daleader Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Hello, My plan is to get reference letters from the doctor whom I shadowed for a year and also my summer research program supervisor and another research PI. The problem is only the last reference letter is from a person who is at my university. The other 2 reference letters (doctor and summer research) they are not from my university they are both from U of T. I've attended a seminar about Medical school admission and I was told that this will hurt my application because they rather see reference letter from ppl at my university not another university (U of T).. What do you guys think? Should sacrifice a better reference letter and get a worst one but from a person at my university? Please help me, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Worse is not an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Why would they not want to see letters from another university? People have cross-appointments.. it might not even be noticed. Agree, you always want the stronger letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolelol Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 What if none of your reference letters are from your university? Do they expect you to have at least one from your own school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchToast Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 :S I've honestly never heard of that, and I don't see why it would be a problem. One of my reference letters was from my PI at UofT (which isn't where I go) and I never heard from anyone that it would be a problem. Academia has a lot of collaboration, so why would they care if you worked for a prof at a different university? I may be wrong and it may be a problem, but I really don't get why it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daleader Posted February 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Thank you so much for your feedback. That is exactly what I am thinking too! I'm assuming they only care how long the person knows me and how good the letter is (and perhaps a little bit, who the referee is) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docmm Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Yeah, this is a non-issue. You probably want your academic reference to be someone from an equally or more reputable university if it is not the school you attend, but I doubt even that would get noticed. If you are a Queens student they might perceive a Humber College vs. Hopkins vs. UoT reference a little differently but that isn't an issue here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 I received a LOR from a prof who I had in one course the semester prior to applying. I actively participated in class discussions, did very well and he wrote a strong letter. He was entirely credible and the length of our association was not an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axialpac Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Pretty sure there is no such requirement. I've pretty much read and reread most of the medical school admission websites and never came across such a thing. So you're good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daleader Posted February 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Thanks a lot guys ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docmm Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 I received a LOR from a prof who I had in one course the semester prior to applying. I actively participated in class discussions, did very well and he wrote a strong letter. He was entirely credible and the length of our association was not an issue. I would argue that this only did not hurt you because the rest of your application was extremely strong (or perceived that way). Most candidates have letters from professors who have known them for years and have interacted them in less superficial settings than simply a course....For a referee to be able to provide a wide range of example says a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 For a referee to be able to provide a wide range of example says a lot. But will they? There's a fair number of form letters out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenziedmalady Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 I received a LOR from a prof who I had in one course the semester prior to applying. I actively participated in class discussions, did very well and he wrote a strong letter. He was entirely credible and the length of our association was not an issue. I guess we always learn something new. I always thought that length of relationship is also important. So it would not hurt me at all if I actually get a reference letter from a prof I had for only a semester? I'm really wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docmm Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 But will they? There's a fair number of form letters out there. It is very common for supervisors to ask you to draft a letter or part of your letter. For example, one of my references asked me to write a page or so of qualities I think I have demonstrated with examples and then they use that and their own ideas to write it. I think regardless of how it's done a better reference letter will always be one that describes things as opposed to simply stating them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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