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LOR...HELP


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so, I graduated in 2015. My premed advisor was a professor for a lot of my upper level bio classes. Unfortunately, I went through a crisis & depression during my GAP year & applied to pharmacy school ( he wrote me a LOR). I got in & realized that I had let my circumstances take control of me instead of vice versa. I declined the acceptance into pharmacy school. 2016 I applied to DO schools  ( He wrote me a LOR AGAIN) while my sister had a medical emergency, I spent majority of the time taking her from one dr to the next. I was waitlist & rejected to the few DO schools I applied to. Recently, I learned I have endometriosis & I may not be able to establish a family in a couple of years. I feel really bummed out. I would really like to have a career & a family. 

 

Soooo.....Now, I have decided to apply to PA schools (I have the gpa,prereqs, HCE and PCE) but I feel awkward (& embarrassed ) asking him to write me a LOR for the third time. But he is the only science professor left that college. 

 

 

Thank you in advance!!! 

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If its awkward, don't.  

If you have the HCE/PCE you probably have other references that may be more pertinent than an academic reference from a few years ago.  The admissions committees will all see your GPA and academic performance--use this as an opportunity to get a glimpse of your professional side.

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Ask if the professor feels comfortable writing a lor for you, they make a lot of money and wouldn't mind spending an hour of their time helping you achieve your dreams. Ever heard of www.transparentcalifornia.com? It's a website that shows how much teachers make in public institutions for the state of California. Check to see if your state has a website similar like that after reading that you won't feel so bad seeing how much these professors make! Heck, they even get a good chunk of pension too!!!

Didn't mean to hijack your thread but if you feel like he's a great academic resource, go for it!

 

 

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I would also double check the reference sources required for the schools you are considering applying to. I know when I had applied, an academic reference would not have been an acceptable reference as they wanted them from and MD, PA, or NP.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've had to get LOR for jobs and this process of applying to schools and some of the references from professors I used for my CASPA have helped me multiple times in this regard. Yeah, you feel like you're nagging them but if you have a good relationship with them and send appropriate thank yous afterward, it never hurts to ask. My references never hesitated to continue to help me move forward in life and I would hope yours would be willing to grant you the same favor. I'd recommend giving them a call and catching up a little first if you can to help break the ice, then explain your situation (maybe leaving out some of the more personal details you listed above) and your change of heart and see if they're open to doing it again. Plus, a lot of professors write lots of these so if they're smart then they hopefully kept your previous letters and can just make some quick edits.

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so, I graduated in 2015. My premed advisor was a professor for a lot of my upper level bio classes. Unfortunately, I went through a crisis & depression during my GAP year & applied to pharmacy school ( he wrote me a LOR). I got in & realized that I had let my circumstances take control of me instead of vice versa. I declined the acceptance into pharmacy school. 2016 I applied to DO schools  ( He wrote me a LOR AGAIN) while my sister had a medical emergency, I spent majority of the time taking her from one dr to the next. I was waitlist & rejected to the few DO schools I applied to. Recently, I learned I have endometriosis & I may not be able to establish a family in a couple of years. I feel really bummed out. I would really like to have a career & a family. 

 

Soooo.....Now, I have decided to apply to PA schools (I have the gpa,prereqs, HCE and PCE) but I feel awkward (& embarrassed ) asking him to write me a LOR for the third time. But he is the only science professor left that college. 

 

 

Thank you in advance!!! 

 

I think regardless of who writes your LOR, you're going to have to do a great job explaining why you want to be a PA, especiialy now as you've applied to a third graduate career program in as many years. What's to say you won't decide that you aren't just letting these circumstances drive your decisions and want to do DO again, even after getting accepted to PA school? If there's one thing I know turns off adcoms, it's treating PA like a backup profession. 

 

If you have PCE, why not ask people (aka health care professionals preferably PA's) who have worked with you? Surely they're just as qualified to comment on your aptitude as a professor you haven't taken a class from in 3 years. Just my 2c. I wish you the best of luck! Sorry to hear about your endometriosis, but don't give up on being a mom! 

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I also have a question abut LOR. Does the order in which I put the LOR in CASPA matter to the programs that view the letters? So for example, let's say a programs only wants three and states 4 are not necessary; will the fourth LOR, in order, not be viewed? Or, instead, might they pick and choose which three to read? I am not sure how that would work. Hopefully someone knows. Any information is greatly appreciated!

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I also have a question abut LOR. Does the order in which I put the LOR in CASPA matter to the programs that view the letters? So for example, let's say a programs only wants three and states 4 are not necessary; will the fourth LOR, in order, not be viewed? Or, instead, might they pick and choose which three to read? I am not sure how that would work. Hopefully someone knows. Any information is greatly appreciated!

I do not believe that it matters what order you submit your letters in to CASPA, but I believe the default is set so that all schools can see every letter once it's in there.

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