Sources for Letters of Recommendation

[lpsterns]

Hey all,
Just wondering if I could get an opinion on something I'm a little unsure on. If you have a really good academic record, is it still necessary to have one of your letters of recommendation be from an academic source? My situation is this: I graduated from college in 2009 with a non-science degree (English lit and music) and a 3.87 GPA. I have since gone back and done the required science coursework, but none of those professors know me very well, and only one had me for more than one semester. My sGPA is currently 4.0 with only a few classes to go this fall; GRE 700 verbal/630 quantitative. So far, I have a PA that I shadowed and a therapist that I have known for years (not MY therapist, obviously) as my two other references, and I was considering my EMT instructor (who's a paramedic) as the third. Now I'm rethinking that, however, and wondering if maybe I should try to get an academic reference from one of my undergrad profs after all. I'm just worried that they may not remember me very well, and none of them are in the sciences.
So my question is this: is it safe to let my academic record speak for itself, or will an admissions committee frown on not having an academic reference?
Thanks guys!
-Laurelin

[PaulK]

This one is a tough call. I usually think at least one academic letter is important, as it shows that you have the capacity to excel in school. BUT, your grades are impressive, and may \"speak for themselves,\" as you put it.

**CASPA doesn\'t care who or what type of reference they are, but some schools do, so you should call the schools to which you plan on applying.**

If the programs don\'t care, then I would skip it - a letter from a nonscience prof who remembers you vaguely could be underwhelming, and in its place you could be one from an enthusiastic EMT instructor (if they can write a strongly supportive letter - something to ask them, and if they write well - not all EMT instructors do). If you have other medical work experience, this would probably produce a better letter than the acquaintance nonscience type. A judgment call, overall, but I urge you to put yourself in the admissions committees\' position: what will demonstrate that you are 1) academically strong, 2) medically experienced, and 3) interpersonally skilled 4) well-rounded? If you do those things, then how you do it isn\'t so important.

One last fleeting idea: could you volunteer as an aid/tutor/assistant to a science class? When I took anatomy and microbiology, they had student assistants. They were hugely helpful, tight with the instructor, and learned a TON from the experience. Translation: academic letters don\'t necessarily need to come from a professor who taught you officially.

Let us know what you decide - you aren\'t alone with this type of situation!

Paul

[lpsterns]

Thanks so much! As always, you input is very much appreciated. I do wish I could get one from my work--I work as a nurse aid at a retirement center--but unfortunately I don\'t really trust my supervisors to write a strong letter (along the lines of what you mentioned in your post about waiving the right to read). My EMT instructor is well-educated, I know she thought highly of me, and she can speak somewhat to my academic strengths as well as my practical ones, since the class involved many written exams. After weighing your advice I think I\'m going to go with her--thanks for responding!

[draquela]

This was helpful as well - I should keep in contact with an academic professor from 2 years ago if he could write me a letter of rec. I haven\'t kept in contact with any of them though so I\'m worried it might be much... However, since I haven\'t applied for the application before and it doesn\'t open until April...

1) Should I ask him now to keep an eye out and once it opens ask him to write it? Or should I ask him to write one now so I can have it write away once the application opens? Will it basically ask \"Why do you recommend this applicant to PA school?\" or will there be more specific questions?

2) Where do they send it once they have written it?

3) What if I do not get accepted for this cycle? You mentioned in another discussion that the whole application gets wiped clean once the cycle ends. So I would have to ask them again to submit a new letter of recommendation?

Thanks for your help!
~ Raquel

[PaulK]

Here's how it works, Raquel:

When you complete the application and enter the names for your three references, you will have a choice to print a paper reference form or to use the electronic submission process.

***UPDATED -YOU CAN ONLY SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY NOW***

If you go electronic (Yay, you're smart and you live in the 21st century!), after you enter the evaluator's contact information into the CASPA webiste, an email is automatically sent to the evaluator. The email contains a form (see below), along with a "comments" section, where they can wax poetic about how awesome you are. Once they complete it, they email it to CASPA, and it shows up on your application page as "completed."

THE FORM:
Whether digital or hard copy, the form has essentially two parts.

