*~*~* Official Letters of Recommendation Questions Thread 2013-2014 *~*~*

[BB8730]

Post all questions related to Letters of Recommendation here.

Before posting, please read the FAQ below. The pre-allo thread also has some very good information on LORs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of letters of recommendation does my school require?
Each school requires different letters of recommendation. See the 2014 Osteopathic Medical College Information Book (PDF) for a complete list of the requirements. Scroll down to the school that you're interested in and look under the category "Supplemental Application Requirements."

Are letters of recommendation part of the primary application?
Unlike AMCAS, AACOMAS does not process letters of recommendation. It is your responsibility to get the appropriate letters of recommendation to each school as part of the secondary application. There are services that can aid in this process, such as Interfolio (see below).

What is Interfolio and how do I use it?
Interfolio is a service that receives, stores, and sends letters of recommendation. Your evaluator can mail or upload a letter of recommendation to Interfolio, Interfolio will electronically store the letter, and then you can send copies of the letter to as many schools as you wish. A major advantage of this is that your evaluator only needs to send one letter of recommendation in and then you can send it to as many schools as you want, when you want. See the Interfolio website for more information.

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[Nissan GTR]

So I am asking my research PI, who has MD/PhD, for a LoR. He knows that I am going to be applying to medical school, but I only plan on applying to DO schools. Would it be of any benefit or harm if I let him know that I plan to go DO?

 

[BB8730]

So I am asking my research PI, who has MD/PhD, for a LoR. He knows that I am going to be applying to medical school, but I only plan on applying to DO schools. Would it be of any benefit or harm if I let him know that I plan to go DO?

You could let him know in casual conversation if you want, but it really shouldn't matter for LOR purposes.

 

[dsoz]

So I am asking my research PI, who has MD/PhD, for a LoR. He knows that I am going to be applying to medical school, but I only plan on applying to DO schools. Would it be of any benefit or harm if I let him know that I plan to go DO?

Why should he care about the letters that will go after your name? If applying DO is your choice, then do it. It should not matter to the HOW he writes your letter.

OTOH, if you do tell him, and he supports this decision, he could talk about why DO is a better fit for you (blah, blah, blah), and how you would make a wonderful physician.

Good luck.
dsoz

 

[dustimus]

So I'm a non-Trad with a degree in Enology(winemaking) from UCD. I am also a transfer student form a junior college. I took Organic chemistry at the JC and performed very well and formed a strong bond with the professor there. At UCD I was only able to form strong relationships with my enology professors and a microbiology "lecturer". I could easily get a letter from my JC Ochem professor, Micro lecturer, and an enology professor. My question though is will any of these count?? Touro's website says:

"One letter from a physician, either D.O. or M.D. (D.O. preferred)

One letter from a Pre-Professional Advisory Committee Letter OR two letters from biological/physical sciences faculty members who have taught you in their class (letters from Graduate Teaching Assistants are acceptable)."

I already have a letter from the DO I shadow. I'm worried I might not have a chance to get the right LORs. Thanks guys!

 

[BB8730]

I could easily get a letter from my JC Ochem professor, Micro lecturer, and an enology professor. My question though is will any of these count??

The ochem professor and the micro lecturer will definitely count as biological/physical sciences faculty. Enology would probably count too, but you might want to check with the school just to be safe.

Awesome degree by the way.

 

[Dark Ace]

Should I send thank you letters to my LOR writers before or after they are done writing? If either is fine, can you give me pros/cons of both options? Thanks

-da

 

[BB8730]

Should I send thank you letters to my LOR writers before or after they are done writing? If either is fine, can you give me pros/cons of both options? Thanks

-da

By convention, you usually thank someone for doing something after they have done it. You can verbally thank them beforehand, like a "thanks for doing this" kind of thing, but I would wait to send thank you letters until after they have finished your LOR.

 

[JC719]

So what is the general consensus on reusing letters of recommendation if I have to reapply to schools? Should I get totally new ones or can I use the same ones?

 

[BB8730]

So what is the general consensus on reusing letters of recommendation if I have to reapply to schools? Should I get totally new ones or can I use the same ones?

