Recommendation from professors who graduated from schools you're applying to.

[YeOldeMan]

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Is it helpful to get a personalized recommendation from a professor who got his PhD from the school you are applying to? The professor could personalize it for you and directly recommend you for that school.
Do medical-school adcoms from School-X pay extra/special attention to a recommendation if it's from a professor who got his PhD from School-X?

 

[MaryLennox]

well, one of my LORs was from an md/phd who graduated from slu and i havent heard a thing from them at all. but i didnt express any particular interest in the school, either.

 

[YeOldeMan]

well, one of my LORs was from an md/phd who graduated from slu and i havent heard a thing from them at all. but i didnt express any particular interest in the school, either.

Did you perhaps ask him/her to write along the lines of "I graduated from slu and I highly recommend MaryLennox for slu . She ....... .... .. <great filler here> "

 

[MaryLennox]

Did you perhaps ask him/her to write along the lines of "I graduated from slu and I highly recommend MaryLennox for slu . She ....... .... .. <great filler here> "

definitely not. it wasnt a top choice or anything, although i was curious to see if the LOR alone would give me an edge. it appears it didn't . . . so in your case you could probably ask your letter writer to go more in depth and i bet they would. couldnt hurt, right?

 

[Bernoull]

Is it helpful to get a personalized recommendation from a professor who got his PhD from the school you are applying to? The professor could personalize it for you and directly recommend you for that school.
Do medical-school adcoms from School-X pay extra/special attention to a recommendation if it's from a professor who got his PhD from School-X?

Key question: Is the person loved or loathed at his/her alma mater??? If the person is well regarded then it may carry weight...

 

[Law2Doc]

Key question: Is the person loved or loathed at his/her alma mater??? If the person is well regarded then it may carry weight...

This is certainly true. I would suggest that if the person isn't a grad of the med school, it carries no weight -- the med school may give some credence to their own grads, but certainly couldn't care less if another part of the school, with different professors, standards, personality quirks, graduated a PhD. If however the person graduated from the med school, still has colleagues there, was well liked there, and knows you well enough to give you a good write up, it could be helpful. Otherwise just go with the dudes who know you well enough to say good things about you.

 

[J ROD]

Key question: Is the person loved or loathed at his/her alma mater??? If the person is well regarded then it may carry weight...

This is certainly true. I would suggest that if the person isn't a grad of the med school, it carries no weight -- the med school may give some credence to their own grads, but certainly couldn't care less if another part of the school, with different professors, standards, personality quirks, graduated a PhD. If however the person graduated from the med school, still has colleagues there, was well liked there, and knows you well enough to give you a good write up, it could be helpful. Otherwise just go with the dudes who know you well enough to say good things about you.

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