Question About Letters of Recommendation

[DrSpontaneouz83]

I am applying to PCO, SUNY, and NOVA and was wondering if they would have a problem with me sending 5 letters of recommendation (3 professors, 1 optometrist and 1 ophthalmologist)? My science committee school representative is a bit lacking in organization and I've heard she doesn't take the recommendations serious. If anyone could provide some insight that would be great before asking for 1 more letter of recommendation. (p.s. I am fairly close to these professors/professionals except for one professor and feel they would give excellent letters of recommendation.

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[iiiimonica]

make a packet for each with your personal statement, transcripts, anything to help them write a strong letter and reasons why you are applying to each school (ie Why Suny? because i love the location with diverse population, Why SCCO, because it is soooooo beautiful, etc.) i also asked each letter writer to focus on differnt aspects that made me a strong canidate. make sure to include the letter of rec form for each school (print out the pdf and sign the line that waives your right to read the letter) make sure you give a preaddressed envelope with a stamp. i had all of this in a manilla folder that i gave them when i met to ask for a strong letter. once they agreed, i busted out this packet (i applied to 6 schools - yeah i owed my letter writers big time!) i asked for the letters in March with an August deadline. asking for letters is much eaiser then reminding your lor writers that you need the letter (in october when a school calls to tell you your file is not complete yet). just keep reminding them with follow ups every few weeks and eventually all the letters get in!

 

[O.D.-2-B]

I also applied for 6 schools and required LOTS of letters. My school didnt really have a science council rep per se so I decided to go with the 3 professor option. I had one Optometrist write all my references (eventhough I knew of 4 I could ask) I thought that was easier than trying to explain to a bunch of different ones. I also did up a small package with a 'resume'-type document (with interests, awards I had earned and marks) I also gave them a copy of an entrance essay I had written so they could understand why I wanted to do optometry and how I gained interest. SUNY only requires two letters and so I only sent them a letter from my optometry ref. and one from a professor (science) I got waitlisted there but I withdrew my application before hearing otherwise. Also NOVA requires one Science, one Arts and one Optometry reference so make sure that one of the professor references you have is from a liberal arts professor ( I sent them 2 science first and then they asked me to send a further letter from an arts prof.) I got accepted at NOVA (I will be attending SCCO in the fall).
I think your set of references you have planned out should be more than adequate

 

[DrSpontaneouz83]

Thank u all for your advice, I appreciate it. Wow! I did not know NOVA required a liberal arts recommendation letter. I am using my my calculus professor, a general biology professor, and a cell biology professor. The other 2 of course are professionals.

 

[a1bui]

This is kind of a different question, but same topic:

Would it be okay to ask for a letter of rec. if I received a "B+" in the class?

Given that it was a fairly difficult upper-div. bio class, in a pretty competitive school. I could ask for a letter from my general lower-division bio class, but that was an "A-", and the professor was brand new, so I don't know if she would write a good letter.

 

[pre-O.D.]

Only send the number of recs. that the school asks for. They are busy enough, they will likely just get annoyed if extra letters are received. I actually called one of the optometry schools when I was sending out my app. and asked them if it was okay to send extras and they said no, it is just annoying for the committee. The school I applied to asked for only two (one from a prof. and one from an optometrist.)

I am applying to PCO, SUNY, and NOVA and was wondering if they would have a problem with me sending 5 letters of recommendation (3 professors, 1 optometrist and 1 ophthalmologist)? My science committee school representative is a bit lacking in organization and I've heard she doesn't take the recommendations serious. If anyone could provide some insight that would be great before asking for 1 more letter of recommendation. (p.s. I am fairly close to these professors/professionals except for one professor and feel they would give excellent letters of recommendation.

 

[iiiimonica]

This is kind of a different question, but same topic:

Would it be okay to ask for a letter of rec. if I received a "B+" in the class?

Given that it was a fairly difficult upper-div. bio class, in a pretty competitive school. I could ask for a letter from my general lower-division bio class, but that was an "A-", and the professor was brand new, so I don't know if she would write a good letter.

your newer prof might have written you a stronger letter because they had the time. but getting a letter from an b+ letter is cool, just make sure to ask for strong letter