Question on LOR's as a non-trad

[Pharma1811]

Hi all,

Was wondering whether my LOR's fulfill the traditional "2 science LOR" that seems to be required by many schools. I am simply too far removed from my undergrad years to even pursue getting LOR's from hard science professors. What I have instead is 2 LOR's from faculty of pharmacy school, on top of 2 workplace letters. Would that suffice (the former specifically)? I don't mean for this to even be deemed as a cop-out, but it is practically impossible to get LOR's from science professors 6 years ago. Simply unsure if medical schools are willing to be lenient regarding my case.

Thanks

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[Catalystik]

Was wondering whether my LOR's fulfill the traditional "2 science LOR" that seems to be required by many schools. I am simply too far removed from my undergrad years to even pursue getting LOR's from hard science professors. What I have instead is 2 LOR's from faculty of pharmacy school, on top of 2 workplace letters. Would that suffice (the former specifically)? I don't mean for this to even be deemed as a cop-out, but it is practically impossible to get LOR's from science professors 6 years ago. Simply unsure if medical schools are willing to be lenient regarding my case.

What classes did you take with the Pharmacy faculty you got the letters from?

 

[Pharma1811]

What classes did you take with the Pharmacy faculty you got the letters from?

Thanks for the response. One of the classes was Pharmacotherapy based (e.g cardiology, etc), and the other professor I had 2 classes throughout my time in grad school, which were: 1. Pharmacotherapeutic 2. Research design-based class (statistical analysis, etc). Unsure if it's worth noting that both letters are stellar as I had a 4-year relationship with said professors.

 

[Catalystik]

One of the classes was Pharmacotherapy based (e.g cardiology, etc), and the other professor I had 2 classes throughout my time in grad school, which were: 1. Pharmacotherapeutic 2. Research design-based class (statistical analysis, etc). Unsure if it's worth noting that both letters are stellar as I had a 4-year relationship with said professors.

There are med schools that have nontrad-relevant instructions for LORs on their website or have changed their requirements to be much less specific than in past application cycles. For some, you need to ask to substitute LORs. Yet others are rigid in their expectations and won't compromise. Overall, I suspect you'll be fine, but to avoid wasting application dollars on the wrong schools, you need to do some research before adding any to your list.

 

[Pharma1811]

There are med schools that have nontrad-relevant instructions for LORs on their website or have changed their requirements to be much less specific than in past application cycles. For some, you need to ask to substitute LORs. Yet others are rigid in their expectations and won't compromise. Overall, I suspect you'll be fine, but to avoid wasting application dollars on the wrong schools, you need to do some research before adding any to your list.

So, regarding the schools that are not open to compromising.. What is the most efficient way of getting to that conclusion? I tried emailing 3 schools a week ago regarding this and not a single one has sent an email back. I am going to chalk it up to the craziness of the past few months causing delays in response times but then that leaves me to try and find a more reasonable and faster option to filter out these potential schools. Any ideas? Just infer from the website I take it?

 

[Pharma1811]

Read their websites and policies in detail and additionally search on non-traditional. However, you shouldnt have any issue. The AMCAS use of BCPM for GPA calculation isnt "science" nor are letters limited to that. Medical schools will used the "normal/traditional" sense of the word science, which would certainly include pharm courses. These letters are a non issue for you

Sounds great. Thanks again and again Gonnif! You're the best

 

[Catalystik]

So, regarding the schools that are not open to compromising.. What is the most efficient way of getting to that conclusion? I tried emailing 3 schools a week ago regarding this and not a single one has sent an email back. I am going to chalk it up to the craziness of the past few months causing delays in response times but then that leaves me to try and find a more reasonable and faster option to filter out these potential schools. Any ideas? Just infer from the website I take it?

Read their websites and policies in detail and additionally search on non-traditional.

Be sure to check the FAQ section. You might also look through last season's 2019-2020 School-Specific threads and see what might be mentioned by those applicants.

 

[Pharma1811]

Be sure to check the FAQ section. You might also look through last season's 2019-2020 School-Specific threads and see what might be mentioned by those applicants.

I will certainly do that as well. Thank you for the help!!