The impact of having below average LORs

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DocBoy3000

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Hey everyone,
So I'm afraid that I may have shot myself in the foot just a tad. I just made one of the professors that agreed to write a LOR for me upset by forgetting to code some data for a research project. She brought up a lack of communication. I'm pretty embarrassed and mad at myself. Especially since I plan on applying this cycle and need this LOR. How much can bad LORs hurt an applicant?

For the record I plan on having 4 LORs including this one:
-1 from MRI researcher
-1 good one from hospital volunteer coordinator
-1 from primary care physician whom I shadowed
- and this one

Sincerely,
an embarrassed and discouraged SDN member

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Hey everyone,
So I'm afraid that I may have shot myself in the foot just a tad. I just made one of the professors that agreed to write a LOR for me upset by forgetting to code some data for a research project. She brought up a lack of communication. I'm pretty embarrassed and mad at myself. Especially since I plan on applying this cycle and need this LOR. How much can bad LORs hurt an applicant?

For the record I plan on having 4 LORs including this one:
-1 from MRI researcher
-1 good one from hospital volunteer coordinator
-1 from primary care physician whom I shadowed
- and this one

Sincerely,
an embarrassed and discouraged SDN member

You don't have any letters from undergrad professors?

I only ask because it was a requirement for all of the schools I applied to.

Anyway, I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Solid grades and MCAT are all you really need.
 
a bad LOR can poison an application. If she actually wrote that down, I'd probably find another LOR.
 
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If you have any doubts about a LOR, omit it. Let the recommender complete it if you believe they will be offended if you don't use it, but don't use the letter if you have any doubts as to the quality of the recommendation. That being said, don't expect a small misunderstanding to be detrimental to a good recommendation. Only you can determine the gravity of the situation and the impact it may have on your LOR. Speaking with your professor will be the best way to make that determination.
I agree with this. Most professors I've talked to has said that they expect undergrads to screw up at some point. I certainly made my share of mistakes but still got a very supportive letter from my PI.

You don't have any letters from undergrad professors?

I only ask because it was a requirement for all of the schools I applied to.

Anyway, I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Solid grades and MCAT are all you really need.
I was under this impression as well that schools strongly preferred seeing LORs from more than one professor. If the only letter addressing your academic capabilities is bad, that might not bode well. And I actually think good LORs are just as important as GPA and MCAT.
 
I plan calling the prof today to talk it over. But now more stress arises, I don't really have any LORs from undergrad professors who taught me. :scared: (Technically I could count this prof as one since it's considered an "Independent Study" course on my schedule and I do receive credits for the research I assist with). This is primarily due to the fact that I have very large class sizes and/or I excelled in the class and never went in to office hours. I don't mean to make excuses, I put myself in the position I'm in.

FYI I just finished my third year of undergrad
 
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Everyone screws up sometimes. It's what they do afterwards that's important. That's why Challenges and Obstacles essays are so popular secondaries topics.

Your priority should really be about fixing mistakes and implementing steps to avoid it in the future. I hope your meeting with your professor is about those things and not about the LoR.
 
I plan calling the prof today to talk it over. But now more stress arises, I don't really have any LORs from undergrad professors who taught me. :scared: (Technically I could count this prof as one since it's considered an "Independent Study" course on my schedule and I do receive credits for the research I assist with). This is primarily due to the fact that I have very large class sizes and/or I excelled in the class and never went in to office hours. I don't mean to make excuses, I put myself in the position I'm in.

FYI I just finished my third year of undergrad

The LOR from this prof will talk about your role in the lab and not in the classroom, so you might run into schools that won't let you use this as a substitute. My school's pre-med committee requires LORs that will cover any school's requirements, and we were required to submit 3 letters from science faculty, only one of which could be substituted with a research letter. To be safe, you should probably get 2 science faculty to write you letters. My situation was similar - I got an A+ in a large neuroscience class and only went to office hours a couple times just to see my exams, so the prof didn't know me very well. He wrote me a good letter, it wasn't as good as if I had really gotten to know him, but it's better than nothing. Maybe you can set up an "interview" kind of thing with your writers so they can get to know you a little better.
 
