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Letter of Recommendation requirements for US Med Schools


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This might just serve as a good reference for those applying next year, and maybe we can add it to the premed wiki.

 

Here are the reference requirements for the schools I am applying to:

 

Albert Einstein: One from applicant's major, the other from a science professor. If the applicant's major is in the sciences, then you need 2 letters from science professors

 

Case Western Reserve University: 2 from science or research advisors up to a maximum of 5

 

Dartmouth: 2 indiviual letters are required (no specification to science or not)

 

Georgetown: 2 letters from science professors

 

Emory University: Three letters from individuals, two of whom should be your professors in the sciences.

 

Mt. Sinai: 1 letter from science and another from non-science

 

NYU - 2 science letters

 

Vanderbilt: 2 science letters and another chosen by yourself

 

SUNY upstate: 2 letters from different departments, one has to be science. Apparently the admissions lady said that they can both be from the same department if they are science, I don't know if that is 100%.

 

Northwestern: 3 faculty members, 2 of whom should be science professors

 

University of Vermont: 2 science professors + 1 non science all whom should have taught you. You can submit an additional one of your choice, but cannot go more than 4.

 

UMaryland: At least two letters must come from science faculty and one from non-science faculty.

 

UVa: 2 letters from scienc professors. No limit to number of letters you may submit.

 

Yale: Three of the applicant's teachers, two of whom should be in science fields.

 

Indiana University + Mayo Medical School: couldn't find it on their website, maybe someone can fill this one in.

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  • 2 weeks later...
What about a professor you're working but who's never taught you, but he does teach in field of medical sciences. What would their letter be classified as? I'm thinking under science, but need some reassurance.

 

That would count as an optional letter since he or she did not teach you. From what I've seen, the 2 science letters and 1 humanities/liberal arts really MUST be from proffs who've taught you in a class.

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Guest viscous

ok I asked one of my chem profs to write me a letter. I took 2 courses with him over a duration of 1 year and did amazingly well. I asked him questions etc. Now he is telling me that he does not know the "personal/research" side of me to write me a reference letter. If that is the case then why do the US schools require to get letters from Science faculty cuz it seems impossible to know the persona of student from one course ..... there are only 2 profs with whom I took courses over the whole year, for the remaining science courses in my undergrad, each course had a new prof! So i think these 2 guys were my best bet but it seems to be getting futile .... one of them has told me that he cant "positively comment" on the qualities required. I got the highest marks in his course and "sucked him up" pretty well ..... what should I do?

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Guest viscous
it means they probably don't want to write you a letter and are using this as an excuse

 

find better rec letter writers

 

thanks noob. but do you think it is worthwhile to ask a prof, who agrees to write a positive letter, with whom I took a class ONLY for one semester????

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what kind of information do they hope to get from professors. I know for my school, classes are very large and professors generally don't know students' personalities very well. Are prof lors simply used for an academic assessment?

 

I am also wondering the same thing.

I don't know my profs that well other than the fact that I have taken their courses and have done well...

 

Are these letters all just "this person did well in my class" or are the profs also providing a character reference??

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theoretically, they do want to know something more than "this student got a 94 in my class". but it can be pretty hard for students at Canadian schools to get a great letter of reference from a science professor, and I guess that's also true at a large public American school. so a lot of students in that boat end up sending letters which are really just a confirmation of their academic abilities. the problem is that you're competing with applicants from smaller colleges who have more opportunity to get to know their professors and can therefore have those letters double as character references. in order to deal with that, you could do a couple things. one good option is sending additional letters of reference from employers, supervisors, and other people who know you well. that can help compensate for a drab academic reference. I've mentioned this in another thread, but I'll say it again here: I didn't send letters from BCPM professors, since they didn't know me as well as professors from my small program. since my program was still considered an applied science, all the schools I asked said this was fine. I then chose professors who I had small seminars with, or TA'd for to make sure they had something to say. sorry for the long post, but I think LORs are really important :)

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This might be of relevance to this topic.. a lot of schools are now participating in the AMCAS letter service!

