*~*~*~*Official Letters of Recommendation Questions Thread 2015-2016*~*~*~*

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This thread is for 2016 applicants (those who will be entering medical school in 2016) to ask questions about letters of recommendation.

Any separate threads in Pre-Allo dealing with this topic will be merged into this thread.

Before asking a question, PLEASE READ THE FAQ, both here in this thread AND on the AMCAS website! It is quite possible that your question will have already been answered. If you think that you have a different take on a question in the FAQ, acknowledge this in your question; everyone in pre-allo will be much more likely to help you out if they think you've done due diligence.

For your reference, last year's thread is available here.

Also, each thread has a search function. Please use it before asking your question by clicking the "Search this Thread" button near the top of the page.

This thread is brought to you by the Pre-Allopathic Volunteer Staff. Ask away, and good luck!!


Frequently Asked Questions

1. What kinds of letters do I need to apply to medical school?
For most schools, you need a MINIMUM of two letters from science professors, and 1 letter from a non-science professor. If you have done research, a letter from your PI is also recommended, especially at research-intensive schools. (If you know of any exceptions to this rule, feel free to post in this thread with citations and I will add them). Other letters that may be helpful: a letter from an employer who knows your skills well, a letter from a physician you shadowed/worked with who knows your skills well, a letter from a volunteer coordinator who knows your skills well. The key is that the letters be exceptional. A detailed letter that can give clear examples of why you are an excellent candidate for medical school will generally trump a tepid letter from a famous person. Every school is different. Please check each school's individual letter requirements by visiting their website. A copy of an XLS spreadsheet from 2010 is attached to this post. The accuracy of this spreadsheet is unknown so be sure to check individual school websites! Keep in mind that a committee letter usually overrides any specific school requirements listed on the spreadsheet.
1a. But doesn't every school have different letter requirements?
Yes, they do. Do your homework, buy an MSAR (I hear from this thread that the way to go is to buy online access because the hard copy is not as useful:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=811023), and look at the school websites. Also, AMCAS has a link to every school; use it and figure out what you need for the schools you're applying to. https://www.aamc.org/students/applyi...ating_schools/ You can get a rough idea from the attached XLS spreadsheet but check school websites to confirm.
1b. But do I really really have to get X type of letter? (2 non-science, 1 science, a letter from my PI)
The short answer: yes. The long answer: Maybe...it depends on the school. No one on SDN can answer this for you. But the general rule in medical school admissions is do what you are told. Get the two science letters. If you can't...call the schools you're applying to and see if they will make an exception. But be aware that the answer may be no.
2. I am a non-traditional student and have been out of school for awhile. Can I get around the letter requirements?
The simple answer is probably no. If you are a non-traditional student, this doesn't mean that you have an easier time getting into medical school; the same hoops still need to be jumped through. Being out of school for awhile is likely a problem in itself; schools want to see recent evidence that you can handle the coursework necessary to get through medical school. Take some classes, form relationships, and get the letters you need to. If you must, you can contact each school individually to see if they would be ok with you submitting alternate letters, but be aware that the answer may be "no".
3. My school has a medical school admissions committee, and they produce a committee letter. But the letter won't be released until really LATE! (August, September, October). Can I just skip the committee and collect my own letters?
The general wisdom on this topic is that if your school has a committee, USE IT! If you don't, you will be asked why and will need a very good reason. You are circumventing the committee at your own risk.

4. How/when can I submit letters of req to AMCAS?
Once the application opens in May, you may begin submitting letters to AMCAS. Before you can mail a letter in, you must "create' the letter in your AMCAS application. This involves you telling AMCAS who the letter writer is and naming the letter in AMCAS. AMCAS will then give this letter an ID number. It is important for you to give your letter writer both your AMCAS ID number and the Letter ID number to avoid any snafus with lost letters. Your letter writer can then mail the letter into AMCAS with these two pieces of information, and the letter will be uploaded to your file and will be available to assign to any school you wish. I am told that while AMCAS will accept documents without your AMCAS ID on them, you MUST have the Letter ID or AMCAS will not accept it. I don't have firsthand knowledge of whether or not this is true.

