Rec Letters questions

[itsnowing]

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For recommendation letters, does it have to be from a professor? Can it be from a lab assistant? If that's not possible, how about the lab coordinator who oversees all the sections for that lab that I took?

Also, in general, as long as you do well in a class, you can ask that professor for a recommendation letter right? Or do you need to get to know the professor? A's are the best, but would anything above average count as doing well enough to ask that professor for a rec letter?

 

[EBTrailRunner]

Assuming you don't have a pre-medical committee at your school, my understanding is that your letter needs to be written by someone who taught you in a class (in other words, your instructor). I don't believe a letter from a lab assistant/coordinator would cut it at most medical schools.

As a general rule of thumb, you don't want to request a letter from an instructor who barely knows you except for what grade you received in his or her class. You want and need a strong letter as medical schools weigh your instructor's comments in determining whether you receive an interview invite and/or acceptance. A strong letter can do you wonders, a weak letter can kill your application.

 

[StoicJosher]

Many schools have requirements for 2 science letters from professors and 1 non science letter. This is not a rule but, usually, you need letters from professors.

To get a great LOR that addresses not just your academic ability but also touches upon and supports your personal character, you need to get to know the professor a little better. It is (usually) hard for professors to right a letter that talks strongly about your personality, character etc if you don't know them personally.

My $0.02. The rest is up to you to decide.

 

[music2doc]

If you have a premed committee, go through them. If not... here are some general rule type responses to your questions:

For recommendation letters, does it have to be from a professor? Yes... at least for 3 of them (as a general rule, anyway -- 2 science, 1 nonscience) Can it be from a lab assistant? No. If that's not possible, how about the lab coordinator who oversees all the sections for that lab that I took? Not unless s/he has also taught you in a lecture course (or been your PI for research, etc.) and, preferably, has a Ph.D.

Also, in general, as long as you do well in a class, you can ask that professor for a recommendation letter right? Sure...but they should know you for it to be ideal.... Or do you need to get to know the professor? Absolutely. A's are the best, but would anything above average count as doing well enough to ask that professor for a rec letter? Sure, but the average in most classes IS a B these days (due to rampant grade inflation at most schools) so, honestly, don't expect to glow much in the eyes of a professor with anything less than an A-....

Honestly, you want LORs from professors who know you and your work. You want them to say you walk on water -- literally. If you come off sounding like Peter instead of Jesus (only walk on water sometimes), you're already at a disadvantage to the guy who walks on water ALL the time and NEVER falters. (Despite the fact that no one is truly perfect, LORs are expected to make it sound like you are.)

Since I did not have a committee, here was my set (and my LORs seem to have done VERY well based on the number of interviews I have had to turn down and the number of acceptances I already have in hand):


3 science (chemistry and biology represented):

• 1 professor whose class I was the top student for the entire year (all sections) and for whom I had worked in a student employment position; he had also served as a mentor; previous adcom member at several medical schools (including some to which I applied)
• 1 professor whose class I got an A in and who had been one of my pre-med advisors (currently a research faculty member at my top choice school)
• 1 professor with whom I never took a science class but has served as a close advisor/colleague as I have worked to rebuild our premedical program and who also served as one of my trainers as a lab instructor

2 non-science professors (but only used one of them):

• My research PI and also a close mentor/advisor; also supervised me as a TA (used this one)
• Another non-science professor with whom I had only taken a few classes; he wrote a great LOR, I am sure, but my research PI was likely to be a better one since she knew my work better (did not use this one)

2 physicians:

• Supervising physician with whom I work at the hospital; also an experienced advisor for my PS, interviews, etc.

• Medical Director at a free clinic where I've volunteered for a few years

If you have a few more semesters before you apply, I would work to build a good base like that. Honestly, it took only about 2 years to build most of that base of LOR writers. (The exception being my PI, with whom I have worked on and off for about 4 years.) You simply have to do well in your classes, be extroverted (or at least fake it 'til you make it, as the saying goes), and be proactive. If you make the effort, you can build relationships with faculty that will then make them available later to write you amazing LORs. On the other hand, if you don't do that, you'll probably end up with fairly "average" strong LORs (i.e., ones that only say you are "recommended" and "likely to be successful in medical school" -- you want the "walking on water" LOR...).