It's not necessarily a bad thing to use the same letters again, but it looks better if you get at least one new LOR. The Re-Applicants forum has a lot more info on this. Also check out this thread here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=942893

 

[JC719]

Alright, thanks. I was planning to reuse my DO letter and get a new letter from one or two MDs that I scribe for.

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[pepes1lv1a]

Will an LOR be discounted if it is written by an RN?

I'm an ER tech. The attending physicians don't really have the time of day for us, and it's considered almost taboo to approach them with anything but an EKG in your hand. I'm not being paranoid here; that's simply how things work at our ER. They're busy enough, so I don't hold it against them too much.


As techs, we work much more closely with the RNs. I had one RN who was sort of my unofficial preceptor, and he was fantastic. He knew I was a pre-med student and used to call me into his patients' rooms, even when I was assigned to the other side, just so I could watch any unusual procedures. I was often assigned to his patients, as well, and he knew exactly how well I handled my responsibility as a technician. Even if it weren't convenient for me to say so, RNs are really the only people who spend enough time around us to know how we function in a caregiver capacity.


I know it's supposed to be OK to ask anyone; just some letters won't help as much as others. So let me phrase my question this way: I have one letter from a health committee, one from an MD I shadowed once, one from a DO I worked with, a stellar one from my EMT-B instructor (I know because I will probably be writing it), and one from a professor. I'm not sure how great the professor one will be, because unfortunately I never got to know my profs very well and I only got a B+ in his class. Is it worth it to ask this RN to go to the trouble, knowing that he will probably provide the strongest testimony regarding my clinical experience? Or do they generally only care to hear from MDs and DOs w.r.t. the clinical setting?

 

[IslandStyle808]

I have a letter from a public health professor and I took two classes from him. The first was an "Infectious disease control" class. The other was an "epidemiology" class. I was wondering whether this letter would be counted as a "science letter because of the epidemiology class" or a "non-science letter because of the infectious disease control class"? Or is the letter type based on the department he is with (public health)?

 

[BB8730]

Will an LOR be discounted if it is written by an RN?

I'm an ER tech. The attending physicians don't really have the time of day for us, and it's considered almost taboo to approach them with anything but an EKG in your hand. I'm not being paranoid here; that's simply how things work at our ER. They're busy enough, so I don't hold it against them too much.


As techs, we work much more closely with the RNs. I had one RN who was sort of my unofficial preceptor, and he was fantastic. He knew I was a pre-med student and used to call me into his patients' rooms, even when I was assigned to the other side, just so I could watch any unusual procedures. I was often assigned to his patients, as well, and he knew exactly how well I handled my responsibility as a technician. Even if it weren't convenient for me to say so, RNs are really the only people who spend enough time around us to know how we function in a caregiver capacity.


I know it's supposed to be OK to ask anyone; just some letters won't help as much as others. So let me phrase my question this way: I have one letter from a health committee, one from an MD I shadowed once, one from a DO I worked with, a stellar one from my EMT-B instructor (I know because I will probably be writing it), and one from a professor. I'm not sure how great the professor one will be, because unfortunately I never got to know my profs very well and I only got a B+ in his class. Is it worth it to ask this RN to go to the trouble, knowing that he will probably provide the strongest testimony regarding my clinical experience? Or do they generally only care to hear from MDs and DOs w.r.t. the clinical setting?

For most schools, an RN LOR won't fit any of the requirements. I know that the evals for MSUCOM can essentially come from anyone and UNECOM will take a letter from a "non-academic professional." Those are two off the top of my head that would take an eval from the RN, but most other schools want letters from physicians, committees, advisors, and/or school faculty only.

Or are you considering sending this RN LOR in addition to the required LORs for schools? In that case, I don't have much advice. I've seen people have success sending additional LORs and I've also seen a lot of people that strongly recommend only sending the LORs that are required.

I have a letter from a public health professor and I took two classes from him. The first was an "Infectious disease control" class. The other was an "epidemiology" class. I was wondering whether this letter would be counted as a "science letter because of the epidemiology class" or a "non-science letter because of the infectious disease control class"? Or is the letter type based on the department he is with (public health)?

That sounds pretty science-ey to me. As far as I know, there aren't any explicit rules that define "science faculty." I'm sure schools won't have a problem with a science LOR from him. If you really want to be safe, contact a couple of the schools that you intend on applying to and ask them.

