Dean's Letter- To waive or not to waive??

[ecf1975do]

hi there. i would like some clarification
from those who know about the deans letter-
whether one should waive the right to read it
or not? I have come to the conclusion that
the majority of programs could care less if you
read it before had. My advisor at my school said
that if i wanted to do surgery that i must waive
it and that probably also for EM. It seems that
it is probably program specific. Also, there is
the possibilty that the dean could write something quite negative or omit something that
I feel is relevant to the letter..

any experiences/advice would be appreciated

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[Ligament]

Do NOT EVER waive your rights! they are too valuable...

I did not waive my rights to see my letters/dean's letter and got interviews at every program to which I applied, and landed a top notch residency in PM&R (not the most competetive, but still...)

Imagine the damage that could occur if you unknowingly send out some crap letters by waiving your rights to see the letters.

And you know what, I dont think the PD's actually give a damn whether you have waived your rights, and frankly I do not think they even know (or pay the attention to find out).

I went to some interviews where the PD looked at my app. for a maximum of 30seconds. I am sure the same has happened to others on this forum.

regards!

 

[NuMD97]

This is a very tricky issue, frankly. I remember quite well back when the Freedom Of Information Act was passed, back in 1974 and we all agonized about waiving our right to view documentation. The theory behind this (and a number of lawsuits bore this out subsequently) if you waive the right, then if the letter is a positive one, it comes without any pressure from the applicant to be a positive one. That what is included is genuine and not "coerced", as it were. If you don't waive your right, or so the theory goes, to avoid a potential lawsuit, the letter appears less credible because you appear to have been "reading over the shoulder" of the one writing it. Assuming you have been a student in good standing at your medical school, it should fly without your having read it. But I'll defer to the ones who have applied to the programs that you are most interested in, to see how they weigh in on this topic.

 

[PainMan]

Dont you have to send a Deans letter anyway? It would make sense for supporting letters, but I thought you were required to send a Deans letter.