Recommendation Letters

[noonie]

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I am probably going to graduate/apply to med school in 2013. I am in an EMT program now though and I am wondering if it is too early to ask for a recommendation letter. Should I only worry about the things I do closer to med school or can I ask for them from teacher now?

 

[AdmiralChz]

Props to becoming an EMT 👍.

That being said, you won't be applying for a while. I think you would get a better letter out of your supervisor/captain after being an EMT for 3+ years than you would from an instructor you had for a few months in 2009.

 

[Cster0905]

A four-year-old (by 2013) letter/reference may not be as compelling to an adcom as a more current one. You may change as a student/person and the recommendation may not be as strong or relevant as that from someone you may meet in the future.

Of course, ask the person you have in mind now but indicate you wouldn't be expecting the letter for a couple of years. If you plan to work with that individual between now and the time you apply, it may be a great letter that can speak to your progress and development over the span of a couple of years.

Were it me, I'd ask now and keep it as an option to consider when you start to prepare your application. Not to sound cliche, but a lot can happen/change between now and then.

 

[DukeMurken]

Awesome about being an EMT! So are you going to be a non-traditional student by 2013?

Well in general, I would say, if you're going to still be in undergrad by the time you apply, I would just give them a heads up, even during the course, that you might ask for a rec letter in the future. If you're graduating undergrad and will be out of school 3+ years, I would ask for them now. Especially if your school has a rec letter service where you can store it for a few years.

You will be using these recommendations to comment on your performance as an undergrad, that's all they need to talk about anyways. You should supplement that with another 3 years down the road from your EMT supervisor that can comment on your performance after. Each rec letter needs to serve a purpose and paint a certain part of the picture. I didn't apply until I had graduated a while, and most of my professors didn't remember me, moved away, and the one that had written my past recommendations passed away. I didn't even have the 2 required science recs, but I think most schools overlooked it since I was out of school a while, but who knows, some of those rejections might have been because I didn't have the minimum requirement.