Interfolio & AMCAS question

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Ultimeaciax

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Sorry if this issue brought up before:

But how exactly does Interfolio work for AMCAS? They stated that I need AMCAS letter IDs for my references? So, say if I tell my references to send their LORs to Interfolio now, I'll still need to make them IDs when the AMCAS open in June? This is what they wrote:

2. Once your letters are received, you will log into your AMCAS account and note all of your individual AMCAS letter IDs. You will need both this and your AMCAS applicant IDs to send your delivery successfully. The Letter ID can be found on the status page or the Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation Summary page of the AMCAS Application.

3.Log into Interfolio, select “Start a Delivery” and type “AMCAS” in the search field. Select the result that is displayed and denote the recommendations you would like to send. Then, add your AAMC ID in Step 3 of the delivery process with one click and select “Check Out”.



Lastly, I'm kind of confused how LORs work during the application process. I understand that different schools have their own rules about LOR. But, do you submit LORs for the primary app via AMCAS, or do you send them separately to different schools during secondary?

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Sorry if this issue brought up before:

But how exactly does Interfolio work for AMCAS? They stated that I need AMCAS letter IDs for my references? So, say if I tell my references to send their LORs to Interfolio now, I'll still need to make them IDs when the AMCAS open in June? This is what they wrote:

2. Once your letters are received, you will log into your AMCAS account and note all of your individual AMCAS letter IDs. You will need both this and your AMCAS applicant IDs to send your delivery successfully. The Letter ID can be found on the status page or the Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation Summary page of the AMCAS Application.

3.Log into Interfolio, select “Start a Delivery” and type “AMCAS” in the search field. Select the result that is displayed and denote the recommendations you would like to send. Then, add your AAMC ID in Step 3 of the delivery process with one click and select “Check Out”.



Lastly, I'm kind of confused how LORs work during the application process. I understand that different schools have their own rules about LOR. But, do you submit LORs for the primary app via AMCAS, or do you send them separately to different schools during secondary?

I had some of my LOR writers send their letters to Interfolio before I knew my AMCAS ID, and it was fine. When Interfolio electronically sends a letter to AMCAS, you have the option to attach one or more ID numbers to it. I attached my SSN, AMCAS ID number, and my University ID number, and that was plenty.

In AMCAS, you describe the letter writer (name, email, relationship, etc) and you get a number to identify the letter that person writes. Then, when you send over a letter from Interfolio, you'll be asked for that number. It makes everything go smoothly. In the end, you'll have a list of all your LOR writers, and attached (but invisible to you) will be each respective writer's recommendation letter. When you apply to a school, you choose which letters of recommendation to send to that school.

Your school might write committee letters, but if it doesn't, I recommend sending each letter from Interfolio to AMCAS separately. That way, as each school sends you a secondary, you can send that school exactly the letters it asks for (ie one research mentor and one non-science professor, or two science professors and one peer letter). If your school does offer committee letters, though, definitely get one of those instead.
 
I also used interfolio.

The description above was good. The nice thing about interfolio is I could have letter writers send over their LOR before I had the AMCAS #'s. I have no problem supporting interfolio because they have great customer service. Every time you call in they are quick to help.

My only criticism is their "letter writer's help guide" was too long and not very simple. They can certainly simplify instructions compared to what it was last year.

Still, 9 of 10 overall.

To answer your question above: You designate specific letters through AMCAS to each school. One school may only want 3, others can do up to 5. One only wants science profs, others want humanities, or MD, etc.
 
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Thank you everyone for answering. So, just to clarify, I do have a committee letter. They said that they will attach all the letters and send them to AMCAS...Or something like that... I know that not every med school use AMCAS for LORs and I'm also planning to apply DO also. Plus, I know that some schools don't accept electronic copies of the letters. So, should I ask the committee to send those letters to Interfolio? It's just for convenience's sake. I'm still a bit confused. Thanks again.
 
Thank you everyone for answering. So, just to clarify, I do have a committee letter. They said that they will attach all the letters and send them to AMCAS...Or something like that... I know that not every med school use AMCAS for LORs and I'm also planning to apply DO also. Plus, I know that some schools don't accept electronic copies of the letters. So, should I ask the committee to send those letters to Interfolio? It's just for convenience's sake. I'm still a bit confused. Thanks again.

Yeah, I would ask them to send it to Interfolio. You can send hard copies or electronic copies through Interfolio; if you click "Start a Delivery" you can manually enter an address. They just might charge you a bit extra for that delivery. You can also send the committee letter to AMCAS, and I guess you'll just assign that committee letter to each school as it sends you a secondary.

Make sure your committee only refers to your future profession as "doctor" or "physician," not "MD"! Other than that, you should bee fine to use the same letter for MD and DO schools.

By the way, when you register for an AACOMAS account, use the same email address you used to register for your Interfolio account. AACOMAS will automatically synch up to your Interfolio that way.
 
I also used interfolio.

The description above was good. The nice thing about interfolio is I could have letter writers send over their LOR before I had the AMCAS #'s. I have no problem supporting interfolio because they have great customer service. Every time you call in they are quick to help.

My only criticism is their "letter writer's help guide" was too long and not very simple. They can certainly simplify instructions compared to what it was last year.

Still, 9 of 10 overall.

To answer your question above: You designate specific letters through AMCAS to each school. One school may only want 3, others can do up to 5. One only wants science profs, others want humanities, or MD, etc.

I agree. You can simplify things for your committee by printing out a paper copy of your request for a letter through Interfolio. It should have a barcode on it, among other things. Pre-address and stamp an envelope, and then give the envelope and paper request to your committee. They'll just have to stick the request paper in the envelope along with the LOR. I think they might have to sign in ink over the envelope's seal. Very simple, and it only adds a few days to your wait time for the letter.
 
I agree. You can simplify things for your committee by printing out a paper copy of your request for a letter through Interfolio. It should have a barcode on it, among other things. Pre-address and stamp an envelope, and then give the envelope and paper request to your committee. They'll just have to stick the request paper in the envelope along with the LOR. I think they might have to sign in ink over the envelope's seal. Very simple, and it only adds a few days to your wait time for the letter.

Yeah, I made my own instructions for my writers. It's just what Interfolio can do to improve in the future.
 
Thanks again everyone. But then again, what's the purpose of attaching LORs to AMCAS if some schools require hard copies? How does this whole LOR process work? Sorry for bombarded you guys w/ q's.
 
Thanks again everyone. But then again, what's the purpose of attaching LORs to AMCAS if some schools require hard copies? How does this whole LOR process work? Sorry for bombarded you guys w/ q's.

Schools that accept letters through AMCAS will only accept them through AMCAS.
 
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