Chairman's LOR
By Guest on Monday, 12 September 2005
Posted in Match Center
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What's the deal with chairman's letters? Some of the programs I'm applying to specifically require one. I haven't worked much with him, as he's out of town now while I'm on rotation. From what it sounds like, I need to sit down with him, review my CV, transcript, scores, and personal statement, and ask him to get input from other staff and residents that I've worked with.

But today I talked with my advisor and he suggested that I should include my chairman's letter on every application, even the ones that aren't specifically requested on the program website, and that it's somewhat expected that I send one to every program. He also suggested that he thought that the number of letters each program wants doesn't include the chairman's letter. So he said I should assign three LORs and my chairman's letter as a fourth, to every program.

So my question is should I send the chairman's letter to everyone, even though it won't be one of my best ones? Do I just send my best ones to every program other than the ones that specifically ask for a chairman's letter? Or is my advisor correct that they expect a chairman's letter on top of the number that they ask for? As you can see I'm confused and would like to hear from people who matched in recent years or any staff who would know.

rwbrhp29
I matched last year, so hopefully my info isn't out of date. Your chairman should already know that he will have to write a letter for you. So you are right that you will have to give him some info on your life, and he'll write up something for your ERAS.

I think that unless the program specifically asks for a chairman's letter you don't have to send one. That said, I think the thing about the chairman letter is that they are generally well known nationally, so you will have at least one big name on your application. So even though it may not be your absolute best letter, it might hold a lot of weight because it's from the chair. I guess it would depend on how good your other letters are, or how generic your chairman letter is.

Regardless, I do think it counts as a letter, so if a program requesting a chairman letter asks for 3 letters, they mean 1 chairman letter and 2 non-chairmen letters. That was my interpretation last year. The Dean's letter is a different story. That shouldn't count as a letter for any programs. Maybe your advisor was confused about the two.

That is my take.
Guest
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20 years ago
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the chairman's letter definitely counts as a LOR. I sent 4 LOR to almost all programs (except those that said no more than 3). I didn't know my chairman well either and only sent that letter to those that required it and a few more. i did, however, get a LOR from a chairman at an elite program who i actually got to and sent that to all programs.
Guest
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20 years ago
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My interpretation of this (I'm applying this year) is that we're essentially expected to have a LOR from the chairman of our home program. I suspect it looks bad if we don't have the backing of the chairman. I believe that a good chairman is well aware of the students that rotate through the program, especially if they are from the home institution. And I'm sure we get discussed behind our backs by the residents and faculty, so he or she will know enough to write a letter describing your orthopaedic sub-I. Also, I know that in other competetive surgical specialties, and this is probably true in orthopaedics, there may be phone calls between programs about applicants. So I think its a good idea to meet the home chairman, and to have his or her support in the form of a letter.
P.S. At my program, when we do a sub-I, we automatically get a LOR that is co-signed by both the clerkship director and the chairman. And I'm sending it to all programs.
Guest
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20 years ago
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Along the lines of what BobAEPi said, it is acceptable for programs that ask for a "chairman's letter" to receive a LOR from another faculty member at your instution that is cosigned by your chairman. In fact, that was the way it worked at my med school. It actually works out quite well, since you get a letter from someone who knows you well and can write a good letter for you, with the bonus that it is signed by the "big name" at your institution.
Guest
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20 years ago
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