 

[BB8730]

My school's committee handles my LORs. What's going to happen if I ask my school to send them after my primary is verified but before I do secondaries? It should still be fine, right?

LORs are part of the secondary application so if your committee mails them out after you've at least received your secondary, you'll be totally fine. If your committee mails them out before your schools have seen your primary, you most likely will be fine, but I would strongly recommend doing things in the proper sequence (not sending out LORs until the schools ask for them). You could use Interfolio or a similar service so your committee can mail it out when they're done with it and then you can send the LOR to your schools when the time is right.

 

[BB8730]

Why not just do it all at once so I don't have to keep track of every single school?

You can do that and you'll probably be fine (people from previous years have done that and not had problems), but like I said, I am a proponent of doing things in the in the correct sequence. Interfolio makes it really easy to store your LOR and then send it out to each school after you've received the secondary for that school. But do what you want.

 

[newmedcraze]

I am thinking about applying to DO schools in June 2014. I'm on the process of obtaining two letters of recommendation soon. One of the letter is from a D.O. and the other is from a volunteer coordinator at a hospital (I know this is not required for D.O. schools, but he wrote me a glowing letter of recommendation). So will my letters be considered recent enough in 2014?

Can I ask my geology professor for one of the letter of recommendation (in 2014) or does it have to be a physics, chemistry or biology professor? P.S: I am going to ask one of my biology professors for the other letter of recommendation.

 

[darklabel]

I am thinking about applying to DO schools in June 2014. I'm on the process of obtaining two letters of recommendation soon. One of the letter is from a D.O. and the other is from a volunteer coordinator at a hospital (I know this is not required for D.O. schools, but he wrote me a glowing letter of recommendation). So will my letters be considered recent enough in 2014?

Can I ask my geology professor for one of the letter of recommendation (in 2014) or does it have to be a physics, chemistry or biology professor? P.S: I am going to ask one of my biology professors for the other letter of recommendation.

1) Not at all, the usual letters you'll need are either a committee letter or if you don't have one, 2 science letters, 1 non-science and 1 physician.

2) Geology can count as a science letter since it is a natural science or you can spin it as a non-science since it isn't counted in AACOMA's sciGPA. While most people use classes accepted in the sciGPA as science or non-science letter writers, I have heard from people accepted that it's usually pretty open and up to the discretion of the school.

 

[newmedcraze]

1) Not at all, the usual letters you'll need are either a committee letter or if you don't have one, 2 science letters, 1 non-science and 1 physician.

2) Geology can count as a science letter since it is a natural science or you can spin it as a non-science since it isn't counted in AACOMA's sciGPA. While most people use classes accepted in the sciGPA as science or non-science letter writers, I have heard from people accepted that it's usually pretty open and up to the discretion of the school.

Thanks for the reply. I am planning to use the letter from Geology professor as a science letter. However, I am really clueless about how recent the letters need to be. Because two of my letters will be 1 year old in 2014 when I will apply.

 

[Bacchus]

Merged newmedcraze's thread.

 

[Samuel3]

Do we usually submit letters during secondary application or during primary? Are there any schools that requires the letters with the primary app?
Also, are we restricted to the 3-4 letters or can we send more to each school?

 

[Phlebotomer]

Do we usually submit letters during secondary application or during primary? Are there any schools that requires the letters with the primary app?
Also, are we restricted to the 3-4 letters or can we send more to each school?

Letters are sent with the secondary for Aacomas. I'm not sure if that's for all schools though, maybe someone else can comment on that. I heard you can submit as many lors as you wamt but more than 4 might be overkill.

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[Phlebotomer]

I thought science letters only counted as science for biology/chemistry/physics courses??

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[BB8730]

Do we usually submit letters during secondary application or during primary? Are there any schools that requires the letters with the primary app?
Also, are we restricted to the 3-4 letters or can we send more to each school?

Schools will ask for them during the secondary application, which is when most people send them. You can send them before that, but I would advise waiting until the schools ask for them. No school requires them with the primary. You aren't necessarily restricted to the required letters, but it's debatable whether you'd see any benefit from sending extras. Some people say it's okay to send extras and it might help your app; others say that you're not following instructions and wasting the school's time by sending extras. Some searching will turn up lots of results for that issue.