Everyone screws up sometimes. It's what they do afterwards that's important. That's why Challenges and Obstacles essays are so popular secondaries topics.

Your priority should really be about fixing mistakes and implementing steps to avoid it in the future. I hope your meeting with your professor is about those things and not about the LoR.

I'm not even going to bring up the LOR, I need to right what I messed up.
 
Hey everyone,
So I'm afraid that I may have shot myself in the foot just a tad. I just made one of the professors that agreed to write a LOR for me upset by forgetting to code some data for a research project. She brought up a lack of communication. I'm pretty embarrassed and mad at myself. Especially since I plan on applying this cycle and need this LOR. How much can bad LORs hurt an applicant?

For the record I plan on having 4 LORs including this one:
-1 from MRI researcher
-1 good one from hospital volunteer coordinator
-1 from primary care physician whom I shadowed
- and this one

Sincerely,
an embarrassed and discouraged SDN member

I just want to highlight again the main problem which a couple of others have highlighted and that is that you do not have adequate letters to successfully apply to med school! Letters from science professors who have taught you are required and it looks like at the moment, even with this letter, you have none!

Also the letter from the volunteer coordinator and the doc you shadowed are both character letters and would be repetitive. You need to worry more about meeting the minimum LOR requirements of the schools you are going to apply to.

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:( so if I am unable to obtain at least 2 LORs from science profs should I consider taking a gap year?
 
:( so if I am unable to obtain at least 2 LORs from science profs should I consider taking a gap year?

Yes. During senior year you will likely be in smaller classes and will have a better chance of getting to know the prof.

Taking a gap year is also a great idea regardless.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
 
Yes. During senior year you will likely be in smaller classes and will have a better chance of getting to know the prof.

Taking a gap year is also a great idea regardless.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk

This reply makes me both sad and hopeful at the same time. On one hand, I've already signed up for the MCAT and my entire family expects that I apply this summer. However, the thought of using this opportunity to learn and solidify my application with LORs, more ECs and research may be just what I need to become a highly competitive applicant.
 
Hey everyone,
So I'm afraid that I may have shot myself in the foot just a tad. I just made one of the professors that agreed to write a LOR for me upset by forgetting to code some data for a research project. She brought up a lack of communication. I'm pretty embarrassed and mad at myself. Especially since I plan on applying this cycle and need this LOR. How much can bad LORs hurt an applicant?

She brought this up during a discussion with you or in the actual letter? Because if it's not in the letter, and she agreed to write you a "very strong" LOR (you should make sure all your writers agree to write "very strong" letters), you can still likely assume she'll write you a good letter. These people generally aren't out to sneakily throw you under the bus; they know these letters are very important.
 
I wouldn't worry about it affecting your LOR. I think most ppl who spend a lot of time in a research lab get chewed out by the PI at least once... lol I know I have and it hasn't affected my letters.
 
I wouldn't worry about it affecting your LOR. I think most ppl who spend a lot of time in a research lab get chewed out by the PI at least once... lol I know I have and it hasn't affected my letters.

qft

Even the best lab members will get yelled at by the PI about something. You are not the only one, so don't worry. My PI was often disappointed with certain results, certain mistakes that wasted lots of lab material, and my lack of a Chinese grad student work ethic (aka, I wasn't willing to be in the lab 15 hours a day as a poorly-paid grad student - PI was from China, and he told me this is how it goes down there). His LOR was still amazing.
 
She brought up the lack of communication outside of the LOR. It hasnt been written yet.
Ha i realize Im not the only one but this prof is definitely is definitely intimidating!

As for the science LORs, I think I am going to ask my orgo professor and physiology professor. I never once saw them out of class but i recieved a 4.0 in each class and wrote a honors paper for the orgo professor. I would give both profs a packet containing my resume, and a draft of my PS. Would this be ok for my science LORs?
 
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