Hello everyone:

Been reading the forum for a while. I finally decided to post because I have a question concerning my CAS application. I currently have two great letters of rec (1 ophtho, 1 internal medicine) that I am definitely going to include with my application. I also have one other letter of rec. in my possession that I received from my an ophtho. during a july rotation. I'm sure it's good but to be honest the guy doesn't really know me particularly well. I basically asked him because he was a nice guy, volunteered to write one for me, and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to get the required three by the target date. On my current ophtho. rotation I've managed to work pretty closely with an attending who I believe will write me a very strong letter of rec. He agreed to write one for me, but unfortunately he left for vacation without giving it to me. He won't be back until September 3rd. So...my question is should I send the application now (hence before the target date) with the two strong letters of rec. plus the one from the guy who doesn't know me that well. Or should I wait until after the target date to send my application once I get the other one in my possession?

Hope this made sense. Thanks for the input!

If you really think the current rotation LOR will be that much better, you could always submit your application now with the 2 LORs and a letter to the programs stating that you are currently completing an ophtho rotation and that you are waiting for an LOR which you will send in as soon as you get it. Thats what I did, just told them i am completing an ophtho rotation currently for which I will receive a LOR and it should be available by early September. SFMatch distributed my application with no problem.