Reference letter from MD

[xoforever]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I did research with a pediatrician this past summer and she is willing to write me a reference letter for Optometry school... my only concern is: Are reference letters from MDs okay for an Optometry school application?

My work was not Optometry related, but she knew I was pursuing Optometry. I was interested in her research and wanted to diversify myself! She got to know me really well, as I worked with her every single day for 4 months.

The University I attend has huge class sizes (~400+ students per class) so it is really difficult to get to know your professors really well.. which makes it hard for you to ask a prof for a letter.
Are reference letters only from Professors and Optometrists acceptable? I did alot of research with her and she is known for writing outstanding reference letters!

Let me know what everyone thinks!

 

[EyEnStein 07]

I did research with a pediatrician this past summer and she is willing to write me a reference letter for Optometry school... my only concern is: Are reference letters from MDs okay for an Optometry school application?

My work was not Optometry related, but she knew I was pursuing Optometry. I was interested in her research and wanted to diversify myself! She got to know me really well, as I worked with her every single day for 4 months.

The University I attend has huge class sizes (~400+ students per class) so it is really difficult to get to know your professors really well.. which makes it hard for you to ask a prof for a letter.
Are reference letters only from Professors and Optometrists acceptable? I did alot of research with her and she is known for writing outstanding reference letters!

Let me know what everyone thinks!

Instead of getting letters from your professor....why not get one from your school pre-med/professional committee ? I think all that is required from them is a letter of good standing.

Also i probably wouldnt submit the letter from an MD...why? Because OD schools expect you to have a certain amount of shadowing of OD's...so its best to just ask one of them...however if your submitting the MD on top of a school letter + an OD letter...then i would say thats a better idea.

 

[Lily08USF]

yes, i'd say you should find an OD and shadow. =)
- I asked an MD for LOR too because i worked for almost too years.. but then again.. I also asked an OD because i've been working as a vision therapist for over a year now a few months after i quit at MD.. --

..Two more recommenders I requested a LOR were from my physics professors because i minored in that and Chemistry because I worked as a peer leader for newcoming freshmans at my school.. so you see I have 4 LOR.. again.. if you have other LOR's w/o OD.. i'd say they better be great. hehe

-Keep in mind though that almost all schools REQUIRED at least 1 LOR from an OD.

-It's better to have a diversity... but you should most importantly earn one LOR from an OD.. it's good that way. Good luck!

 

[xoforever]

thanks you guys : )
the thing is, no such committee exists at my university, so i need 3 other letters either from profs or ODs...
I have shadowed several ODs and they are more than willing to write me one!! i'll have and OD letter for sure, but i was just wondering if i could use the MD on top of the OD letters + prof letter. I am definitely taking advantage of the 4 letter maximum on Optomcas, haha.
I'm thinking of getting one from my childhood Optometrist who has known me for a long time and has been aware of my passion for Optometry, plus another from an Optometrist that I am going to work for, a letter from a professor, PLUS a letter from the MD that i did work with. how about that? 🙂

I have pretty stellar ECs
should i give my recommendors my resume so they know what to write about? i don't want all of my letters to say the same thing, lol.

 

[blysssful]

Definitely get a letter from that MD... any type of letter that will be a good indicator of your drive and personality are fantastic. In addition make sure you get a letter from an OD. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get exposure to other fields, so long as you get enough optometry exposure as well.

As for your list of other references, I believe that some schools require at least two science professors. If that means that you need to eliminate one letter, think about whichever one would be the most impersonal and eliminate that one.

 

[cloud99]

Use 2 professors, 1 OD, and the 1 MD.