Schools that want letters from every PI?

[WashMe]

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Will you guys (and gals) help me figure out which schools want/require a LOR from every PI with whom an applicant has done research? I've been in 4 labs in four years (ranging from 10wk summer position to 2-yr involvement) and I haven't kept in touch with a couple of the PIs (from 1st/2nd year). I'm wanting to eliminate schools from my 2009/2010 list (see mdapps) that want a letter from each PI.

thankya

ONOY

 

[bnleong]

lol.. You get to pick and choose your recommendation letters.

You're not required to get a letter from every single place you've worked at for med school otherwise some people will be sending in 30+ letters.

Each school usually requires a minimum of two science professors and one non-science. I've never seen a school that asked for letters from PIs.

 

[Nantes]

bnleong: He knows this, he's applied to medical schools during the 2008-2009 cycle. There might be some schools (I'm guessing) that do, in fact, ask for a letter from each PI you've had - which schools these are is what he's asking for.

 

[RoadRunner17]

I kind of vaguely remember one of Harvard's programs requiring that. New Pathways maybe? I never applied to Harvard so I wouldn't know for sure.

 

[witness23]

harvard does and others look for it, but i dont think they really grill you on it.

yo i'm in the same situation. i really dont want 4-6 letters coming from PIs. i'm thinking of creating an interfolio account to have my PIs upload letters there. i'll probly cut out 1-2 PIs from my committee packet, but if certain schools request them, i'll have it sent from interfolio. that way, i dont have to keep asking them for refs also

 

[WashMe]

I withdrew from Hopkins pre-secondary once I recognized (too late) that I couldn't provide them with (good) letters from all of the PIs. JHop wanted letters from "all research advisors." No biggie, I saved $ b/c I never would have gotten in anyway. It is on my current 2009/2010 list, but I will probably take it off. Besides, I couldn't really think of anything to talk about when every essay was about "diversity" and the like. It is easy to know if you are wasting your time once you see the secondary essays.

 

[RoadRunner17]

I withdrew from Hopkins pre-secondary once I recognized (too late) that I couldn't provide them with (good) letters from all of the PIs. JHop wanted letters from "all research advisors." No biggie, I saved $ b/c I never would have gotten in anyway. It is on my current 2009/2010 list, but I will probably take it off. Besides, I couldn't really think of anything to talk about when every essay was about "diversity" and the like. It is easy to know if you are wasting your time once you see the secondary essays.

Haha, I know it's not a bad idea to pare down the school list based on the secondary essay questions (look at people who don't apply to Duke because of its essay-laden secondary), but seriously? You're going to need to be able to answer these "diversity questions and the like", of which can take many forms such as "what would you contribute to the student body here?" and "why should we take you over any other applicant", etc. Those are questions you should be able to give a coherent, well-thought answer to in an interview, and being able to put that down on paper for secondary essays will help that thought process along. Just my 2c