AMCAS submission and late committee letter, is there a solution?

[aegistitan]

At my university, my pre-health community's committee letter will be late. I would ideally like to submit my AMCAS on June 1st in order to be verified in time. Realistically my university may not submit its applicants committee letters until perhaps as late as August.

I was wondering, is there a way to submit my AMCAS on June 1st, without a committee letter, and later say in August or September when my committee letter is completed, send in an update? Could I submit my AMCAS on June 1st using individual letters using interfolio, and later update with a committee letter?

I would want to use my school's committee letter because I know when you don't use a committee letter, the first question is "did your school have a committee?" and the second question is "why didn't you pursue a committee letter?"

Are there any unforeseen negatives to the above method, if it is a valid method for side stepping a late premedical committee? My premedical committee generally sends their committee letter in with a packet of individual letters; I also don't know how kindly they would take to me saying I submitted my letters individually and only require the committee letter.

Has anybody been able to submit AMCAS early with a late committee letter and wish to share their experiences?

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[WedgeDawg]

Hi there.

Don't worry about it, there's nothing you can do about it. Just get your primary and all of your secondaries in as soon as you possibly can so that the last thing to come in is your letter packet. If your school does this and regularly gets its students into medical school, then I wouldn't worry.

If you decide to sidestep the committee letter, medical schools are going to be looking at your application without that letter, which could be construed as a red flag, which you definitely do not want happening.

All you can do is make sure that you are doing everything possible to get what you are responsible for in as soon as you can.

FWIW, my school also sends our letters out late - I had all my secondaries done well before my letters were in. I was complete late August/mid September (entirely due to my letters) and I am doing alright this cycle. It's out of your control so don't stress about it.

 

[aegistitan]

Hi there.

Don't worry about it, there's nothing you can do about it. Just get your primary and all of your secondaries in as soon as you possibly can so that the last thing to come in is your letter packet. If your school does this and regularly gets its students into medical school, then I wouldn't worry.

If you decide to sidestep the committee letter, medical schools are going to be looking at your application without that letter, which could be construed as a red flag, which you definitely do not want happening.

All you can do is make sure that you are doing everything possible to get what you are responsible for in as soon as you can.

FWIW, my school also sends our letters out late - I had all my secondaries done well before my letters were in. I was complete late August/mid September (entirely due to my letters) and I am doing alright this cycle. It's out of your control so don't stress about it.

I realize I'm put into a situation where I can't really do anything about it, so I shouldn't stress about it - but not being complete early would put me at a significant disadvantage, especially at rolling admissions schools, would it not? I would go talk to the prehealth committee about my concerns, but I want to stay as much on their good side as I possibly can.

I would hope that it would be the pre-health committee's professional duty to complete committee letters as early as possible in order to give their students the maximum advantage possible, but it seems that it is not.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I realize I'm put into a situation where I can't really do anything about it, so I shouldn't stress about it - but not being complete early would put me at a significant disadvantage, especially at rolling admissions schools, would it not? I would go talk to the prehealth committee about my concerns, but I want to stay as much on their good side as I possibly can.

I would hope that it would be the pre-health committee's professional duty to complete committee letters as early as possible in order to give their students the maximum advantage possible, but it seems that it is not.

Of the schools I have been given interviews at, 4 were rolling. Many people I know from my school who submitted even later than me have gotten interviews/acceptances at rolling med schools. If your school does this every year and still gets people into med schools, I wouldn't worry. By all means, talk to your advisors/committee members and see what they say - perhaps there's a reason for this. If you do, however, just don't come off as contentious or entitled or anything. If you're polite and respectful, they should answer accordingly.

 

[SPionic]

Also putting it out there because it was unclear from OP's first post that he understands this -- you don't need to have your letters in to submit your AMCAS/secondaries! You create entries for the letters you expect to receive and then designate letters to schools. Schools can receive your AMCAS primary and you can complete their secondary apps before AMCAS receives your committee letter. Many schools will begin reviewing your app without letters. If you begin completing secondaries the first week of July, and then schools receive your letters in the first weeks of August, you're still in a good position to receive September/October interview invites.

 

[cactus8910]

I was in a similar situation where my school said they don't usually submit committee letters until August or as late as September, and claimed it didn't hurt the applicants' chances (total BS). I went ahead and submitted my primary and started working on/submitting secondaries as I got them. I think most schools won't consider you "complete" until you have your LORs in (and since schools have varying requirements, individual letters might not make your application complete), but some might start reviewing your app without them.
I was politely firm with my pre-health adviser about really wanting everything in as early as possible, and they ended up sending in my committee letter mid-July, right around when I was starting to submit secondaries, so it didn't end up holding me back. Don't be afraid to bring up your concerns with the committee, and be firm. Just don't be rude about it, and they might be willing to submit yours on the early side.

 

[johnnytest]

I think it is atrocious for a university to send committee letters as late as August. It happened to me this cycle and if it hadn't I would have been complete a month earlier. I'll get back to you in March/April if I think it impacted me negatively. Do everything in your power to get that letter in as early as possible. Be professional, courteous, and honest to your pre-med office.

 

[Zelda840]

I honestly wish I wouldn't have used the committee letter. Not having it in until August really put me behind, and I've already been told by one school that rejected me that should I reapply, I should reconsider using my committee. Very frustrating since I put a lot of effort into getting committee sponsored and they made it seem like they were there to help you. I think it's really holding be back. YMMV.

 

[AspiringERMD]

I honestly wish I wouldn't have used the committee letter. Not having it in until August really put me behind, and I've already been told by one school that rejected me that should I reapply, I should reconsider using my committee. Very frustrating since I put a lot of effort into getting committee sponsored and they made it seem like they were there to help you. I think it's really holding be back. YMMV.

These are the reasons I decided against it, and I'm glad I did, even though some schools "require" it.

 

[ratman7]

OP, does your school submit all of your letters at once or in the order they write them?

I know for my school that they interview you after they have your MCAT score, so the people who have the MCAT done before December usually get their letters first. This provides a slight delay for people who take the MCAT in the spring semester (namely April, May or June).

If you have time to go before taking the MCAT, then you might want to consider taking it earlier if it helps you get the letters sent early. One thing for sure is that you do not want to have even a slightly late application.

 

[RedPhys]

Bro, plenty of my friends who hold multiple acceptances (including at top schools) had their committee letter sent in during August (hell, mine was not sent until September! and I'm sitting on two interviews - my numbers, to be honest, are not really good at all, though).

It's really not a big deal.