Guest QQQ Posted May 22, 2001 Report Share Posted May 22, 2001 Is a reference letter from a summer research supervisor suitable or appropriate to be used for the academic letter of recommendation? Or is it better to get a prof from a lecture course to write the letter? I'd be grateful for anybody's opinion on this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted May 29, 2001 Report Share Posted May 29, 2001 They've changed this since the time that I applied, and so I'm not too confident on what to tell you. I'd hate to steer you wrong, and I think your best choice of action is to call UBC and check with them. Assuming that you get the green light, I'd pick your supervisor if he/she is capable/willing to write you a strong letter. Chances are good that this person has spent more time with you than a lecture prof, and will be able to make the letter more emphatic and convincing. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QQQ Posted June 27, 2001 Report Share Posted June 27, 2001 I emailed UBC med admissions about this and they said that a letter from a research supervisor is acceptable but a letter from a lecture prof is preferred. The bad thing is that I feel that my research supervisor knows me so much better since I've been working in his lab 40 hours a week for the past couple of months. On the other hand, I've only had a few conversations with my lecture prof. If I get the supervisor to write the letter for me, I feel I'd be at a slight disadvantage even though he knows me so much better. Ah! What dilemna! What do you all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MEDCOMPSCI Posted June 28, 2001 Report Share Posted June 28, 2001 I would say that a lecture prof writing a generic letter is of no use to you. THe supervisor can give specifics about you, and while they might not be of the same 'prestige' as a prof, they will be able to better convey why you deserve to get into medical school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YongQ Posted June 28, 2001 Report Share Posted June 28, 2001 I agree! I did a summer research project under a professor, and found out shortly after I started the project that he teaches first- and second-year medical students! He & his grad students taught me almost everything I know about research, and he wrote a letter for my academic reference at UBC and for other schools, and to this day I think it's the best letter of the bunch I had sent out. An unrelated question: what emotion does 0] convey? :rollin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HHH07 Posted July 5, 2001 Report Share Posted July 5, 2001 I would have to agree with using the research supervisor in this case. I remember when I applied for grad school a couple of years ago I used a prof who had taught me a half-credit course that I got an A in. The letter was not 'bad' since she did think I was intelligent, but it had no substance. It was VERY short and basically just said that i was able to get a high mark in that class. On the other hand, since then I have received reference letters (for meds) from research supervisors who I had worked for. One research supervisor wrote the 'community' reference for UBC (I was actually employed there) and she had not taught me in a formal class. However, it was a great reference and she had a lot of good/detailed things to say both academically and with respect to character, work habits, etc. Thats just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QQQ Posted July 5, 2001 Report Share Posted July 5, 2001 Thanks guys! Your advice has been most helpful. =D But I have one more question --- Who would be a suitable person to get to write the personal assessment form? I know Ian talked about getting a family physician or another doctor friend to write it but would a "non-doctor" work as well? I'm not too sure what the UBC admissions committee is looking for. There's a doctor I'm planning to shadow in August but by the time he writes up the form, he will only have known me for 2 months. On the other hand, I have two friends, a pastor and a psychologist, who know me a lot better for a longer period of time. Unfortunately, I'm afraid their letters may not have as much weight because they're not medical doctors. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YongQ Posted July 5, 2001 Report Share Posted July 5, 2001 Basically, I think it's best to get someone who meets 2 criteria, 1. Known you for at least 3 years (the more the better), 2. Isn't prone to huge bias (e.g. employee of a relative). My personal ref was an English teacher from high school - he didn't teach me English but I worked with him for many hours on technical work, I knew him for 5 years at the time of application, and we still chat fairly regularly. For UBC I think it might've changed, but I don't think you're even allowed to get a personal referee who hasn't know you for at least 1 or 2 years. Nevertheless, getting a person who's known you the longest is ALWAYS best, as they can give detailed specifics on your character and motivation. Either the pastor or psychologist would be absolutely awesome referees! The former would unquestionably have high moral standards, and the latter would be able to comment on your attitude and stuff... Good luck w/ your app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 6, 2001 Report Share Posted July 6, 2001 No question from my end. I agree with YongQ. You've got to go with the person who can write you the best reference letter. If your distinguished prof writes you a so-so letter, the person who is grading your letter will think, based on that description, that you are also just so-so, or worse yet, that you are a one-dimensional academic. A reference letter that can talk about your suitability for medicine in many different areas, such as your working personality, your interactions with others, your academic and employment background, and who can throw in a positive and memorable anecdote will get you much further along even if they aren't a prominent person. What matters is that they will write prominently of you, and that they can back those words up with actual experiences and facts. Naturally, the best theoretical obtainable letter would be a glowing review supplemented by plenty of high quality stories and examples of you rescuing orphans from burning buildings, and this letter would be written by the current dean of the medical school, but this is a little ridiculous. The bottom line is that the admissions committee wants to find out who you are, and what kind of a person you are, especially outside of academics. You need to use a referee who can deliver that. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jake Posted July 9, 2001 Report Share Posted July 9, 2001 the 3 year rule for the personal refree is not necessarily accurate.......my referee knew me for a year and i got in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest yvr Posted July 9, 2001 Report Share Posted July 9, 2001 Hey congrats for getting in, Jake. I recall you were still waiting for word. yay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 11, 2001 Report Share Posted July 11, 2001 Hi Jake, Congrats on your acceptance! :hat Are you definitely coming to UBC then? Hopefully you'll get acquainted with all of us. I just would like to ask you to email me. I'm working on a project for which I can definitely use your help. I'm at: mdpremie@yahoo.com Have fun this summer! Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RRR Posted July 23, 2001 Report Share Posted July 23, 2001 I have a question: I graduated from university and am applying this year to ubc med....i have a high school teacher who is very willing to write me an academic letter as he has taught me for over2 years.....however that was 4 years ago. But the problem is i do not feel that there is really any prof who knows me as well. I called ubc..they say that they prefer university profs. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 23, 2001 Report Share Posted July 23, 2001 My year, I had one of my high school teachers write me a letter, and a university prof write the second. The third letter was done by a Victoria doctor. I think the criteria for referees has changed since then, so who knows? If UBC will accept a high school teacher, and his/her letter will be head and shoulders above a letter that you would obtain from a university prof, I'd still opt for it. However, you need to be very sure that UBC will accept that high school teacher. It's all well and good for UBC to say that they would prefer a university professor, but if that person can't write you a good letter, then you've wasted it, and it's not giving your application any benefit. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RRR Posted July 23, 2001 Report Share Posted July 23, 2001 Thanks for the reply Ian..... i just feel that it may not be beneficial to have a teacher who has taught me over 4 (almost 5 ) years ago. He knew me well at that time but perhaps the time lapse it just too long??? Even if he writes a good letter does it carry the same weight as a recent university prof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HHH07 Posted July 23, 2001 Report Share Posted July 23, 2001 Just one other comment regarding reference letters. I don't see a problem with a high school teacher per se. Actually, if they know you a lot better than the University Prof then it is probably a better idea. However, a good reference letter is difficult to write and takes a lot of time to do properly. It takes either a lot of time or good writing skills or both to write a good letter. I had a high school teacher who thought that I was great and would have done/said anything to help me. This person wrote a letter for me (a while back, and not for med school), and although it sounded sincere and very very positive, it was not well written, and was written in an unprofessional manner; it would not have been appropriate for a medical school ref. The problem was a lack of writing ability. With respect to the situation above, university profs are generally used to writing ref letters and will generally do a much better job than a high school teacher. Obviously, this is a generalization and will not be the case in all situations, but you should definitely consider the writing ability of your potential referees. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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