Questions about letters of rec

[relentless11]

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Hi all,

Got a question for you guys about letters of recommendation. I already know that the minimum for most schools is about 3, and most people send in 4-5. I'm planning for about the 4-6 range..depending on what i end up with.

Anyway, i'm beginning to piece my application together to prospectively send it out for June 2004. Yea its early, but i have other things to deal with..so i'm starting sooner than most.

As defined by the AAMC, i'm one of those people who have had signficant social/economical challenges to deal with, which hindered my highschool and undergraduate life. (if i had to do it over i wish i didn't have these circumstances😕 ) Since having graduated last June, I am making efforts to improve upon myself, so i want to provide a set of letters that show this change, as well as reflect my past circumstances.

I currently have 2 letters of recommendation, 1 from my undergraduate research professor, who i have worked with for 4 years, and published several papers with. He is also a tenured professor at our SoM.

My second letter will be from a biomedical engineering professor. I graduated as a biochemist, and now pursuing aspirations to learn more about biomedical engineering. I have to say, that engineering is totally different from bio..but really fun!

Now for the next 2-3 other letters? What should i do? I understand that 2 should be from upper division professors. I can easily get another one from past professors..so no problem there. Any thoughts would help. Thanks again!

 

[Heal&Teach]

Hello again,

You've got a very interesting background, and you will bring a lot to the medical field.

I know that there are other threads out there on LORs, but I'm going to take a stab at this: I think you definitely need a recommendation from at least one professor in the social sciences/humanities (I believe it's a requirement). Also, have you worked with any community service organizations or gotten any significant clinical exposure? Is there anyone you can use as a character reference? If you're looking for 6 references, two science, two non-science, and possibly one or two extracurricular references should suffice. It would also be a lot easier if you can go through the pre-health committee at your undergraduate institution (some schools let alumni do this) so that you won't have to go to each person each time you need recommendations sent out for secondaries. Wouldn't hurt to check.

 

[essbe]

Definitely ask your premed advisor/prehealth committee for more advice and if they can compile a summary letter or packet for you. If your school provides this service and you don't use it, med schools will ask you why. With 2 science LORs, I'd suggest asking 1-2 non-science professors (note that math is usually considered a science) who know you well. Since you graduated, you might want to get a letter from someone who knows you outside of school, like a volunteer coordinator or your boss if you work full-time. Best of luck!

 

[relentless11]

Yea i just spoke with our pre-med advisors here, they recommend roughly the same thing too. (also had to check to see how long my file will remain in the system, since i just graduate ..hehe...its good for 3 years after!

Anyway, in the 5 years of undergrad, i've accumulated over 300 hours of clinical exposure through volunteering, and shadowing (about 50/50). However my biggest piece of exposure would be through my research at the medical school, and i'm at the tip of the spear of this one, which require me to do rounds and assess patients with the critical care team in the ICU. Perhaps i can move my schedule to match one of the fellows, so i can focus on one of them. I know them all pretty well, but probably be better to focus on one. Another option would be to find a character reference for when i was a highschool water polo coach.

However i think my best reference for my character would be my research professor. He is a mentor, a boss, and a friend. Kinda an unforeseen friendship. I'm 23, he's some guy with an MS, MD, PhD, with 2 kids. We talk about our interests, and heck we even go scuba diving now and then. His trust in me is profound from my point of view, and i am honored to have such trust placed upon me....so yea he would probably be the best person to write about my character.

The two science ones will be no problem. Two non-sciences shouldn't be too bad either. I've always wanted to take some humanities classes, just never had the time (but now i do😀 ). Extracurriculars, shouldn't be too bad either...since i can combined the one about my character reference with my efforts in research.

As always, thanks for the input guys. Its much appreciated. I have always liked how everyone helps each other out here, compared to various other forums found on the internet.