KTWD Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Hey guys, I was wondering your opinion on who I should ask for a reference letter, right now this is for the American Schools. I completed my Masters degree so one will for sure be my supervisor. However for the other two I do have a few options. 1) I have two collaborators with whom I worked with on my master’s thesis, they will be authors listed on the paper. Both would write exceptional letters. One is a female, who is in haematology at Toronto general, the other is a male who works at Canadian blood services but is a professor in the department of medicine at U o f T. I know both would write strong letters. 2) I had an informal co-supervisor who is a clinical division head at TGH and he is the Canada research chair for infectious disease. However, I worry his letter and my supervisors will be redundant. But they are both very influential people. 3) I am still very close with a professor of mine from Western, he taught me in forth year, however we are still in touch. He is a mentor of mine. I know he would write a good letter, he would be more on the acedemic side. I applied last year and did not get an interview anywhere in Ontario. However I do not believe it was due to references (I used my supervisor, prof and the haematologist at TGH), as I got accepted to a few schools in Ireland, which are still competitive. Unfortunately, I do not have extensive volunteer, so I do not have someone who can comment on that part of my application. Thanks for any input you have! Let me know if you think I need to look for someone else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Why not all of them? When you start the application you will see that you can match different reference letters to different schools. Some schools may have specific requirements on which letters can be counted and which ones cannot. Make sure to check those requirements and assign letters accordingly. Also, start volunteering and getting clinical experience. From what I've been hearing, that is much more important at American schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypno Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Yeah, I agree with Hackintosh. As long as they are strong letters, there's no reason not to use all of them. I'm applying to American schools this year as well, and I'm aware that there are primary apps and secondary apps. Are the letters required for the primary or secondary app? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTWD Posted May 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Why not all of them? When you start the application you will see that you can match different reference letters to different schools. Some schools may have specific requirements on which letters can be counted and which ones cannot. Make sure to check those requirements and assign letters accordingly. Also, start volunteering and getting clinical experience. From what I've been hearing, that is much more important at American schools. Oh cool, I didn't know that. Might as well ask them all! I have some volunteering but its not consistent . I just worked three jobs all through University. Isn't it a bit too late to try to cram that in? I am writing the MCAT in July, so I won't have much time. However, I am applying for a volunteer sports medicine position in Australia but it won't start until September. Should I list this /mention it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Oh cool, I didn't know that. Might as well ask them all! I have some volunteering but its not consistent . I just worked three jobs all through University. Isn't it a bit too late to try to cram that in? I am writing the MCAT in July, so I won't have much time. However, I am applying for a volunteer sports medicine position in Australia but it won't start until September. Should I list this /mention it? You should start checking reference letter requirements for different schools now. There is a .pdf file floating about that lists all schools and their requirements. Alternatively, you can go to their websites and check or e-mail them directly. A lot of them ask for undergraduate professors to be letter writers so I'm not sure if your grad referees will be counted. You will have to do quite a bit of e-mailing to ask schools if you can submit these letters. But you should get started now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTWD Posted May 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 You should start checking reference letter requirements for different schools now. There is a .pdf file floating about that lists all schools and their requirements. Alternatively, you can go to their websites and check or e-mail them directly. A lot of them ask for undergraduate professors to be letter writers so I'm not sure if your grad referees will be counted. You will have to do quite a bit of e-mailing to ask schools if you can submit these letters. But you should get started now. Does anyone have this PDF file or know where I can access it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Its uploaded but it is from 2008 so it is probably a bit outdated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTWD Posted May 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Its uploaded but it is from 2008 so it is probably a bit outdated. Wow I didn't know there were restrictions on reference letters! applying to the states is such a process! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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