 

The following schools are participating in the AMCAS Letters of Evaluation/Recommendation service:

 

* Baylor College of Medicine

* Dartmouth Medical School

* Harvard Medical School

* Howard University

* Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

* Medical College of Wisconsin

* New York Medical College

* University of Virginia School of Medicine

* Michigan State University

* Florida State University

* Rush Medical College

* Mayo Medical School

* Morehouse School of Medicine

* Univ of Calif - Berkeley/SF

* Meharry Medical College

* Mount Sinai School of Medicine

* University of Arkansas College of Medicine

* Boston University School of Medicine

* Wake Forest University School of Medicine

* SUNY at Buffalo Medical School

* University of California San Francisco

* University of Chicago - Pritzker

* University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

* University of Colorado School of Medicine

* Weill Medical College of Cornell University

* Creighton University School of Medicine

* University of Florida

* Emory University School of Medicine

* Georgetown University School of Medicine

* George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci

* The Medical College of Georgia

* University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medic

* Indiana University School of Medicine

* University of California, Irvine- College/Medicine

* Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.

* University of Kansas

* University of Kentucky College of Medicine

* State University of New York Downstate Medical Cen

* University of Louisville School of Medicine

* The University of Miami School of Medicine

* University of Maryland School of Medicine

* University of Michigan Medical School

* University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis

* University of Mississippi School of Medicine

* University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine

* University of Nebraska College of Medicine

* The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Cente

* University of North Carolina School of Medicine

* Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicin

* The Ohio State Univ. Coll. of Med.

* The University of Oklahoma

* University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

* University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

* University of Rochester School of Medicine and Den

* Saint Louis University School of Medicine

* Medical University of South Carolina

* Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota

* Keck Sch. of Med.University of Southern California

* UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School

* SUNY Upstate Medical University

* Temple University School of Medicine

* University of TN Health Science Cntr Coll. of Med.

* Tufts University School of Medicine

* Tulane University School of Medicine

* Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

* The University of Vermont College of Medicine

* Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicin

* University of Washington School of Medicine

* Wayne State University School of Medicine

* Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

* University of Wisconsin

* University of Connecticut School of Medicine

* Yale University School of Medicine

* The University of Arizona College of Medicine

* University of California San Diego

* University of Massachusetts Medical School

* University of Hawaii John A. Burns Sch. of Med.

* Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

* University of California, Davis School of Medicine

* The University of Toledo College of Medicine

* Stony Brook University - School of Medicine

* University of South Florida College of Medicine

* University of Nevada School of Medicine

* Southern Illinois School of Medicine

* The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina Univ

* Texas Tech Univ. Hlth. Sci. Ctr. Sch. of Medicine

* University of South Alabama College of Medicine

* Eastern Virginia Medical School

* Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

* University of South Carolina School of Medicine

* Texas A&M Uni. System HSC Col. of Medicine

* Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

* East TN State U., James H. Quillen Coll. of Med.

* Marshall Univ Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine

* Universidad Central Del Caribe

* UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program

* Mercer University School of Medicine

* University of Alabama School of Medicine

* Loma Linda University School of Medicine

* West Virginia University School of Medicine

* Albert Einstein College of Medicine

* Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medici

* UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

* David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

* Drexel University College of Medicine

* UT Southwestern (AMCAS)

* University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine

* New York University

* Columbia University College of P & S

* Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Scien

* University of Texas Medical Branch (AMCAS)

* University of Texas Medical School at Houston (AMCAS)

* UCLA PRIME

* San Juan Bautista School of Medicine

* University of Central Florida COM

* Florida International University COM

* The Commonwealth Medical College

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This might be of relevance to this topic.. a lot of schools are now participating in the AMCAS letter service!

