Fantastic MD Letter vs Okay DO Letter

[Alienman52]

Hi all,

Many of the schools I am applying to only accept one LOR from a physician.

Here's the dilemma:
I know MD Letter is top notch. Fantastic.
DO Letter is probably average

Which would you choose and why?

I'm actually leaning towards the DO letter myself but I'd like to know the pre-osteo community's thoughts.
@Goro any comments?

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[Catfish-Cupcake]

I think you could could be better off with the MD letter as long as you make sure you have stressed your interest in osteopathic medicine in other areas of your app. I think the stronger letter will be much more beneficial and adcoms will see the difference. Generic letters are a dime a dozen man, they really don't help you except to check that box. I had no DO letter, but I was very prepared to talk about my interest in osteopathic medicine and the times I shadowed DOs. I had a couple of very good MD letters that really helped me in the end.

This is pretty obvious but make sure you check each school to see if they require the DO letter. Applicants lose a lot of money by simply not checking what is required by individual schools.

 

[Goro]

Send them both!

Hi all,

Many of the schools I am applying to only accept one LOR from a physician.

Here's the dilemma:
I know MD Letter is top notch. Fantastic.
DO Letter is probably average

Which would you choose and why?

I'm actually leaning towards the DO letter myself but I'd like to know the pre-osteo community's thoughts.
@Goro any comments?

 

[Alienman52]

Send them both!

I did send them both through AACOMAS but some schools only review a select few of the letters you sent, to my knowledge. Is this incorrect??

 

[Alienman52]

I think you could could be better off with the MD letter as long as you make sure you have stressed your interest in osteopathic medicine in other areas of your app. I think the stronger letter will be much more beneficial and adcoms will see the difference. Generic letters are a dime a dozen man, they really don't help you except to check that box. I had no DO letter, but I was very prepared to talk about my interest in osteopathic medicine and the times I shadowed DOs. I had a couple of very good MD letters that really helped me in the end.

This is pretty obvious but make sure you check each school to see if they require the DO letter. Applicants lose a lot of money by simply not checking what is required by individual schools.

Thanks for the reply and good advice. I'll take that into consideration.

 

[Goro]

Haven't a clue. My school sees all LORs.

I did send them both through AACOMAS but some schools only review a select few of the letters you sent, to my knowledge. Is this incorrect??

 

[ortnakas]

Both if you can. It's worth asking if they'll look at more letters. When I applied a few years ago, most schools were willing to take a couple extra (so if they ask for 3 okay to send 5, but don't drown them in 10).

If they'll really only look at one, see if they require/strongly recommend a DO letter. If so, send that. If it's just a physician letter they ask for, go with the MD one.

 

[68PGunner]

Send them both if possible. However, if the school requires a DO LOR, a DO letter is a must. If most cases, LORs don't mean jack in the grand scheme of things. Rather, they're used as an anonymous net for possible red flags. Make sure that all your letters are at least neutral to net positive.