have since much has changed for me during the past 2 years.
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I think your strategy makes sense.
 
sctrojansgirl said:
Will AMCAS inform me if my letter writers don't submit their letter on letterhead with their signature? One of my professors did not sign her letter or print it out on letterhead. I'm just worried that some of my other letters might have the same problem :scared:
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This is what I could find as an answer to your question:

rHinO1 said:
Also, both interfolio and amcas will verify both of these requirements have been met. For Amcas you have to call for this, and interfolio posts it online when you look at your letter status.
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phonyreal98 said:
If I took a statistics course through the psychology department (which will count as BCPM) and asked the professor who taught this course to write me a LOR, would this count as a science rec or a non-science rec?
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My opinion is that it's non-science, as that's a math class.
 
Hey how long does it usually take professors to write letters...I've asked all my letters writers but I didn't really give them a definite deadline to upload them so should I email them and tell them the exact date I need them uploaded?...I'm from a huge school and I know for a fact they have many others to write so I don't want to be annoying. I know every prof is different and I know these profs pretty well so I was just wondering if anyone had a similar situation?
 
hello0 said:
Hey how long does it usually take professors to write letters...I've asked all my letters writers but I didn't really give them a definite deadline to upload them so should I email them and tell them the exact date I need them uploaded?...I'm from a huge school and I know for a fact they have many others to write so I don't want to be annoying. I know every prof is different and I know these profs pretty well so I was just wondering if anyone had a similar situation?
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A month from the time of request to completion would be reasonable, in my opinion.
 
im getting a non-science letter from a grad student, but the professor is also co-signing the letter....on AMCAS, should i make the letter entry under the grad student's name or the prof's name?
 
What is the story with committee letters? My school has a letter made using my other letters as backup. Though, the office that collects the letters sends them individually to AMCAS. Shouldnt they be sending them all as one packet?

Thanks!
J
 
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When the application asks "Is this letter from a school", does it count if the individual is a professor at the school/ PI who works on campus? Or is "from a school" meaning pre-health committee kind of thing?
 
Hi please help give me some inputs on my situation. After I emailed my research supervisor expressing my interests in applying for med school, she replied saying she has gotten her boss, the MD who is heading the entire research team to agree to speak to me. As much as I am thrilled about this, I am nervous also since I don't really know him that well and I don't know how exactly the conversation is gonna go or what he's gonna ask me. The other thing is that I was originally hoping to ask my supervisor for a letter and now I think she may have misunderstood my intention. Perhaps she thought I just needed to talk to some MDs for advice on med school, what would be the best way to clarify to her that I actually need a letter? Thank you.
 
Could a letter from a bio professor who I did research under but didn't take a class under qualify as a letter from a science professor?

Also, just to make sure: a letter from a psychology professor doesn't qualify as a letter from a science professor?
 
JL6 said:
Could a letter from a bio professor who I did research under but didn't take a class under qualify as a letter from a science professor?

Also, just to make sure: a letter from a psychology professor doesn't qualify as a letter from a science professor?
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If you did research for course credit under your bio professor, I think you can use his letter as a science letter. Contact the schools you're applying to for more details.

A letter from a psychology professor generally would not qualify as a science letter. However, if it was from a professor who taught a course that would be classified as a BCPM course under AMCAS (for instance, a neuroscience course), then it might count as a science letter. Again, contact the schools you're applying to for more details.
 
I feel like no one reads this thread anymore, and I am not even sure this will get a response, but I am going to ask anyway. I shadowed a pediatrician and asked for a LOR and she said, "Absolutely. I would be happy to recommend you for medical school and I want your LOR to be as strong as it can be, so go ahead and write it and I will sign it." Awesome, but how in the hell am i supposed to write this. Anyone have any tips or examples? i don't even know how to start. Please PM me if you have valuable information.
 
FrkyBgStok said:
I feel like no one reads this thread anymore, and I am not even sure this will get a response, but I am going to ask anyway.
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I'm sad.

FrkyBgStok said:
I shadowed a pediatrician and asked for a LOR and she said, "Absolutely. I would be happy to recommend you for medical school and I want your LOR to be as strong as it can be, so go ahead and write it and I will sign it." Awesome, but how in the hell am i supposed to write this. Anyone have any tips or examples? i don't even know how to start. Please PM me if you have valuable information.
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Googling "medical school recommendation letters" turned this up: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/Verba-recs.html

You'll need to tailor the details of your letter based on the specific interactions you had with the pediatrician, but I think the information in the above link will at least give you an idea of what you should write.
 
serene1 said:
Hi please help give me some inputs on my situation. After I emailed my research supervisor expressing my interests in applying for med school, she replied saying she has gotten her boss, the MD who is heading the entire research team to agree to speak to me. As much as I am thrilled about this, I am nervous also since I don't really know him that well and I don't know how exactly the conversation is gonna go or what he's gonna ask me. The other thing is that I was originally hoping to ask my supervisor for a letter and now I think she may have misunderstood my intention. Perhaps she thought I just needed to talk to some MDs for advice on med school, what would be the best way to clarify to her that I actually need a letter? Thank you.
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Talk to your supervisor and ask her for a letter. "I am starting my application to medical school. Would you be able to provide a strong letter of recommendation on my behalf?"
 
phonyreal98 said:
If you did research for course credit under your bio professor, I think you can use his letter as a science letter. Contact the schools you're applying to for more details.
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Thanks phonyreal. How about if I took a class taught by the bio professor and he didn't know me then, but he got to know me as I did research under him? Would his letter qualify as a science letter?
 