 

The following schools are participating in the AMCAS Letters of Evaluation/Recommendation service:

 

* Baylor College of Medicine

* Dartmouth Medical School

* Harvard Medical School

* Howard University

* Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

* Medical College of Wisconsin

* New York Medical College

* University of Virginia School of Medicine

* Michigan State University

* Florida State University

* Rush Medical College

* Mayo Medical School

* Morehouse School of Medicine

* Univ of Calif - Berkeley/SF

* Meharry Medical College

* Mount Sinai School of Medicine

* University of Arkansas College of Medicine

* Boston University School of Medicine

* Wake Forest University School of Medicine

* SUNY at Buffalo Medical School

* University of California San Francisco

* University of Chicago - Pritzker

* University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

* University of Colorado School of Medicine

* Weill Medical College of Cornell University

* Creighton University School of Medicine

* University of Florida

* Emory University School of Medicine

* Georgetown University School of Medicine

* George Washington University Sch of Med & Hlth Sci

* The Medical College of Georgia

* University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medic

* Indiana University School of Medicine

* University of California, Irvine- College/Medicine

* Jefferson Medical Coll. of Thomas Jefferson Univ.

* University of Kansas

* University of Kentucky College of Medicine

* State University of New York Downstate Medical Cen

* University of Louisville School of Medicine

* The University of Miami School of Medicine

* University of Maryland School of Medicine

* University of Michigan Medical School

* University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis

* University of Mississippi School of Medicine

* University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine

* University of Nebraska College of Medicine

* The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Cente

* University of North Carolina School of Medicine

* Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicin

* The Ohio State Univ. Coll. of Med.

* The University of Oklahoma

* University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

* University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

* University of Rochester School of Medicine and Den

* Saint Louis University School of Medicine

* Medical University of South Carolina

* Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota

* Keck Sch. of Med.University of Southern California

* UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School

* SUNY Upstate Medical University

* Temple University School of Medicine

* University of TN Health Science Cntr Coll. of Med.

* Tufts University School of Medicine

* Tulane University School of Medicine

* Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

* The University of Vermont College of Medicine

* Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicin

* University of Washington School of Medicine

* Wayne State University School of Medicine

* Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

* University of Wisconsin

* University of Connecticut School of Medicine

* Yale University School of Medicine

* The University of Arizona College of Medicine

* University of California San Diego

* University of Massachusetts Medical School

* University of Hawaii John A. Burns Sch. of Med.

* Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

* University of California, Davis School of Medicine

* The University of Toledo College of Medicine

* Stony Brook University - School of Medicine

* University of South Florida College of Medicine

* University of Nevada School of Medicine

* Southern Illinois School of Medicine

* The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina Univ

* Texas Tech Univ. Hlth. Sci. Ctr. Sch. of Medicine

* University of South Alabama College of Medicine

* Eastern Virginia Medical School

* Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

* University of South Carolina School of Medicine

* Texas A&M Uni. System HSC Col. of Medicine

* Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

* East TN State U., James H. Quillen Coll. of Med.

* Marshall Univ Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine

* Universidad Central Del Caribe

* UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program

* Mercer University School of Medicine

* University of Alabama School of Medicine

* Loma Linda University School of Medicine

* West Virginia University School of Medicine

* Albert Einstein College of Medicine

* Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medici

* UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

* David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

* Drexel University College of Medicine

* UT Southwestern (AMCAS)

* University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine

* New York University

* Columbia University College of P & S

* Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Scien

* University of Texas Medical Branch (AMCAS)

* University of Texas Medical School at Houston (AMCAS)

* UCLA PRIME

* San Juan Bautista School of Medicine

* University of Central Florida COM

* Florida International University COM

* The Commonwealth Medical College

 

But can we still use Interfolio to send our letters? I probably won't have my lettters ready by the time I submit by AMCAS (mid-june most likely) (I was always planning on getting my letters ready around the time I send in my secondaries)

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