Possibly No DO Letter...

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

washingmachine

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
36
Reaction score
4
Hey guys,

So after shadowing a DO for a bit, he was hesitant to write me a letter, and eventually refused. I might have another DO letter, but that requires another 2 month commitment (so not until August). I have an MD letter, should I send that in first or wait for the DO letter in August to send again to AACOMAS?

I'm pretty down after that conversation, any helpful tips would be great! Thanks!

Members don't see this ad.
 
Why is he refusing to write you a letter? Care to share the details?
 
Why is he refusing to write you a letter? Care to share the details?

He said something along the lines of not knowing me well enough, and I offered to help out some more/put in more effort, but he refused. I'm not quite sure what I did wrong (maybe not being proactive enough?), but there's not much I can do about him now
 
Members don't see this ad :)
He said something along the lines of not knowing me well enough, and I offered to help out some more/put in more effort, but he refused. I'm not quite sure what I did wrong (maybe not being proactive enough?), but there's not much I can do about him now

How long have you shadowed with him?
 
About a month, 3 times per week. I wanted to shadow/volunteer some more, but he didn't want to write me anything even then...Idk I think i screwed up by asking too early...
 
About a month, 3 times per week. I wanted to shadow/volunteer some more, but he didn't want to write me anything even then...Idk I think i screwed up by asking too early...

Honestly, I don't think that's unreasonable. Also, shadowing doesn't mean you help out in the office. You watch how a doctor performs in a clinical setting. You're not signing up to be a volunteer. How many hours total did you shadow him?

He sounds like a nasty DO.
 
I hate to say it man, but that doctor did not like you (whether he had a legitimate reason or not is another story). The main criticism of letters from doctors is that they are given out like candy...


EDIT: The good news is, depending on which schools you are applying to, you should be all set with the MD letter if its any good.
 
Last edited:
OP - you don't want a letter from this guy anyway. Go find another DO. Be persistent.
 
Yeah, there must be something about you he didn't like. Even the busy DO's will just ask the applicants to write their own letter...
 
Do not get a letter from this guy.
 
Ok, thanks everyone! But its already June and aren't secondaries (along with LORs) basically due around this time? Should I send in an MD letter while I search for a DO?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Ok, thanks everyone! But its already June and aren't secondaries (along with LORs) basically due around this time? Should I send in an MD letter while I search for a DO?

Is your MD letter any good? I know you haven't seen it, but did you have a decent relationship with the MD? If so, you don't really need a DO letter at all, unless you are really dead set on one of the small minority of schools that requires it.
 
Is your MD letter any good? I know you haven't seen it, but did you have a decent relationship with the MD? If so, you don't really need a DO letter at all, unless you are really dead set on one of the small minority of schools that requires it.

I believe so, I've known the doctor for a long time, shadowed her as well
 
Just submit that and write a good secondary/PS about why you want to go osteo.
 
I would apply now with the MD letter. That's what I did and sent my DO letter until December.
 
Write this guy off. A bad LOR from him will kill whatever chance you have at med school.

IF you have a MD LOR, then use that and apply to those schools that do not require the DO LOR. In the mean time, start working on your second DO. If you can score that LOR, then use it as an update.

He said something along the lines of not knowing me well enough, and I offered to help out some more/put in more effort, but he refused. I'm not quite sure what I did wrong (maybe not being proactive enough?), but there's not much I can do about him now
 
Write this guy off. A bad LOR from him will kill whatever chance you have at med school.

IF you have a MD LOR, then use that and apply to those schools that do not require the DO LOR. In the mean time, start working on your second DO. If you can score that LOR, then use it as an update.

Thank you for your advice!
 
wouldnt it be weird if you have on your app you shadowed a DO for ~100 hrs and they didnt write you a LOR? Id think that could possibly be a redflag
 
Hey @Goro, out of curiosity - how frequently would you say an otherwise reasonable application gets the deep 6 because someone gave them a terrible LOR?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Hey @Goro, out of curiosity - how frequently would you say an otherwise reasonable application gets the deep 6 because someone gave them a terrible LOR?
i wanna say hes said before its very rare. But you'd have to be a very evil human being to write a bad LOR and ruin another person's entire future when you could politely just decline writing it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
i wanna say hes said before its very rare. But you'd have to be a very evil human being to write a bad LOR and ruin another person's entire future when you could politely just decline writing it.

Very Evil doesnt even begin to describe what kind of person would write such a letter.
 
wouldnt it be weird if you have on your app you shadowed a DO for ~100 hrs and they didnt write you a LOR? Id think that could possibly be a redflag

Lol, I shadowed an MD for 400-500 hours and she never wrote me a letter (she agreed to write one, but it never ended up happening, if you catch my drift). Was not an issue in my application cycle. I did have a DO letter, and I had shadowed that DO for a fraction of the time. Life is weird but you just take what you can get ;)
 
We've seen this before. It odes raise an eyebrow. The typical answer to our inquiring about this is that the "had a better rapport with the MD".

wouldnt it be weird if you have on your app you shadowed a DO for ~100 hrs and they didnt write you a LOR? Id think that could possibly be a redflag
 
Lol, I shadowed an MD for 400-500 hours and she never wrote me a letter (she agreed to write one, but it never ended up happening, if you catch my drift). Was not an issue in my application cycle. I did have a DO letter, and I had shadowed that DO for a fraction of the time. Life is weird but you just take what you can get ;)
howd you explain that one?
 
howd you explain that one?

No one ever asked me to explain. I had a generally strong application and multiple letter writers who vouched strongly for me. The MD I shadowed is the head of a department at a major academic medical center. The fact that she was too busy to write me a letter was just not a big deal in the scheme of my entire application, and it wasn't worth it for me to pressure her to write the letter beyond the level I already had (don't want to burn the bridges... might need to use them later in my medical school/professional life!) Perhaps it made some adcoms cock their head, I don't know, but I had no trouble getting interviews or acceptances despite that.
 
Top