Part I
CASPA requires evaluators to complete a check mark grid where they score you - Superior, Good, Average, Below Average, or Not Observed - for each of the following dimensions:

Intellectual Ability
Oral Communication Skills
Maturity
Adaptability
Team Skills
Dependability
Conflict Resolution
Interpersonal Skills
Awareness of Limitations
Reaction to Criticism
Patient Interaction

They are then asked to check one box with the following choices:

Recommend without reservation
Recommend
Recommend with reservation
Do not recommend

Part II
Then they are given a "comments" section where they can write free-form about you, but they are advised to speak about you on two particular dimensions:

• your motivation and suitability for a role as a healthcare provider
• your qualities in the grid (above) as well as your integrity, ability to work with others, commitment, and cultural sensitivity.

I think it's best to get your evaluators to start it early, so you can get it in early. Advise them to save a digital copy of it so that if anything happens, it can be re-sent. Right away is fine, or closer to the time you apply is fine, but MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS. If they write it and forget about it because it was far in advance and they didn't hear from you and assumed that you decided not to apply, you could be in trouble. If you have them wait until closer to the deadline, they may procrastinate, spill coffee on their keyboard, move to another state, etc., and once again, you're screwed. Besides, professors get busy, and often lose track of things. It's your job to keep track of the process for them.

I sent regular updates and reminders of the process to my recommenders, and I think it helped a lot. Professors get many requests for letters of reference from all kinds of programs (PA, nursing, med school, respiratory tech, etc) and each has it's own system. DON'T ASSUME YOUR EVALUATOR WILL HAVE A CLUE HOW IT ALL WORKS - THEY DON'T.

Finally, you asked what to do if you don't get in the first time. CASPA will wipe everything at the end of the cycle. You will need to resubmit three letters. Here's where your judgment comes in:

Why didn't you get in? Could one of your letters be weak? If so, you might want to find someone else to recommend.

If not, they can copy and paste from their first letter (provided you encouraged them to save it), but this seems dodgy to my. What if an admissions committee member remembers reading the same letter last year? Probably not helpful. So be thoughtful about how you do it.

These are good questions - I'll probably clean this up and make an article out of it. Thanks for asking!

-P

[juliec]

Hi there
I have a strong relationship with 2 NPs; one has known me for years, and can really speak to my strengths and who I am, the other is a colleague at a free clinic that I volunteer in, who also knows me pretty well, and has a good sense of what kind of practitioner I'd be. My other reference is from a doc who knows me well in a critical care clinical setting. I feel that all 3 of these references can be strong. Also, I graduated magnum cum laude for my bachelor's, and I have a master's degree. My GPA was 3.7.
So, 3 questions:
1.) Do I need an academic reference? I'm not feeling that I do.
2.) I am shadowing a lot of different PAs right now. However, no one PA will ever have the relationship and knowledge of me that the 2 NPs and the MD have. Is it necessary to have one of the references be a PA?
3.) Also, I'm working as an EMT, but although my mentor likes me fine, I don't think she would write as strong a reference as the other 3 I've chosen. This is partly due to the fact that I don't think she's very academic/intellectual/a good writer, and partly due to the fact that she hasn't known me for a long time. I'm wondering how important having more than 1 work reference is? (The free Clinic NP can be a work reference.)
Thanks so much!
Julie

[PaulK]

Hi, Julie.

I think your instincts are good. You have a strong academic record, so I don't think an academic letter is a requirement for you.

Some schools really want to see a letter from a PA. You might call your top choices and make sure that MD + NP + NP = all good.

Good luck!

Paul

[pvoss]

One reason a school might want to see an academic letter is to find out what kind of a student you are. The only drawback I might see in MD+NP+NP is whether it contributes to why you want to be a PA.
It's really good to hear the breakdown of the LOR "interview". I am a little nervous about my supervising doctor's recommendation.

[pamom72]

Before I started taking pre-req classes for PA I worked as a Youth Minister for 5 years. The Pastor knows my work ethic and my character better than anyone. Would he be a good reference to use or is it bad to have someone with a religious affiliation be one of your references?

Thanks!
Jodi

[PaulK]

Hi, Jody - you could, but relevant to medicine is better. If that's all you have, then go with it.