 

[itsnowing]

Thanks a lot!

I'm thinking of maybe applying to a post bac program in the spring. Would the rec letters for those be the same?

 

[vanillabear55]

Assuming you don't have a pre-medical committee at your school, my understanding is that your letter needs to be written by someone who taught you in a class (in other words, your instructor). I don't believe a letter from a lab assistant/coordinator would cut it at most medical schools.

As a general rule of thumb, you don't want to request a letter from an instructor who barely knows you except for what grade you received in his or her class. You want and need a strong letter as medical schools weigh your instructor's comments in determining whether you receive an interview invite and/or acceptance. A strong letter can do you wonders, a weak letter can kill your application.

but what if you do have one??

 

[StoicJosher]

If you do, they provide a composite letter that should be enough for most schools.

 

[vanillabear55]

so glad I've been stressing about getting other letters for no reason now -_-

 

[varsityblue]

For recommendation letters, does it have to be from a professor? Can it be from a lab assistant? If that's not possible, how about the lab coordinator who oversees all the sections for that lab that I took?

Also, in general, as long as you do well in a class, you can ask that professor for a recommendation letter right? Or do you need to get to know the professor? A's are the best, but would anything above average count as doing well enough to ask that professor for a rec letter?

More important than the person's title is how well they know you and how gushing they're going to be of you on paper. That said...
1) The majority of your LORs should be from professors.
2) Yes, one or two may be from lab assistants or TAs.
3) Lab coordinators are also OK.
4) You don't necessarily have to do very well in a class to ask the professor for a LOR. Some of the best letters come from profs who saw you initially struggle in a difficult course only to end up destroying the curve at the end of the term. So, yes, it's very, very important to get to know your profs as well as possible. Regularly attending office hours is an ideal way to ensure they can speak about your personality in a favorable light. (Also, if your school has a "Take your Prof to Lunch" program, consider participating!)

 

[itsnowing]

It's just that this post bac program I'm considering requires letters from professors, and I haven't really given it any thought until now.

I had thought that you could just go to professors from whom you've gotten an A from.

 

[varsityblue]

It's just that this post bac program I'm considering requires letters from professors, and I haven't really given it any thought until now.

I had thought that you could just go to professors from whom you've gotten an A from.

If that's the case, then definitely go to profs whose classes you've earned A's in. I'd include a resume and some letter writing pointers in the packets you give them.

 

[candav]

Letter requirements are often more flexible than you might expect. I submitted five letters, four from PIs and one from a non-science professor. My "science" letters came from PIs who had supervised research-for-credit courses in psychology and public health; I had no BCPM letter writers.

It's important to communicate with your schools to find out exactly what types of letters they accept. Penn, for instance, was very stringent about the BCPM letter requirement, and I wasn't able to apply there.

Also: don't be afraid to offer some direction to your letter writers! I obviously didn't want my four PI letters to discuss the same things, so I asked each PI to focus on different aspects of my character in their respective letters. They were all very receptive to my suggestions.

 

[Caristra]

You want to at least meet with the letter writer beforehand so that they understand your career goals and such before they write the letter. A letter that says "I had student X in my undergrad chemistry lecture and they got an A putting him in the 95th percentile of students I have taught" says nothing about you personally and just lists something that is on your transcript anyway. It is a completely wasted opportunity and lets the school know you did not form any relationships with faculty while at school if this is the only letter you could come up with.

Many professors of large lectures do not have the time for this. A good compromise - which many suggest - is to get the teacher of the laboratory section (often a graduate student) who knew you more one on one to write the letter and have the lecturer co-sign. This way you get the best of both worlds. I did this for one of my letters and it went very well.

 

[MartletMD]

Many professors of large lectures do not have the time for this. A good compromise - which many suggest - is to get the teacher of the laboratory section (often a graduate student) who knew you more one on one to write the letter and have the lecturer co-sign. This way you get the best of both worlds. I did this for one of my letters and it went very well.

I love this idea. All of my science classes are 300+ people, or at least they have been so far, so I'll be keeping this in mind when it's time for my application.