Please forgive me:

I want to be 100% certain on the following. I am having all of my letter writers submit to Interfolio. (I love it, btw!). Early in June, I will probably have 3/5 of my letters... a few will be coming in mid-to-late June.

I can officially submit my AMCAS on June 1st, even without all my letters at Interfolio, correct? And then later on, after my letters arrive at Interfolio, I can take care of the LOR submission thing with AMCAS?

Just tell me Yes or No... I need to ask highly specific questions and get personal answers some times.

Thank you thank you thank you.
 
Signifier said:
Please forgive me:

I want to be 100% certain on the following. I am having all of my letter writers submit to Interfolio. (I love it, btw!). Early in June, I will probably have 3/5 of my letters... a few will be coming in mid-to-late June.

I can officially submit my AMCAS on June 1st, even without all my letters at Interfolio, correct? And then later on, after my letters arrive at Interfolio, I can take care of the LOR submission thing with AMCAS?

Just tell me Yes or No... I need to ask highly specific questions and get personal answers some times.

Thank you thank you thank you.
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Yes, and yes.
 
So I hope I am not repeating question already answered, but I feel my situation is a bit different from what I could find searching the thread. If not I apologize.

So here is my situation, I am a senior, who recently decided med school is what I would like to do. Basically, I have just started the pre-reqs (still have all of my Chem and Physics), but have finished plenty of Bio. So I don't plan on taking the MCAT at least a year from now and will most likely be applying 2013. However, my TA from my Cell Bio last semester offered to write me an LOR in behalf of our professor, stating "you were definitely a star student".

Is it to early to have her write me one at this point, and just use interfolio or some other letter service? I mean it seems hard to pass up a LOR offer, especially when I didn't press the subject, just merely thanked her for her help in class. I feel she would write a great one for me. Would this be something I try and approach her later and ask, hoping she is still around and remembers me?

Thanks
BA
 
I am a reapplicant. My school does a committee letter for me, which already has 3 letters - 1 from my freshman chem prof, 1 from my english prof (who technically taught me in high school, and 1 from my research PI (from my major dept). Should I try getting 2 more letters? 2/3 are a little old (they taught me a while back). I've been a bad premed and didn't really get to know any of my professors. I'm thinking it'd be best to just stick with the 3 that I have because I know they should be good letters (the profs knew me very well), but they are a little old. What do you all suggest?

If I were to get 2 other letters, I was thinking about my speech prof and/or two seminar profs (one of them I actually had for another real class). All 3 of these profs were within the last year. I'm just not sure how good their letters will be.
 
RetroBA said:
So I hope I am not repeating question already answered, but I feel my situation is a bit different from what I could find searching the thread. If not I apologize.

So here is my situation, I am a senior, who recently decided med school is what I would like to do. Basically, I have just started the pre-reqs (still have all of my Chem and Physics), but have finished plenty of Bio. So I don't plan on taking the MCAT at least a year from now and will most likely be applying 2013. However, my TA from my Cell Bio last semester offered to write me an LOR in behalf of our professor, stating "you were definitely a star student".

Is it to early to have her write me one at this point, and just use interfolio or some other letter service? I mean it seems hard to pass up a LOR offer, especially when I didn't press the subject, just merely thanked her for her help in class. I feel she would write a great one for me. Would this be something I try and approach her later and ask, hoping she is still around and remembers me?

Thanks
BA
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I would use interfolio and get her to write the letter now.
 
exquisitemelody said:
I am a reapplicant. My school does a committee letter for me, which already has 3 letters - 1 from my freshman chem prof, 1 from my english prof (who technically taught me in high school, and 1 from my research PI (from my major dept). Should I try getting 2 more letters? 2/3 are a little old (they taught me a while back). I've been a bad premed and didn't really get to know any of my professors. I'm thinking it'd be best to just stick with the 3 that I have because I know they should be good letters (the profs knew me very well), but they are a little old. What do you all suggest?

If I were to get 2 other letters, I was thinking about my speech prof and/or two seminar profs (one of them I actually had for another real class). All 3 of these profs were within the last year. I'm just not sure how good their letters will be.
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If your recent professors don't know you that well, I would probably skip them. Are there other sources (non-academic) that you could look into?
 
If I took a class taught by a bio professor and he didn't know me then, but he got to know me as I did research under him, would his letter qualify as a science letter?
 
Do you think I can get a letter of rec from emergency medicine doctor I will be shadowing? I will be shadowing her for the entire summer semester.

Thank you!
 
yjj8817 said:
Do you think I can get a letter of rec from emergency medicine doctor I will be shadowing? I will be shadowing her for the entire summer semester.

Thank you!
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Yes, a lot of people get LORs from docs. Some med schools even say they prefer one. But just remember that most med schools also require the normal 2 science/1non science letters.
 