You can create and submit letters at any time, including after you submit your application and after you are verified. This is one of the few parts of the application you can edit after submission.
5. Do I have to know which letters are going to which school when I first submit my AMCAS application?
NO! You can submit your application without assigning letters. Again, this is one of the few parts of the application that can be altered later. HOWEVER, once you assign a letter to a school, you CANNOT un-assign it. If the letter is present in AMCAS, and you assign it to a school, it WILL go to that school. However, if you "create" the letter in AMCAS, assign it to a school, but your letter writer never sends the letter in, you can notify AMCAS (and the school, through the AMCAS application) that the letter will no longer be sent.

6. How many schools use the AMCAS Letter service?
This year, it looks like all but 4 schools that participate in AMCAS are participating in the letter service. Those non-participating schools are:
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicinein Shreveport
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans
Universidad Central Del Caribe
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine.

The participating schools can be found here: https://www.aamc.org/students/applyi...ating_schools/

7. Is it in my best interest to have my letter writers write different letters for each school?
Probably not. AMCAS can only hold a maximum of 10 letters for you. If you need a minimum of 3 letters for each school, these slots will be used up rather quickly.


8. What are letter services such as Interfolio, and why do people use them?
Interfolio and other companies provide secure online letter holding services. You can have your letters uploaded to these services at any time so that you're not scrambling at the last minute (or during the summer!) to get letters into your application. This can be especially beneficial when you are 9 months or so out from your planned application cycle, but know the professor you have NOW will write you a great letter. You can have them write the letter, upload it to a letter service, and then many months later have the letter sent to AMCAS once the application opens. When you do this, you have the ability to add on both your AMCAS ID and the Letter ID to the letter. All your letter writer needs to do is upload the letter (or mail it in) on letterhead and with a signature. These sites are secure and they do not allow you to read the letter beforehand.

9. What else about letters do I need to know?
Your letter must be SIGNED, and should be on OFFICIAL LETTERHEAD whenever possible. This is something that holds people up every year. Some schools will even hold up your application because of this. Also, AMCAS has a beautiful FAQ dealing with letters here: https://www.aamc.org/students/applyi...ding_page.html

10. How should I ask someone for a letter of req?
On this one, I will give my own experience. For each letter writer, I prepared a packet. In the packet I had:
A list of all of my science grades (or non-science grades for a non-science prof)
A copy of my resume
A rough draft of my personal statement
A guide to writing medical school letters (which can be found by googling), a reminder that the letter needed to be signed and on letterhead.

Before handing them this (because who wants all that before they even say yes!) I asked them point blank if they "would feel comfortable writing me a strong letter of recommendation for medical school". Always do this in person!!! If they hesitate...walk away. Seriously. You don't want this person writing your letter.

When they enthusiastically said yes, I pulled the packet out of my backpack and gave it to them.

Because I used Interfolio, I did not need to provide them with my AMCAS ID or Letter ID, but instead told them that they would get an email from Interfolio that evening with instructions on how to upload the letter. Give them a FIRM deadline (2-4 weeks seems to work best) for when you need the letter. Don't ask at the last minute. Don't ask when you think a billion other people will be asking. Do offer to provide them with any other supplementary information they would like. And do give them a thank-you note (and maybe a Starbucks card) when they submit the letter.

11. OMG! My letter writer has not written my letter!!! It has been minutes/hours/days/weeks/months and I'm freaking out!! What do I do!?
First, stop by or email and gently remind them that you need the letter by X date. If this doesn't work, I have given them a premature Thank-You note with a small token, and this seems to light a fire. I recommended this method to someone on SDN last year and it apparently worked like a charm.

If this isn't working....you do the same thing you do whenever something goes awry - find a plan B. Ask someone else...two other people even, just in case this person does not come through. You can't have too many letters. But you can have too few.
12. Do I have to waive my right to see the letters?
No. But if you don't schools might not see them as letters that carry much weight. Waive your right. If you know the person well enough, you should have a pretty good idea of what they are going to write.

13. If I apply this June, and I have given every school my 5 chosen LOR's with committee letter through AMCAS virtual evals upload by my prehealth office, and then I get anther LOR over the summer/fall and want to send it to all schools in December, do I have to have the prof mail it to all 25 schools or will AMCAS distribute it?

or, tl;dr: Can I submit my application without the letters?
You can add a letter at ANY time in AMCAS, have it sent to AMCAS, and AMCAS will distribute it.
You may want to shoot an email to each school letting them know to expect another letter just in case. They should be updating your file continuously (they will want your current contact info, and often people change their addresses mid cycle) but they may not always do it in a timely manner.

