Nontrad advice on course audit and LORs.

[AhnNyeong]

So, I finished my undergrad in 2012, worked a few years as a chemist and currently getting ready to apply to MD/DO programs. I took Biochem as an undergrad and got a B, not too bad but I'm currently studying for the MCAT and thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to audit the course as a refresher. My other train of thought being potentially getting a LOR from this professor if the course goes well (I will be taking all the exams), as it has been a few years since my undergrad and having a fresh LOR from an academic source might be helpful.

Would it be a bad idea to get a LOR from this professor (He already offered and seems eager to help)? I would think that glowing letter from an audited course would be better than from a professor that may not even remember me, but I'm not too sure. I have one science faculty professor from my undergrad that I have been in contact since and will write one, but I know schools usually require 2+ science faculty.

Another twist to this being that I have the option to audit the course for free without having the course on my transcript, or pay 900 to have the audit appear on my transcript. My professor was the one who suggested that I just take it for free but I'm already unsure about the weight of his LOR being from a course audit, let alone without it being on my transcript. (Do all institutions even include an audit on official transcripts? I can't find a clear answer)

Thanks for your time.

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[alana615]

It is always better to have a letter from someone who can give an accurate picture of you as a person, not just generic words because they don't really know you. It is also definitely a good idea to have a letter from someone who knows you more recently to supplement your first faculty LOR, in my opinion. However, you may want to be careful because often schools require letters from science faculty that issued you a grade. That grade would need to be on your transcript. Not all schools are like this, and not all require 2 faculty.

It may also be to your advantage that you graduated in 2012. When you're nontrad many schools will waive the letter requirements for faculty and will instead need letters from people familiar with your recent work experience, who know you well, etc. Again, this depends on the school as they all have different requirements.

If you were looking to cover all your bases, I'd take the class officially for a grade.

 

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