JL6 said:
If I took a class taught by a bio professor and he didn't know me then, but he got to know me as I did research under him, would his letter qualify as a science letter?
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Did you do science research? I've been counting my cell bio PI's letter as a science letter...it better count as a letter...
 
(There should be a ? after science LOR)
The old threads I found on this question seemed to not have a really good answer and pertained more to health policy type classes.

I have had the following classes with this professor:

+ Health Promotion
+ Epidemiology
+ Community Health

She was also a supervisor for my first medical mission trip to Africa and I went with her on my second trip, so I would really like to use her letter - but would it count as a science letter?
 
vandsocc91889 said:
(There should be a ? after science LOR)
The old threads I found on this question seemed to not have a really good answer and pertained more to health policy type classes.

I have had the following classes with this professor:

+ Health Promotion
+ Epidemiology
+ Community Health

She was also a supervisor for my first medical mission trip to Africa and I went with her on my second trip, so I would really like to use her letter - but would it count as a science letter?
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I don't believe so. I also have a letter from a public health prof and I'm counting it as a non-science letter. I believe only BCPM classes count as science letters.
 
phnerd1105 said:
I don't believe so. I also have a letter from a public health prof and I'm counting it as a non-science letter. I believe only BCPM classes count as science letters.
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i dont think thats true
i've called up a couple schools and most accept a Prof. of Epidemiology as a science LOR...not a non-science...

in either case, i think its the quality of the LOR that matters more than anything...
 
sexycani said:
i dont think thats true
i've called up a couple schools and most accept a Prof. of Epidemiology as a science LOR...not a non-science...

in either case, i think its the quality of the LOR that matters more than anything...
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I see a lot of people getting hung up on whether a letter counts as a science or non-science, moreso than whether the professor in question can actually say something meaningful about them.

Granted, I guess the only real way to find out how strict a school is about 2 science/1 non-science is to call them up and ask.
 
I agree that you should call the school and ask.

However, it does matter if the letter is science or non science, as some schools SPECIFICALLY ask for 2 science letters and 1 non science letter from professors. I guess since Epi is mostly statistical, it can count. It's on the border. Best bet would be to call.
 
Question:
Should I get a letter from a grad student acquaintance whose lab I did work in, or ask for the lab head to write the full letter?

My school does not do committee letters.
 
Last edited:
question for the LOR experts: b/c i'm a grad student certain schools (i.e. BU and MCW) require that you have a LOR from your dean...which is not really possible for me. do you think it's still worth a shot to apply and just use grad letters?
 
citrusguy2010 said:
question for the LOR experts: b/c i'm a grad student certain schools (i.e. BU and MCW) require that you have a LOR from your dean...which is not really possible for me. do you think it's still worth a shot to apply and just use grad letters?
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At least for MCW, it seems the letter from the dean is more an acknowledgment of existence rather than a recommendation letter. Check the top of this page for last year's discussion.
 
yea that's the feeling i got too but at the same time won't a grad letter do the same? i mean i don't know how it is for other programs but my program is like more than 1000 people in a 2 year MPH program so i don't know how feasible it is...

do you think i should still try applying with my two grad letters?
 
citrusguy2010 said:
yea that's the feeling i got too but at the same time won't a grad letter do the same? i mean i don't know how it is for other programs but my program is like more than 1000 people in a 2 year MPH program so i don't know how feasible it is...

do you think i should still try applying with my two grad letters?
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I would ask the admissions offices directly (an email should suffice). Whether or not a given letter will be sufficient for one's application will vary from school to school.
 
this is probably very nit picky but for "Institution" when we're adding them in should we just write the school? or should we specify the department?

and for title should be specify "Professor of..." or just "Professor"?
 
citrusguy2010 said:
this is probably very nit picky
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Yes, it is. :)

citrusguy2010 said:
but for "Institution" when we're adding them in should we just write the school? or should we specify the department?

and for title should be specify "Professor of..." or just "Professor"?
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Just writing the school should be fine; although in looking at my app, for "Institution" it lists the department, but no school info. Also, for "Title," if I remember correctly, this field is just so you can quickly identify a particular letter and isn't actually supposed to be a position title.
 
so for title do we put "Professor of ________" or do we just write "Professor"?
 
I'm a postbac, and my school does not write committee letters for postbacs. However, they do have a letter packet service where they will collect all your letters and put a generic cover sheet on it.

I have 3 questions:
1) do medical school prefer the letter packet to individual letters?
2) should I just use the letter packet to compile the letters from my postbac professors, or should I get others from outside the university to send them in to the letter packet service as well
3) some schools require more letters (e.g. harvard) and some say do not send more than 2 or 3. if my packet has, say, 6 letters, will this be a problem at the schools who only want you to send 2 or 3?

Thanks!
 
I also have a slightly stupid question. When my professors are writing a letter of recommendation, can I have them write it, seal it in an envelope, give it to my advisor, then when the time comes, he can write the ID numbers on it? (I don't have one yet) Or do the professors need that ID # on it, write it on the letter themselves, then mail it in? I did read the topic and the links, but am still confused.
 
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