Please send me a PM if you know of additional questions suitable for the FAQ.

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If I took a research class for credit could I ask the professor to write a letter of recommendation to fulfill the science letter requirement?
 
This may have been already asked somewhere but I couldn't find it.

I am asking for a letter from the hospital where I have volunteered. Specifically, I want to ask both of the "Head" nurses that I worked with for letters, but I feel kind of awkward asking both of them since their office space is literally in the same room. So if I ask both, and then they're like "Hey that kid asked me for a letter", "Oh hey! he asked me too...", "well this is awkward..."

I may be over thinking it, but should I just man up and ask them both, or should I just ask one of them.

Side Note: They have both written me letters on individual basis in the past for scholarships. One nurse wrote me a letter in 2012, and then I asked the other nurse to write me one in 2013. I got the scholarship both years (for whatever that's worth).
 
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1. What kinds of letters do I need to apply to medical school?
For most schools, you need a MINIMUM of two letters from science professors, and 1 letter from a non-science professor. If you have done research, a letter from your PI is also recommended, especially at research-intensive schools.

"If the professor I'm asking for a science letter is also my PI, will that work when applying to research intensive schools?"

Why did this even cross my mind while reading the italicized part? Freaking Pre-Med.
 
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I feel like i'm in a pickle. I am really not sure how to deal with the two "science" letter of recommendation that a significant majority of schools are looking for. I did not graduate with a traditional science degree. And during my early years with medical pre-reqs, I wasn't focused and just thought that doing well would suffice. It is certainly biting me in the ass.

I only have one science letter at the moment from a biochem class I took my junior year. But I am stuck as to what to do. On one hand, I can contact a previous GSI who probably wouldn't remember me, and at best receive an okay letter. Or I apply to schools that do not have this requirement, which makes my choices extremely narrow. My other alternative is to somehow convince admissions that my epidemiology course can suffice as a replacement, but even this is a 50/50 shot.

I considered taking classes at a nearby university for a letter, but with shadowing, volunteering, and working it just wasn't possible to start taking a class without dropping a core EC.

Any suggestions? It just seems like my aspirations in medicine are being killed because I was timid and needed time to acclimate to the massive university I attended.

EDIT: There is also a possibility of getting a LOR from a different professor from the same Biochemistry class. Is that usable? My class had 3 professors lecturing.
 
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Would it be ok to have a DO write me a LoR? He works at my university's hospital(UCSD) part time and private practice part time
 
When do you generally ask a professor to write you a letter of recommendation? Would waiting a year after taking their class be considered too long?
 
I am planning to get a letter of recommendation from my professor I was in two classes for, which I got an A in both classes. I was also an Supplementary instruction leader for his class. I followed up with him and shot the breeze couple times and updated my situation. It seems though that he is definitely willing to write me one, but he does not know me too personally.

I am also getting a letter of recommendation from my supervisor at my supplementary instruction job.
She does not know me too well, but I think she would be happy to write me a recommendation.

On top of, 10. How should I ask someone for a letter of req? that was addressed, should I give the professor and my supervisor anything else to help them write a better letter?(I am not thinking about a gift to give to them)
It seems suffice for what is written below...

Thank you SDN!!

10. How should I ask someone for a letter of req?
On this one, I will give my own experience. For each letter writer, I prepared a packet. In the packet I had:
A list of all of my science grades (or non-science grades for a non-science prof)
A copy of my resume
A rough draft of my personal statement
A guide to writing medical school letters (which can be found by googling), a reminder that the letter needed to be signed and on letterhead.
 
UGH, WHAT IS THIS. Why is there a mandatory street address slot when trying to create a letter writer within the AMCAS app? I asked a friend who applied last year and he didn't have to deal with it. What address do I put?
 