I thought science letters only counted as science for biology/chemistry/physics courses??

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Geology is listed as "Other Science" according to AACOMAS. There's really no hard and fast rule as to what constitutes a science LOR. Using the AACOMAS rules for science/non-science is a pretty good rule of thumb IMO.

 

[TalinAagam]

As subject asks.
Hoping to get it on interfolio and send it to both systems, does it work?

 

[NeuroLAX]

Yes that is perfectly fine. Make sure it is generic when referencing medicine/physician/medical school. What I mean by generic is if you got a LOR from a DO they might say that you are a great fit/candidate for osteopathic medicine or that you will be a great osteopathic physician. That sort of thing.

 

[pre med 2014]

Prob wouldn't send do letter to md schools since it might talk about you being well suited for the osteopathic profession specifically.

Can you imagine? If an md adcomm read that haha

 

[IslandStyle808]

Let the physician you are shadowing know that you are applying to both so the letter will be made in reference to becoming a physician in general.

 

[Anicetus]

.

 

[SurgeDO]

No one else is responding on the other thread I made about the issue but is it wise for the DO letter to include "osteopathic things" in the letter?

This DO hasn't used OMM in years and does exactly the same thing MD's do so the most we did about OMM was just talk about it.

i would recommend you ask the DO to comment on your osteopathic characteristics if you plan on using his or her letter for your DO application.

 

[Anicetus]

i would recommend you ask the DO to comment on your osteopathic characteristics if you plan on using his or her letter for your DO application.

What exactly would be osteopathic characteristics? Reviewing each patient I shadowed holisitically and talking about their lifestyles?

 

[SurgeDO]

What exactly would be osteopathic characteristics? Reviewing each patient I shadowed holisitically and talking about their lifestyles?

yes.

whether or not you believe the osteopathic philosophy is unique to osteopathic medicine, i can imagine osteopathic phrases (i.e. "holistic", "works with hands", "preventative medicine", "mind-body medicine, etc.) in your application/LORs make ADCOMs think you have a general interest in osteopathic medicine.

 

[Dark Ace]

By convention, you usually thank someone for doing something after they have done it. You can verbally thank them beforehand, like a "thanks for doing this" kind of thing, but I would wait to send thank you letters until after they have finished your LOR.

Thanks for your response. I also have another question that may seem silly. Once they are done with the letter, should I send the thank you note immediately or should I wait a certain period of time, say until I get an interview? I am just trying to learn the etiquette. Thanks.

 

[BB8730]

Thanks for your response. I also have another question that may seem silly. Once they are done with the letter, should I send the thank you note immediately or should I wait a certain period of time, say until I get an interview? I am just trying to learn the etiquette. Thanks.

I sent mine immediately and wrote that I'd keep them up-to-date on my application progress at the end of the thank-you letter. When I got an interview/acceptance, I emailed all of them to let them know and to thank them again for their help.

 

[BamaGirl14]

Quick question: I've had professors who are MD/DO's. If I ask these individuals for reference letters, would they count as physician letters, science professor letters, or possibly both?

 

[TalinAagam]

Thanks, that is what I will do

 

[BB8730]

Quick question: I've had professors who are MD/DO's. If I ask these individuals for reference letters, would they count as physician letters, science professor letters, or possibly both?

Theoretically they could count as either (not both), but generally you want a physician letter to be from a physician who has observed you in some kind of a clinical/healthcare setting. Some schools (like DMU) explicitly state that your physician letter should describe patient exposure experiences.

IMO, if you have professors who happen to also have medical degrees, you should still only use them as science faculty LORs. Get your physician letter from a physician who has observed you in a healthcare setting.

 

[BB8730]

As subject asks.
Hoping to get it on interfolio and send it to both systems, does it work?

Not necessarily. Each school has different requirements. Some DO schools require a letter of recommendation from an osteopathic physician, in which case a letter of recommendation from an MD won't work. Look up the letters of recommendation requirements for each school that you want to apply to and make sure that you meet all of the requirements - they may not be the same as MD schools.

