What info do you give professors when asking for LOR??

[Merissa87]

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So what are you guys giving your professors when asking for LOR??

I'm thinking about rough draft of personal statement
list of all my EC, volunteer and work experience
a timeline of all the things i've done semester by semester

Is there anything else I should give??

 

[RySerr21]

So what are you guys giving your professors when asking for LOR??

I'm thinking about rough draft of personal statement
list of all my EC, volunteer and work experience
a timeline of all the things i've done semester by semester

Is there anything else I should give??

that sound about right. i just made a word document that included important things about me like accomplishments, scholarships, rough draft PS etc. many of mine profs asked for my GPA, so i included that. i dunno if the timeline semester by semester by necessary, but it wont hurt.

 

[moe_4eva]

Personally, I just gave them my thong size. You can really tell a lot about a person that way.

 

[el aye]

I just gave them a copy of my resume with some extra stuff added on.

 

[iduwanna]

Whatever they ask for.

 

[p30doc]

I gave them all my resume, unoffical transcripts and drafts of personal statement, they seemed to greatly appreciate all the info. One of them even asked for a print out of the MCAT score report..

 

[neuro1617]

That all sounds good + maybe MCAT scores + whatever else they ask for...and say if you need anything else that would be helpful to let you know.

 

[Character]

only my personal statement

 

[chad5871]

Checklist:

• Personal Statement Draft
• Unofficial Transcript
• MCAT Scores (if they're good 😉)
• Curriculum Vitae (basically I made a list of all of the activities I was planning on putting on AMCAS)

By the way, 3/5 of my letter writers offered to critique my personal statement. That's a good way to get another set of eyes to look at it.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Whatever they ask for.

Ditto. Of the people I asked, one wanted to see my PS, one wanted my transcripts, and one wanted my PS and a writing sample from her class. The other 3 just wrote for me.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Checklist:

• Personal Statement Draft
• Unofficial Transcript
• MCAT Scores (if they're good 😉)
• Curriculum Vitae (basically I made a list of all of the activities I was planning on putting on AMCAS)

By the way, 3/5 of my letter writers offered to critique my personal statement. That's a good way to get another set of eyes to look at it.

IMO i think you should leave out MCAT scores....you dont want a LOR writer to spend all his time focusing on stuff thats readily apparent to an ADCOM like GPA and MCAT.

 

[Jolie South]

IMO i think you should leave out MCAT scores....you dont want a LOR writer to spend all his time focusing on stuff thats readily apparent to an ADCOM like GPA and MCAT.

right, but it helps the writer put your app in context. if they don't have your full profile, they can't say "this applicant is better than all others i've seen" or whatever.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

right, but it helps the writer put your app in context. if they don't have your full profile, they can't say "this applicant is better than all others i've seen" or whatever.

hmm ok, but shouldnt they concentrate the letter on how you well you did in there classes? or EC or Research or whatever?

 

[Jolie South]

hmm ok, but shouldnt they concentrate the letter on how you well you did in there classes? or EC or Research or whatever?

definitely, that should be what the letter is about, but whether consciously/unconsciously, they will probably be comparing you to other people that they've written letters for.

It probably wouldn't hurt to leave the MCAT out, but it's good to give recommenders all the info possible. If your scores aren't back yet, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

definitely, that should be what the letter is about, but whether consciously/unconsciously, they will probably be comparing you to other people that they've written letters for.

o ok...well for what its worth I left my GPA and MCAT off of my CV for 6 of my 7 LOR writers, but I guess either way is fine.

 

[Jolie South]

o ok...well for what its worth I left my GPA and MCAT off of my CV for 6 of my 7 LOR writers, but I guess either way is fine.

I don't want people to think that I'm saying giving MCAT scores to recommenders is obligatory. If your scores aren't back or you can't figure out how to print out a score report, whatever. leave it out. it's not a big deal and won't break the letter by any means.

I was just trying to point out that for the science letters, your recommenders should be discussing how well you perform academically and if you're suited to med school/medicine. The basis of the rec will be what you did in that particular class, but writers could always use your background/transcript/MCAT to strengthen the letter and make it more personal.

this is just my opinion by the way. i'm not a professor or an adcom. 🙂

 

[doomknight]

I gave them: Resume, Transcripts, MCAT score, why I wanna be a doctor, and why I am smart, passionate, social, and willing to help people (such as saving dabs).

I had those "why's" on a separate sheet with bullet points. I also included a printout of interfolio instructions, and a bottle of white wine. Some professors refused the wine, but most of them gladly accepted

 

[MilkmanAl]

I visited this spring and brought the profs who wrote for me beer that isn't available in North Carolina. That went over extremely well.

 

[Quix]

I ask my students for the following:

• A description of the program for which the letter is requested (e.g., internship, professional education, graduate schools, etc.)
• An up-to-date resume/CV
• A statement of purpose
• Academic transcripts
• Contact information for where I must send the letter
• If necessary, an addressed and stamped envelope.