PhD->MD, Necessity of Advisor LOR

[RedTurpentine]

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[APA 32]

I was in a similar situation with my PI from grad school. While he did eventually write a letter for me it did take a while for him to upload it. I ended up just using a letter from a committee member and clinicians I shadowed for most schools.

 

[APA 32]

I don't think anyone cared. It became apparent in my application to medical school most people didn't care about the Ph.D. at all. They were more concerned with my undergrad GPA and MCAT scores.

 

[futuremdforme]

I think it's fine for most schools. I would do two academic LORs and one from a volunteer supervisor if it's clinical.

 

[Naruhodo]

I was in a similar situation, and opted just to have a letter from my committee chair rather than go through the rigamarole with my former advisor. I do wonder sometimes if it hurt me, though I have no way of judging this and fear that the letter he might have written had I asked would have damned me with faint praise... By the point I applied I was a few years out and lucky enough to have some genuinely wonderful mentors/supervisors who I knew would write me good letters. I think the thing that was probably a more major gap in my application was not enough clinical volunteering hours during grad school, because I knew the time out of lab was a non-starter with my then boss. Good luck!

 

[W19]

I would not get a letter from him if I were you.

 

[esob]

You've got a great application thus far, but the one thing that could sink it would be a "meh" LOR. I agree to skip any letter that will not show strong support for you as a candidate.

 

[QofQuimica]

OP, you have to understand that the vast majority of LORs are saying that the applicant walks on water and is a veritable saint in terms of good character. So when an adcom sees a LOR that is even lukewarm, that raises a red flag. Thus, you should not, under any circumstances, ask someone to write you a LOR unless you are confident that it will be a strong LOR. In your case, that means no LOR from your advisor. It may come up at an interview that you didn't get one from him, and if it does, be prepared with a bland answer that doesn't badmouth your advisor. Such as, you could say how you spent a lot more time working directly with the postdoc-cum-faculty, and therefore this person was much better able to assess your qualifications for medical school.