What possible purpose could a peer recommendation serve?

[pvmed]

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[wanderer]

There must be some aspect of your personality that your friend could better testify to than a professor that hardly knows you on that level. Don't use a sibling unless it's explicitly allowed, as they often are very bad at describing your personality accurately and objectively.

 

[pvmed]

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[wanderer]

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Don't you think objectivity is thrown completely out the window when you ask your best friend to write you a letter???

I would strongly beg to differ on the idea that my brother could not describe my personality accurately, but no letter from a personal relationship will be objective.

Well it would be more objective. Think of a very good friend and a brother. Try to immediately think of 2-3 flaws. Which comes easier?

Also you found your friend more recently. What brought you two together? This is something you can't answer for a sibling.

 

[pvmed]

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[Musclemass]

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Don't you think objectivity is thrown completely out the window when you ask your best friend to write you a letter???

Most LORs come from people who 1)Know the applicant, 2)Like them, 3)Have been pre-screened, and 4)Likely acknowledged they would be writing a strongly favorable letter.

There's no "objectivity" standard or expectation. If you have submitted or plan to submit truly objective letters, your letters will seem much weaker than those most others have.

 

[pvmed]

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[apumic]

Friends and coworkers have unique perspectives on you. They see you in different settings than your brother or a supervisor. Often, we are more open w/ these people so they can give a different perspective. Additionally, just because someone is your best friend doesn't mean s/he wants you as his/her doctor. This could result in a letter that, while not directly stating, "I do not believe pvmed would work well w/ pts," could imply this indirectly, esp. when compared w the letters submitted by other applicants.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Additionally, just because someone is your best friend doesn't mean s/he wants you as his/her doctor.

That's kind of a screwed-up statement. I mean, I can understand if one of my friends didn't want me delivering her baby or doing a rectal exam on him, but if your friends don't trust you enough to give them solid (medical) advice, you should probably find some new friends.

This could result in a letter that, while not directly stating, "I do not believe pvmed would work well w/ pts," could imply this indirectly, esp. when compared w the letters submitted by other applicants.

...which is an excellent reason that you should make sure your friend is extremely aware of what goes into a good letter and what goes into a bad one. It would be very easy for someone not familiar with professional recommendation writing in general and/or med school recs in particular to slip in some verbiage that adcoms would find less than thrilling.