How important is it to get a letter from your PI?
I've done over a year's worth of research, presented at a research conference, and am writing a thesis, but haven't really produced anything meaningful in lab in terms of data (no pubs obviously)
My PI has an unofficial policy where he really only writes letters for undergrads who actually produce something and contribute data or figures for publications. I haven't had the opportunity as the projects I've been on have been stalled for reasons out of my control. I've heard horror stories about this PI not writing letters for undergrads when he said he would, and people have missed LOR deadlines because of this.
While I might continue volunteering in lab in the summer after I graduate in hopes of getting something produced and getting a letter, I almost want to just not ask him for a letter instead of designating the letter to schools and not have him actually send it or writing a lackluster letter.
I haven't had a very positive experience with research... :/
 
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If I am using Interfolio do I click no to not generate any eval requests if I am sending them directly to the schools through Interfolio? Or do I generate a request anyways and just warn my evaluators that it is coming but they don't need to do anything? Will the schools look if they are coming through Interfolio or just assume that I did not have any letters?
 
Hey everyone. I greatly appreciate your wisdom on this one (I know the answer is probably buried in some other thread but couldn't find it).

My AMCAS app is ready to go: statement and activities written, transcripts all marked 'received' and I am in good shape. I have four LORs being worked on. All should be uploaded to Interfolio on or shortly before/after June 15th. Is this going to hold me back in any way? Should I have insisted on having the letters go with my primary?

THANK YOU
 
Hey everyone. I greatly appreciate your wisdom on this one (I know the answer is probably buried in some other thread but couldn't find it).

My AMCAS app is ready to go: statement and activities written, transcripts all marked 'received' and I am in good shape. I have four LORs being worked on. All should be uploaded to Interfolio on or shortly before/after June 15th. Is this going to hold me back in any way? Should I have insisted on having the letters go with my primary?

THANK YOU
bump.
 
If I am using Interfolio do I click no to not generate any eval requests if I am sending them directly to the schools through Interfolio? Or do I generate a request anyways and just warn my evaluators that it is coming but they don't need to do anything? Will the schools look if they are coming through Interfolio or just assume that I did not have any letters?


Its your responsibility to followup with

1) your letter writers that they have submitted
2) Interfolio has received it
3) Interfolio has sent it
4) the school has received it
5) that your file is complete

You need to do that for each letter to each school


Also be aware of the below info
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/faqs/147732/amcas_2010_faqs-17.4.html
 
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If anyone could help, then that would be much appreciated!

I'm looking at the LOR requirement for Albert Einstein. They say that you need a LOR from your major's department (biology in my case) and then a second LOR from a science department different from the first.

Could I use a LOR from a professor in the department from microbiology and a second LOR from a professor in the department of developmental and cell biology?

If not, then could I use a LOR from a biology professor and then a second from my PI? I took research for a grade, and it's classified as a "biology" course. However, on my school website he is listed under the department of the school of medicine - ophthalmology.
 
If anyone could help, then that would be much appreciated!

I'm looking at the LOR requirement for Albert Einstein. They say that you need a LOR from your major's department (biology in my case) and then a second LOR from a science department different from the first.

Could I use a LOR from a professor in the department from microbiology and a second LOR from a professor in the department of developmental and cell biology?

If not, then could I use a LOR from a biology professor and then a second from my PI? I took research for a grade, and it's classified as a "biology" course. However, on my school website he is listed under the department of the school of medicine - ophthalmology.

Rule 1: Take a Breath.

1) They are two different departments even they they are both under, presumably, the division of Biological Sciences
2) I would add the PI to the list as Einstein says "at least 2 letters" (see below)
3) Most schools arent holding applicants to the letter of the law on LOR
4) If you want to be safe what about general chem, Ochem, Physics?
5) BTW, science for AMCAS (BCPM) is more restrictive than science for an adcom. So other science or engineering will generally be okay.
6) Quality of the letter is more important than anything else


https://www.einstein.yu.edu/educati...ication-procedure/recommendation-letters.aspx
Applicants who have attended a school at which there is no Pre-Professional Advisory Committee must have at least two letters of recommendation from faculty members at that school. One of these letters should be from a faculty member in the department of the applicant’s major, and the other from a science faculty member. If your major subject is science, the second letter should be from a member of a science department different from the reference who is writing the first letter. Letters from teaching assistants will not satisfy this requirement, although TAs may co-sign letters with senior faculty.
 
Rule 1: Take a Breath.

