Do i have to use interfolio for AACOMAS?

[Monkeys4Lyfe]

Seems like there is a lot of confusion about it and it costs not a ton but a decent chunk of money?

Is it worth it? It looked like AACOMAS also has the ability to send letters straight to them...?

Thanks, very confused here so please help me!



EDIT: Also applying to MD schools. Does interfolio work well with AMCAS or should i use their letter service?

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[cptnjack]

Interfolio is bae. The 10-20$ for the service is extremely worth it, and to have all your letters stored in a centralized location where you can electronically deliver the letters to amcas, aacomas, pharmcas and individual schools will save you a LOT of headaches and work.

 

[drkube]

Interfolio is definitely worth it. Works well with AMCAS & AACOMAS

 

[Monkeys4Lyfe]

Interfolio is bae. The 10-20$ for the service is extremely worth it, and to have all your letters stored in a centralized location where you can electronically deliver the letters to amcas, aacomas, pharmcas and individual schools will save you a LOT of headaches and work.

Interfolio is definitely worth it. Works well with AMCAS & AACOMAS

Sounds like its definetly worth it! I will sign up tomorrow...

BUT still curious, is it required for AACOMAS? Are there free alternatievs? I am just confused because the DO writing my letter said I have to use interfolio but it is not mentioned at all on aacomas website....

 

[drkube]

Sounds like its definetly worth it! I will sign up tomorrow...

BUT still curious, is it required for AACOMAS? Are there free alternatievs? I am just confused because the DO writing my letter said I have to use interfolio but it is not mentioned at all on aacomas website....

It's not required for AACOMAS. They have their own free letter service.

 

[Monkeys4Lyfe]

It's not required for AACOMAS. They have their own free letter service.

Yeah, i called earlier and they told me this. But why use interfolio then? I know its easier but it costs like an additional 20 per school + the initial sign up fee.

 

[drkube]

Yeah, i called earlier and they told me this. But why use interfolio then? I know its easier but it costs like an additional 20 per school + the initial sign up fee.

It's easier for the writers. They only have to upload it once, whereas AMCAS, AACOMAS, & TMDSAS all send the writers their own link.

It is a little pricier though, so I guess that's the downside.

 

[cyang55]

I signed up for Interfolio and ended up never using it. the free AACOMAS option is great and they will send the letters to all of the schools you have on your list

 

[Monkeys4Lyfe]

I signed up for Interfolio and ended up never using it. the free AACOMAS option is great and they will send the letters to all of the schools you have on your list

Could you elaborate on that if you don't mind? Why didn't you use interfolio at all? Thanks mate.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

Could you elaborate on that if you don't mind? Why didn't you use interfolio at all? Thanks mate.

Yeah I'm also curious. I'm about to graduate and I want to keep my LOR before I leave school and I don't know which is the best way to collect them for when I need it..

 

[cyang55]

Could you elaborate on that if you don't mind? Why didn't you use interfolio at all? Thanks mate.

Last year, I contacted the people I wanted to write my LORs beforehand and I told them to expect an email from AACOMAS after they agreed to write me a LOR. Then I went into AACOMAS and created an evaluation form. This was super easy and I just entered their name, email, and a short thank you note (since they were expecting this email). After your evaluators write your LOR, they just click on the link AACOMAS sent to them, fill out their info and upload the letter. Voila! Now it's going to show up on your acct, and AACOMAS will send those letters to every school you apply to.

I did sign up for Interfolio as well, because I saw how everyone said it would be super useful on sdn. And it might have been the case a few years ago when I think AACOMAS had a different kind of LOR upload (or maybe didn't have one at all and that's why everyone had to use Interfolio). Interfolio is also an easy way for people to store LORs if they don't plan on applying this year, so they can keep use them later. But if you're planning on applying this year and are going to ask for the letters of rec this year, I would use the option that's in the application and not Interfolio. Especially since Interfolio costs money. Also, for me, I had been out of school for a couple of years before I applied, but I told my old professors when I graduated that I was going to take some time off and then apply to med school and asked if it would be okay if they wrote me a letter of rec when I needed it later, and they were fine with that. So I never needed to use Interfolio.

Hope this helps!

Oh, also! I looked up the process of using Interfolio to deliver LORs to AACOMAS, and it sounds super complicated:

If you have letters of recommendation stored in your Interfolio Dossier account, you can have Interfolio upload them directly to your AACOMAS application using our online application delivery service. We'll steer you to a unique Interfolio email address generated for each confidential letter of recommendation stored in your account. You'll substitute this email address for your letter writer's email address in the recommendation letter section of the AACOMAS online application.

Typically, you only need to deliver each letter once from Interfolio to AACOMAS, regardless of the number of osteopathic schools you're applying to. The cost to you is $4, and the processing time is 1-3 business days from when you check out the delivery in your Dossier account.