Which letters of rec should I use?

[sprint2k]

• Research professor, took 3 bio classes with him (definitely using this one)

• Dentist (using this one)

• Environmental Science professor (i took this course just so I could get another "professor")

• Technical Support (Networking) - the manager could talk about how well I dealt with the customers and solving their problems.

• Did an internship/research for a pharmaceutical company in China in 2008. I could probably get one from a manager with a phd from there.

I know I don't have enough science letters, but there's really nothing I can do for the upcoming application cycle. I'll take my chances because I heard that dental schools aren't TOO strict about where you got your letters from. Which ones would you choose?

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[ginaych]

• Research professor, took 3 bio classes with him (definitely using this one)

• Dentist (using this one)

• Environmental Science professor (i took this course just so I could get another "professor")

• Technical Support (Networking) - the manager could talk about how well I dealt with the customers and solving their problems.

• Did an internship/research for a pharmaceutical company in China in 2008. I could probably get one from a manager with a phd from there.

I know I don't have enough science letters, but there's really nothing I can do for the upcoming application cycle. I'll take my chances because I heard that dental schools aren't TOO strict about where you got your letters from. Which ones would you choose?

the last two most likely won't even count. some schools will set your application aside if you don't meet their LOR requirement of only using letters from science professors or dentist, while some will give you some leeway, depending on how awesome your stats are. I would definitely try to find another science professor that seems nice and gave me good grades.

 

[sprint2k]

the last two most likely won't even count. some schools will set your application aside if you don't meet their LOR requirement of only using letters from science professors or dentist, while some will give you some leeway, depending on how awesome your stats are. I would definitely try to find another science professor that seems nice and gave me good grades.

it's sad that they require science professors where most of the professors teach a class of 250, while dismissing other professionals who are more than capable of judging one's character. seems elitist, but i guess it makes it easier to rule out bias.

should i just start begging random professors i got an A from a few years ago? i got 6 months to beg lol

 

[sprint2k]

oh i got an A+ in a physics course in 2009... maybe she'll be nice enough even though she is at a university in virginia now

 

[ginaych]

it's sad that they require science professors where most of the professors teach a class of 250, while dismissing other professionals who are more than capable of judging one's character. seems elitist, but i guess it makes it easier to rule out bias.

should i just start begging random professors i got an A from a few years ago? i got 6 months to beg lol

do it. I also asked a professor that I hardly ever talked to yet looked nice and was willing to write one for me, and it all worked out. She took it very seriously and asked me a bunch of questions about my personal life. I would say definitely ask around and find someone that's willing to take time to get to know you. but even if they don't, it' still fine as long as they can say some good things about your academic performance. as long as you hit the minimal requirement of 2 or 3 LORs from science professors. At the same time you can also send in the rest of the letters from non-science professors so if the schools are interested in getting to know you outside of school they have some things to refer to. just make sure you hit the minimal requirements.

 

[sprint2k]

good news, my physics professor is willing to write me one. it probably won't be too personal, but at least i got an A+ in that class, and she was a nice professor.

earliest i can have my professors send the letter is june 1st right? you can just have them e-mail it too right?

so now that i have a letter from bio, physics, dentist, what should my fourth letter be?

 

[HeyCharlie]

3rd one (enivromental science teacher) won't count either for most schools.

Almost all schools will require 2-3 science teachers with some schools being very specific (i.e. 1 biology, 1 chemistry; or 2 biology, 1 chemistry, etc.).

If you can't get enough science teachers, then it's a red flag. It can be construed as you being a bad student or desperate that you had to resort to getting non science teacher recs.

I wouldn't submit any recs from employers. This is dental school, not MBA school. DSchools don't care about your career performance in a business setting; they care about your academic performance in true science courses.

 

[HeyCharlie]

so now that i have a letter from bio, physics, dentist, what should my fourth letter be?

Quality is better than quantity. A subpar rec will undermine any good recs in your file. An admissions officer once told me about people submitting extra recs (just to increase the number) that winded up backfiring and hurting their chances.

Edit: As for submitting the recs, starting on June 1 when AADSAS opens up, you fill in the contact info for your recommenders and AADSAS will send an automated email to them with instructions. You'll also receive automated emails from AADSAS each time an email request was sent to a recommender and again when the recommender submits to AADSAS.

 

[doc toothache]

3rd one (enivromental science teacher) won't count either for most schools.
Almost all schools will require 2-3 science teachers with some schools being very specific (i.e. 1 biology, 1 chemistry; or 2 biology, 1 chemistry, etc.).
If you can't get enough science teachers, then it's a red flag. It can be construed as you being a bad student or desperate that you had to resort to getting non science teacher recs.
I wouldn't submit any recs from employers. This is dental school, not MBA school. DSchools don't care about your career performance in a business setting; they care about your academic performance in true science courses.