1) They are two different departments even they they are both under, presumably, the division of Biological Sciences
2) I would add the PI to the list as Einstein says "at least 2 letters" (see below)
3) Most schools arent holding applicants to the letter of the law on LOR
4) If you want to be safe what about general chem, Ochem, Physics?
5) BTW, science for AMCAS (BCPM) is more restrictive than science for an adcom. So other science or engineering will generally be okay.
6) Quality of the letter is more important than anything else


https://www.einstein.yu.edu/educati...ication-procedure/recommendation-letters.aspx
Applicants who have attended a school at which there is no Pre-Professional Advisory Committee must have at least two letters of recommendation from faculty members at that school. One of these letters should be from a faculty member in the department of the applicant’s major, and the other from a science faculty member. If your major subject is science, the second letter should be from a member of a science department different from the reference who is writing the first letter. Letters from teaching assistants will not satisfy this requirement, although TAs may co-sign letters with senior faculty.

Thanks for the reply!

So, you're saying that different departments under the School of Biological Sciences would be okay?

I could go ask for a LOR from general/organic chem or physics like you suggested, but I know they won't will be quality letters. All of the science letters I have are from the School of Biology, but they are all from professors of different biology courses. And, yes, I was planning on including that LOR from my PI! I was just worried about the requirement of LORs from different science departments.
 
So, you're saying that different departments under the School of Biological Sciences would be okay?

The requirement asks for different departments and ur getting different departments. From a legal and admissions perspective, you will be fine.

I was just worried about the requirement of LORs from different science departments.

What!?! A Premed who worries? I never heard of such a thing!

You'll be fine, get the best letters and dont worry about the rest
 
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I just realized my two top medical schools require 2 science professor LORs and a non-science professor LOR. At this point I have one science professor (from a class I took at a different school), a lab PI, and a MD I shadowed... I know that looks horrible.

I've been jumping through hoops trying to get in contact with some of my non-science professors and not sure if I will hear from them.

As far as another science professor goes, I have no idea who I could ask. Going to a large university as a biology major I rarely had science classes under 200 students and I'm not sure if I can even think of a professor that would remember me (I have already graduated), and I don't think a TA would be acceptable.

I do not want to give up on these schools. One of the schools state that If you provide a compelling reason as to why you cannot provide two science LORs, then they will review your application with what you provided. But what would be a "compelling reason" in this case?

Any advice on what I should do?
 
Sorry to write so much I'm just freaking out a bit. In addition to my previous question...

For the schools that are strict about this rule, As far as the science letter goes, which would be the lesser of these evils?
Asking a TA to provide a LOR, in hopes that it will fufill the science professor requirement;
Asking a professor I haven't had much interaction with (but I enjoyed and did well in the course) to write a LOR for me and hope they say something nice;
Send in what I have with a "compelling reason" and wish for the best.
 
Sorry to write so much I'm just freaking out a bit. In addition to my previous question...

For the schools that are strict about this rule, As far as the science letter goes, which would be the lesser of these evils?

Rule 1: take a breath!

It is unlikely that any school will reject you for technical violation of LOR. The science prof and PI (Presumably a faculty member) will be okay. a TA will not. Which two schools are you concerned about?
 
Rule 1: take a breath!

It is unlikely that any school will reject you for technical violation of LOR. The science prof and PI (Presumably a faculty member) will be okay. a TA will not. Which two schools are you concerned about?

Temple and Drexel. It seems temple is strict about this rule and will not accept an LOR from a PI in place of the science professor LOR without a compelling reason.
 
Are you already graduated? What was the latest BCP(no M) courses that you took? How long are you removed from your school? what about a committee?
 
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Are you already graduated? What was the latest BCP(no M) courses that you took? How long are you removed from your school? what about a committee?
Yes. I have graduated and have been out of school for a year. I took cell biology my last semester. I have only one letter coming from my primary undergrad institution so I'm not sure I will have a committee letter.
 
Did LSU New Orleans stop using the AMCAS Letter Service?
 
Mayo's website states, "Mayo Medical School does not have a secondary application and does not request letters of recommendation from all applicants. You will be notified via email if the school requires letters of recommendation from you."

That means I shouldn't assign letters to Mayo when I submit the primary, right?
 
This thread is for 2016 applicants (those who will be entering medical school in 2016) to ask questions about letters of recommendation.

Any separate threads in Pre-Allo dealing with this topic will be merged into this thread.

Before asking a question, PLEASE READ THE FAQ, both here in this thread AND on the AMCAS website! It is quite possible that your question will have already been answered. If you think that you have a different take on a question in the FAQ, acknowledge this in your question; everyone in pre-allo will be much more likely to help you out if they think you've done due diligence.