 

[Melomare17]

What do you do for schools that don't take interfolio online? will interfolio mail the recommendation letters to the schools? How do you go about doing that?

 

[WorldWiz]

When I called Touro to confirm the mailing address I should have LoRs sent to, I was advised to wait until August/September to have the LoR sent to ensure that it does not get confused with last year's cycle of applications. Is this advisable for all osteopathic schools I apply to, or should I ask each school individually? Thanks.

 

[BB8730]

What do you do for schools that don't take interfolio online? will interfolio mail the recommendation letters to the schools? How do you go about doing that?

Yes, Interfolio can also mail the LORs if the school won't accept electronic copies. Find the address that the school wants the LORs to be mailed to and make a delivery to that address in Interfolio.

 

[BamaGirl14]

Theoretically they could count as either (not both), but generally you want a physician letter to be from a physician who has observed you in some kind of a clinical/healthcare setting. Some schools (like DMU) explicitly state that your physician letter should describe patient exposure experiences.

IMO, if you have professors who happen to also have medical degrees, you should still only use them as science faculty LORs. Get your physician letter from a physician who has observed you in a healthcare setting.

One was a medical humanities class in which we discussed cases, philosophy or medicine, and the physician/patient relationship. I would think I professor like this would have much more insight into whether I have what it takes to be a physician than a busy doctor I shadowed when he didn't really have time for me.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

When I called Touro to confirm the mailing address I should have LoRs sent to, I was advised to wait until August/September to have the LoR sent to ensure that it does not get confused with last year's cycle of applications. Is this advisable for all osteopathic schools I apply to, or should I ask each school individually? Thanks.

Yes, wait until July/August.

Are you using a service like Interfolio?

 

[xNinja]

I'm under the impression that you send all of your LORs with secondaries..

 

[Melomare17]

Yes, Interfolio can also mail the LORs if the school won't accept electronic copies. Find the address that the school wants the LORs to be mailed to and make a delivery to that address in Interfolio.

thanks a ton brakk026!

 

[WorldWiz]

Yes, wait until July/August.

Are you using a service like Interfolio?

All of my academic LoRs are through VirtualEval, and I have one physician's LoR that he suggested he'd prefer to send by mail rather than via Interfolio.

I've also read that some school only want LoRs with secondaries. And secondaries usually come in July/August, correct? If so, then I'll use secondaries as my time reference for when to have my LoR sent.

 

[Columbia09]

Schools will ask for them during the secondary application, which is when most people send them. You can send them before that, but I would advise waiting until the schools ask for them. No school requires them with the primary. You aren't necessarily restricted to the required letters, but it's debatable whether you'd see any benefit from sending extras. Some people say it's okay to send extras and it might help your app; others say that you're not following instructions and wasting the school's time by sending extras. Some searching will turn up lots of results for that issue.


Geology is listed as "Other Science" according to AACOMAS. There's really no hard and fast rule as to what constitutes a science LOR. Using the AACOMAS rules for science/non-science is a pretty good rule of thumb IMO.

This interests me because one of my majors is geology, So will my geology classes be calculated in my sGPA? Also I don't know if it was osteopathic or allopathic but one of them considers statistics a science if it's not for business majors. Can anyone elaborate on this? Like how do they determine if it is for science majors or not ? I took an intro to stat class and it's counting towards my biology degree but there were business majors taking it for their majors.

 

[wjs010]

Does anyone know if UNTtcom wants LoR with secondary like the others?

 

[BB8730]

This interests me because one of my majors is geology, So will my geology classes be calculated in my sGPA?

Anything geology-based will count towards your sGPA.

Also I don't know if it was osteopathic or allopathic but one of them considers statistics a science if it's not for business majors. Can anyone elaborate on this? Like how do they determine if it is for science majors or not ? I took an intro to stat class and it's counting towards my biology degree but there were business majors taking it for their majors.

That might be allopathic since they count math as science. AACOMAS does not count math (or stats) as a science, and the business major thing doesn't matter for osteopathic.

 

[Jazzy G]

If I'm using Interfolio and applying to both.. Do I need to have my letter writers submit two letters, one with my AAMC ID and Letter ID (for M.D.) and one without for D.O.?

Or can I just send my letters to the D.O. schools with the AAMC ID and Letter ID included?