problem w/ rec

[foolonthehill]

one of my profs gave me a copy of the rec he wrote and sent out. it is overall a positive one, but in one section he mentioned how i had some difficulties w/ stress at an one point but was able to overcome that. is this very bad? i mean, it was like one semester where i struggled a bit w/ my course load and also had some medical issues (he didn't mention this specifically) and eventually had to withdraw from a class. i'm worried med schools will read this and think i can't handle stress, even though that term happened at the very beginning of my college career and it was the only w i had on my transcript. i didn't feel like it merited any explanation so when schools asked those explain-difficulties questions i didn't mention it. i feel confident explaining the particulars of the situation if asked, but i fear people won't even give me a chance (to interview). please help! sorry if i sound hysterical; i just don't want this one sentence to crush my dreams.

 

[rajad10]

one of my profs gave me a copy of the rec he wrote and sent out. it is overall a positive one, but in one section he mentioned how i had some difficulties w/ stress at an one point but was able to overcome that. is this very bad? i mean, it was like one semester where i struggled a bit w/ my course load and also had some medical issues (he didn't mention this specifically) and eventually had to withdraw from a class. i'm worried med schools will read this and think i can't handle stress, even though that term happened at the very beginning of my college career and it was the only w i had on my transcript. i didn't feel like it merited any explanation so when schools asked those explain-difficulties questions i didn't mention it. i feel confident explaining the particulars of the situation if asked, but i fear people won't even give me a chance (to interview). please help! sorry if i sound hysterical; i just don't want this one sentence to crush my dreams.

i think it's a good thing if he mentioned you were stressed out and then overcame it...schools can be confident you'll be resilient to the stress that every med student experiences. don't worry - it's nothing you can control at this point anyway - roll with it...it's not bad

 

[TMP-SMX]

one of my profs gave me a copy of the rec he wrote and sent out. it is overall a positive one, but in one section he mentioned how i had some difficulties w/ stress at an one point but was able to overcome that. is this very bad? i mean, it was like one semester where i struggled a bit w/ my course load and also had some medical issues (he didn't mention this specifically) and eventually had to withdraw from a class. i'm worried med schools will read this and think i can't handle stress, even though that term happened at the very beginning of my college career and it was the only w i had on my transcript. i didn't feel like it merited any explanation so when schools asked those explain-difficulties questions i didn't mention it. i feel confident explaining the particulars of the situation if asked, but i fear people won't even give me a chance (to interview). please help! sorry if i sound hysterical; i just don't want this one sentence to crush my dreams.

It's a good thing... You took something that came at you and succeeded. What else did you want from them? They made you seem like a human being! I heard those Homo sapiens can practice medicine too.

 

[SpeakLittleB]

I've heard that adcoms are slightly suspicious of letters that don't portray any negative aspects at all. No one is perfect, and the fact that your recommender can address such an instance about you shows that he knows you well and really speaks truly about your capabilities. More likely than not, your recommender knows what he's doing, and purposely wrote that part in to show your ability to overcome difficult situations. trust your recommenders... if they're faculty, they've probably written tons of letters and really know what works.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

I've heard that adcoms are slightly suspicious of letters that don't portray any negative aspects at all. No one is perfect, and the fact that your recommender can address such an instance about you shows that he knows you well and really speaks truly about your capabilities. More likely than not, your recommender knows what he's doing, and purposely wrote that part in to show your ability to overcome difficult situations. trust your recommenders... if they're faculty, they've probably written tons of letters and really know what works.

yes, you should be thankful he made the recommendation sound sincere.

 

[foolonthehill]

hey thanks for the reassurance guys. let's home med schools agree.