Undergraduate Research Advice

Jugulator20
Wed, 03 Feb 2016 19:32:24 +0000

As to importance of rec letter from PI: it may/may not be that valuable. It probably depends on which med schools you apply to. Some med schools want/prefer your college’s committee letter, some want a total of 3 (eg, 2 from sci profs who have actually taught you in class and 1 from a non sci prof who has actually taught you in class). And even if med school allows for additional rec letters, just because it comes from a PI in a large Neurology and Anesthesiology department doesn’t mean that every rec letter reader in the country knows of this PI and will automatically attach extra weight to it. And even if it carries some extra weight there are other parts of your application that will be every bit as important (eg GPAs, MCAT, ECs (more clinical in nature), PS, interview, etc). I’m not saying this experience and potential rec letter have no value, but it will be just a part of the bigger picture that your overall application paints.