Is it better to have a letter from a more well-known prestigious institution that is more mediocre, or a letter from a relatively unknown institution that's highly positive? Answers will help me choose between 2 aways :')
depends on your goals, do you want to go somewhere prestigious? A prestigious letter will help; if you are just trying to go somewhere local/community based they wont care as much
I don't have a big preference - I'm from a lower tier med school so I'm not really gunning for, say, Harvard. I'd be fine with a community program or "less prestigious" academic institution - air quotes because there's not really that many institutions I would say that about, but just in comparison to the big big name ones
a higher quality letter is ALWAYS better
yes agree, you want strongest possible letters to get an interview. Having said that, would still recommend networking w prestigious institution as that can open doors for interviews/research etc if you have a mentor there
yay thanks y'all!!!!!
i had both letters, a lukewarm one from a very prestigious academic center and a glowing one from a mid tier program. the glowing letter was brought up in almost all of my interviews and i ended up matching at a t20 derm program
What makes a "glowing" letter?