What exactly is a "Non-Science" Letter

[Kikaku21]

Its LOR collection time. So far I need to ask for 1 more science and 1 non-science letter. I've always been under the impression that the "non-science" letter was supposed to be from a prof that teaches some non-science class. I just talked to a friend who has been accepted to several schools and she said that she did not have any such letter. She thought the "non-science" letter could be from anyone (not a prof) that didn't teach a science class. So she ended up having a boss or something write her "non-science" letter.

Does anyone know what the secondaries actually say? I'd like to clear this matter up and decide whether to hunt down one of my old "non-science" undergrad profs....

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[ADeadLois]

Its LOR collection time. So far I need to ask for 1 more science and 1 non-science letter. I've always been under the impression that the "non-science" letter was supposed to be from a prof that teaches some non-science class. I just talked to a friend who has been accepted to several schools and she said that she did not have any such letter. She thought the "non-science" letter could be from anyone (not a prof) that didn't teach a science class. So she ended up having a boss or something write her "non-science" letter.

Does anyone know what the secondaries actually say? I'd like to clear this matter up and decide whether to hunt down one of my old "non-science" undergrad profs....

Some schools require a letter from a non-science professor, and are very stringent on that point. To be safe, I would get a letter from a non-science professor.

 

[bbabul01]

If your school has a committee letter, go by their requirements. My school just said 5 letters, one needs to be a professor. I didn't actually get a traditional "science" LOR. I had 2 profs (Public Health, Psych), an old boss, an old intern supervisor, and my current physician boss. No chem, orgo, bio or physics (because the classes were huge and nobody knew me, so those were useless). It worked out fine for me. I basically went for letters from people that knew me well. It also helped to have letters from activities I had listed on my AMCAS.

If you're not going to do the committee letter, you'll run into schools all having different requirements, which can be very frustrating. But typically, non-science means either a non-science prof or a boss, supervisor, or anyone who knows you well.

As always, stay away from your PCP, politicians who don't know you, and friends. Good luck!

 

[Falco2525]

Preferably a professor for example in English, Business, Communications, Anthropology etc...

 

[Kikaku21]

If your school has a committee letter, go by their requirements. My school just said 5 letters, one needs to be a professor. I didn't actually get a traditional "science" LOR. I had 2 profs (Public Health, Psych), an old boss, an old intern supervisor, and my current physician boss. No chem, orgo, bio or physics (because the classes were huge and nobody knew me, so those were useless). It worked out fine for me. I basically went for letters from people that knew me well. It also helped to have letters from activities I had listed on my AMCAS.

If you're not going to do the committee letter, you'll run into schools all having different requirements, which can be very frustrating. But typically, non-science means either a non-science prof or a boss, supervisor, or anyone who knows you well.

As always, stay away from your PCP, politicians who don't know you, and friends. Good luck!

Ok. I'm not going with the committee letter, as I am a non-trad. (out for about 3 years now) My understanding was that the guidelines to follow are set by the secondaries. Perhaps the best thing to do is call the schools individually.

 

[Kikaku21]

I just called 1 school that I will be applying to. They require a non-science faculty letter, so looks like I have to get one.

 

[bbabul01]

I'm not sure how your committee works, but Tufts writes letters for you no matter how far out you are. I'm a year out and thus closer than you, but I still found it very helpful. They organize your letters, they send them for you, and most importantly, you don't worry about individual school requirements. I will say that out of the 22 schools I applied to, my recommendations would not have fit 90% of them (however 100% took the committee letter).

That being said, if you don't do it, that's fine. And yes, you can look up individual requirements for each school based on secondaries, their website, or a phone call. Just make sure whatever you get covers the broad spectrum of requirements.