For your reference, last year's thread is available here.

Also, each thread has a search function. Please use it before asking your question by clicking the "Search this Thread" button near the top of the page.

This thread is brought to you by the Pre-Allopathic Volunteer Staff. Ask away, and good luck!!

Thank you for the information! On AMCAS, the letter request form requires an address…is this supposed to be their personal address or the university address? I don't know any of my letter writers' personal addresses, and I am not sure if they all would feel comfortable giving them to me. Would really appreciate it if you could clarify!
 
Hi everyone!

I was wondering if someone could help me out really quickly. I'm sure someone has asked this at some point, but I can't seem to find a response. I graduated from undergrad in 2014, so I asked for 4 letters of rec then. I'm currently working full-time and have 1 letter of rec from a few weeks ago. I know that most of my letters are over a year old, but will that make a difference in my application?

I know that Baylor doesn't accept letters of rec that are over a year old, so I guess that's out of the question...

Good luck to all you during this application season :)
 
Any idea if a health economics professor satisfies a non-science letter? It's not BPCM but the faculty is housed under the medical school at my university.
 
Probably a really dumb question but are are medical school faculty ("professor of medicine") considered science professors? On one hand it does not technically fall in "BCPM" per AMCAS course classification guide but on the other hand I imagine medicine should fall under science.
 
Posted in another thread before I realized this more appropriate one exists. Sorry to double post!

I've submitted my application but have a question for adcom members and those who have ever seen an applicant's AMCAS from a school's perspective (@LizzyM , @Catalystik , @NickNaylor ):

On AMCASs you receive, do you see the "Letters of Evaluation/Recommendation" section; and if so, what do you see under this section? Do you see the "Letter Titles" for every letter that an applicant has on file with AMCAS or only the titles for the letters sent by the applicant to your school? If you are able to see these titles at all, do you use them to help you select which letters to open (e.g. "the one titled 'PI letter' is probably the one the applicant is using to fulfill our research letter requirement and so I'm going to open and read that one")? I ask because I could have done a much better job titling my letters (nothing inappropriate...I simply used each author's last name as the title for his/her letter), as I understood from the instructional video that these titles would be primarily for my personal use.
 
Probably a really dumb question but are are medical school faculty ("professor of medicine") considered science professors? On one hand it does not technically fall in "BCPM" per AMCAS course classification guide but on the other hand I imagine medicine should fall under science.

Ignore the BCPM and use your judgement. Professor of Pathology or Physiology would be science. A professor of health policy or bioethics wouldnt be. Use their department or go to the faculty webpage, campus directory or bio page. Most professors list themselves as "Professor of BLANK" and that would be your best guideline
 
Posted in another thread before I realized this more appropriate one exists. Sorry to double post!

I've submitted my application but have a question for adcom members and those who have ever seen an applicant's AMCAS from a school's perspective (@LizzyM , @Catalystik , @NickNaylor ):

On AMCASs you receive, do you see the "Letters of Evaluation/Recommendation" section; and if so, what do you see under this section? Do you see the "Letter Titles" for every letter that an applicant has on file with AMCAS or only the titles for the letters sent by the applicant to your school? If you are able to see these titles at all, do you use them to help you select which letters to open (e.g. "the one titled 'PI letter' is probably the one the applicant is using to fulfill our research letter requirement and so I'm going to open and read that one")? I ask because I could have done a much better job titling my letters (nothing inappropriate...I simply used each author's last name as the title for his/her letter), as I understood from the instructional video that these titles would be primarily for my personal use.

I believe those titles are solely for your internal use in "naming" letters for you to chose. I do not believe the schools see those titles
 
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Posted in another thread before I realized this more appropriate one exists. Sorry to double post!

I've submitted my application but have a question for adcom members and those who have ever seen an applicant's AMCAS from a school's perspective (@LizzyM , @Catalystik , @NickNaylor ):

On AMCASs you receive, do you see the "Letters of Evaluation/Recommendation" section; and if so, what do you see under this section? Do you see the "Letter Titles" for every letter that an applicant has on file with AMCAS or only the titles for the letters sent by the applicant to your school? If you are able to see these titles at all, do you use them to help you select which letters to open (e.g. "the one titled 'PI letter' is probably the one the applicant is using to fulfill our research letter requirement and so I'm going to open and read that one")? I ask because I could have done a much better job titling my letters (nothing inappropriate...I simply used each author's last name as the title for his/her letter), as I understood from the instructional video that these titles would be primarily for my personal use.
As best as I recall, we get a pull-down menu that shows the last name of the person who authored the letter and we can select to open any or all of the letters.
 
