Professor vs Pharmacist LOR

[mantaray]

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Now that the PCAT is over, it's time to finish up with my reference letters for my UBC Pharmacy app. I am having a dilemma over who to ask for my 2nd ref. My first choice was my Chem lab instructor - I have kept in touch with her over the past 1 1/2 years and am sure she will give a positive review.

For the other I am torn between my Physics lab instructor - She knows me from office hours and some personal conversations, and I think she would give a strong descriptive reference although we've only been acquainted for 5 months.
My other option is the pharmacist that I shadowed 2 years ago for two days - He knows of me because we live in a small town and I went to school with his stepdaughter but we have not had a lot of contact since then (I know 😴). I don't feel so confident in his ability to describe my characteristics/skills/abilities. Although I think he'd try, he doesn't have that much to go on (2 days) - but the pro. is that he's a pharmacist and I think this may look good on my app. I called UBC and they said that they leave it up to me who to choose (they don't require a pharmacist) - but someone who can best answer the questions on their ref. form.

Does anyone have experience or advice to share that may help me make a good decision?

 

[Quiksilver]

ideally you would want to get a pharmacist to write you one, however you nedto decide whether or not you would be able to do more with a pharmacist that could get you a better letter. You want to spend more time in a pharmacy, hospital, clinical site. I hope that this is an option for you.
The reasons are this:
Some schools require a letter from one, some it may be worth points on your evaluation, others it looks good because you know what you are getting yourself into.

You also need to diversify your letters, while having two science professors are great, you need to show them you are a well balenced individual. Not one that is only versed well in the sciences.

 

[UBCmicrobi]

Hey, I'm doing the exact same thing, finishing up my UBC application, I actually went to visit an old prof today to get my LOR!

I'm not sure I can offer any real advice, but one thing to keep in mind is that it is a "structured reference letter". Have a look at it and try and assess if the pharmacist who you worked with for 2 days can judge you on those criteria (eg "work without supervision", "write clearly and concisely"). You definitely don't want too many "unable to judge" boxes ticked off. Your lab instructors will certainly be able to judge you on these criteria better (and you can always mention the job shadowing in the resume portion of the app.)

Good luck, I definitely appreciate your dilemma!

(since you're one of the few Canadian students on SDN, I'm curious to know what you thought of the PCAT? I wrote it for the first time on the 19th, you can read my post in the PCAT forum)

 

[firefighter9015]

I would go with the professor. If someone doesn't know you well (as it sounds like the case is with the pharmacist) they won't be able to write a good LOR. All of my LORs were from my professors, because they knew me in a better matter for LORs then the pharmacist I knew.

 

[mantaray]

Thanks for the advice guys, I understand what Quicksilver means about diversity, but since UBC doesn't require a pharmacist I wonder if using him is worth chancing a generic reference when I could have a more passionate one with more "life examples". - I'm still torn

 

[stkyrice]

Thanks for the advice guys, I understand what Quicksilver means about diversity, but since UBC doesn't require a pharmacist I wonder if using him is worth chancing a generic reference when I could have a more passionate one with more "life examples". - I'm still torn

You're better off having someone write a letter for you who really knows you than someone who's a pharmacist but has only known you for two days--unless, of course, you were doing things with the pharmacist that would be unethical. 😀

A generic letter by a well known person isn't worth much, because it just shows you're only trying to impress the people who are evaluating your application rather than someone who can really vouch for your character and desire to be a pharmacist, which is worth infinitely more. Usually those people will really look at the letters that only have the name going for them very poorly (I used to evaluate applications for scholarships--I should know).

 

[Quiksilver]

Thanks for the advice guys, I understand what Quicksilver means about diversity, but since UBC doesn't require a pharmacist I wonder if using him is worth chancing a generic reference when I could have a more passionate one with more "life examples". - I'm still torn

Like i said, it depend on your situation, if you are planning for next years application, start planning to spend time with a pharmacist and kissing ass. It also gives you something to talk about at an interview.

but if you are applying for next year, yikes! you don't have time and its better to get a better letter out. Which means i would go with the physics guy.

For the future though, my school likes well rounded individuals and when they asked what my strengths are, i stated my educational background, my undergrad involved not only sciences (which i did well enough to get in) but also liberal arts (i went to a school that had heavy emphasis on those) and i had a minor in classics. My letters were from an organic chemist, a pharmacist and a history professor.

So the take home lesson is, get experience, exposure to as much as you can now. Good luck in the future

 

[jonnyboi303]

If everything else were the same then I would go with the Pharmacist. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think the best way to approach it would be to pretend they all had the same job, and then think about who could give the best, most personal letter. I spoke to a person who was on the adcom (for med school however) and she said that some of the best letters she's read were from non-health professionals. One example she gave was a student that worked in a restaurant that got a letter from the owner of the restaurant. The owner wrote about how he did so much more than was required of his job and how he always showed initiative and stuff like that. So that's why I think that what they can say about you is a lot more important than what they do. Of course this is excluding family and such.