@LizzyM Thank you for the response! Based on that, it looks like my non-descriptive "Title" entries shouldn't be inconveniencing anyone.
 
Hello! So, I'm having a serious panic attack (entertaining thoughts of withdrawing this cycle-level):

I had always assumed my PI, who had taught me in a class freshman year before joining her lab, would count as one of my 2 science professor LORs (and my premed advisor specifically tells students this). However, from previous forums, it seems like this is NOT true. I'm applying to a significant number of top tier schools, and I'm assuming they would be least likely to make an exception.

My other science letter will be very good (yes, you can never know this, but my writer loves me//has written many (successful!) med school applicants LORs//is awesome), however, if I can't use my PI, I'm considering not applying. I asked a former science professor for one today, however, he doesn't know me at all. Outside of "she got the highest grade in my class", there is nothing for him to say. I told him that I would love to meet with him in person to discuss my motivations, etc., but at this late in the game, I don't know if this letter will even be possible. And, if I do get it, it will be very weak. Outside of an amazing math professor who would love to write one (but doesn't seem to count as science), I have no other options. The only other actual science professor I had a good relationship with has an extremely strict policy (you must ask him while you're still in his class, must be in the fall before you apply, etc.), so that's out, too.

Will my former professor-turned PI count as a science LOR? If not, should I just withdraw and apply next year, cultivating a relationship with a science professor in my new classes? I know this is entirely my fault...I was just really hoping to apply this cycle :(
 
I think many schools won't mind. Some are more strict but you should still try. I'm in the same boat as you right now. It sucks but you can always check their LOR requirements on the schools' websites.
 
My undergrad school compiles a letter packet with all letters of recommendations from teachers etc., as well as a committee letter. Some schools state that they maximum number of letters they accept is 4. I have 5 letters and will have a committee letter, so how does that work with a school that lists a maximum number of letters? Will they just..stop reading after the fourth one?
 
As another question...should we title the contacts with as a generic "Professor", something more descriptive like "Humanities Professor", or their actual title, like "Honors Faculty Fellow and Principal Lecturer"?
 
Mayo's website states, "Mayo Medical School does not have a secondary application and does not request letters of recommendation from all applicants. You will be notified via email if the school requires letters of recommendation from you."

That means I shouldn't assign letters to Mayo when I submit the primary, right?
My brother applied and interviewed at Mayo. He sent Mayo the letters at the same time as every other school. They just don't look at them until you pass their screen. It also speeds up the process in that Mayo isn't waiting for your letters.
 
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Quick question.

I'm in a situation where one of my professors who is writing me a letter has since switched to a different college. I called AMCAS and they said to put in the professor's current information but "that it was up to me" when it comes to clicking the school she is associated with (the institution where I had her vs. other) What do you guys think?

Edit- never mind, I chose other because when you create the pdf the school shows up.
 
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Two Questions:

1. I took a biology course but the professor only has a master's. Should I include this LOR? He knew me very well and I'm sure he wrote me an awesome letter. I have two other science letters from PhD professors but I think this might be my best one.

2. What title would he have?
Mr. XXXX?

Thanks!

I'm in a similar boat. Anyone have any input on this?
 
Hey guys,

Sorry if this question has already been answered, but I can't find where it's been addressed previously.

I'm using my school's letter service, which will send a packet of my LORs to AMCAS. AMCAS website states that these count as 1 letter, although my packet will include 5 letters in a single PDF document. I've been looking at the LOR requirements of the schools I'm applying to, and a few of them list a max of 3 or 4 letters. Does this mean that I should eliminate one (or more) of my letters from my packet before it's sent to AMCAS? I'm a non-trad, so my choice to have 5 letter writers is in order to account for how I've spent my time since leaving school. At this moment, I've got 2 science profs, 1 non-science prof, the PI from the lab where I did research, and the doctor I have worked for for the past two years.
 
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