* * 2009-2010 Letter of Recommendation Thread * *

[dudechiefboss]

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Hey guys, iam just getting in my LORS to Interfolio. Do we have to send each school the LORS individually or collectively like in amcas application?

You send the LORs to schools individually through interfolio; try setting up a delivery to see how you enter in the school (i.e. type in the first three letters of the school).

Good luck!

My question: Is it wise to include a LOR from an individual outside of the medical profession - like a lawyer or something? If the LOR is good and represents you, why not?

 

[Kayk]

I have been told that schools do not accept rommendations that are two years old. I have a couple of new recommendations but I also wanted to send my previous recommendations. Is it that they do not accept them or they look down on them?

 

[GatorHater]

I just applied to a few DO schools and I am kind of unclear on the whole letter issue. Do I have to wait for my secondaries to come in to send the letters, or do I just send the letters to all of the schools I applied to right away?

 

[beckhunter116]

You wait until you get secondaries to send in LOR.

 

[GatorHater]

Preciate it, now are they selective with who they send secondaries to, or is it everyone?

 

[fitz0809]

Preciate it, now are they selective with who they send secondaries to, or is it everyone?

Most schools have a minimum cutoff... but these are generally fairly low. (2.75 gpa and 22 MCAT ish)

They generally send out secondaries to almost everyone and then are selective with offering interviews after the secondary.

 

[username01]

I shadowed a DO approximately 2. 5 months ago and my letter is still not in. I was going to forgo it, but my advisor said that if there was "strongly" recommended that I should do it. I've sent an email, and still no response. What should I do? It's rolling admissions and earlier the better(!). I already have all my other things in, and would like to get the ball rolling here. In addition, calling this DO's assistant, was not very helpful in trying to shadow the physician. Thus, I am wary of calling and calling and calling and aggravating the assistant as well as making myself look bad. Has anyone had a DO letter hold up their application and what did you do? I'm specifically looking at PCOM, UMDNJ, NSU, CCOM. I am frustrated, and stagnant on what to do.
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[samuraiR]

stop by the office?

 

[jphwki82]

Submit your apps now, and work on getting the letter later. If you have enough LORs to have your apps completed at each school, it isn't worth applying any later. I applied to CCOM, and they don't look at your letters until your whole app. is complete (ie. primary, secondary and LORs). You can always update your application after you have been complete.

 

[marke]

did you have an MD sent in a LOR already?
I know many school allow either one though they strongly recommend D.O.
I apply to 5 D.O. schools of which almost all strongly recommend D.O. letter but I only sent in a MD LOR and received 4 interviews.
LOR is just one part of your app, if all other parts of your appl look strong, then I think it not having a D.O. LOR wouldn't be that bad. But if not, having a D.O. letter would be helpful.. but then again, if this D.O. is not responsible/responsive, I don't know what kind of letter he/she will write..
anyways, just my 2 cent.

 

[jphwki82]

I always asked for my LORs in person, and asked the physician/professor directly. So you should not even be pestering the office staff to begin with. Also, it is better to ask in person. Have you given at least a thank you card for being allowed to shadow the physician? It may help to do so. Good luck with the apps!

 

[BassCaster]

stop by the office?

+1

Finished shadowing my doc in Feb. My premed office never received anything from the doc. till July! Wasn't really worried too much those 5 months seeing as I didn't plan on turning in any secondaries till August. When the time came, none of my calls were returned and I just went to the office with a box of gourmet cookies for the entire staff at 7:30am (everyone loves sweets in the morning lol) The letter writer was more than happy to see me again. Got the letter the next day.

 

[Rubisco]

Did you check up on the Doctor (directly) about the letter in between the two months? Most of my letters would have never been sent unless I reminded them once or twice in person. I know I couldn't get in contact with my DO doctor either by calling/email/through the staff.

 

[fitz0809]

You need the letter. Call the assistant, email him and let him know you are stopping in to talk to him about it. Bring your resume or a list of activities that you have been doing to help him.

If he said he would write one, then hold him to it.

Be courteous but don't back down. The worst that will happen is he says no, and that is the same as what is happening now.

I would also start exploring other ways of getting a DO letter. Find another shadow possibility.

When it comes down to it they will usually write one, but they are busy and sometimes need prodding.

 

[WhitJord85]

I feel your pain.... I finished up shadowing a DO in May and asked her for the LOR my last day... She said she would be more than happy to do it... I gave her all the information to do it that day. Well... I ended up having to call her office over and over and sent numerous letters... I didn't get the letter posted to my Interfolio account until December!!!

My best advice... what finally worked for me... Call the office, be polite, but let them know at this point that it is holding up your applications... which is a disadvantage because of rolling admissions. Hope that helps.

 

[username01]

Update: So I sent an e-mail reminder of the letter of recommendation.
And, unfortunately, the DO said that they would now not agree to write the letter. I had shadowed only for a day, and I was unable to answer questions pertaining to some information that correlated with my graduate work.

 

[BassCaster]

I'm going to be straight up with you. Your mcat is pretty low, you don't have the recommended physician letter, and it's pretty late in the cycle as is. I would just wait for the next cycle and improve upon at LEAST one of the above. Unless you have extra money lying around, in my opinion, it'll be a waste. $200 for an April/May mcat date is where I'd put it. Shadow another DO for a month and you'd be able to put down 2 DO shadowing experiences w/ 1 great letter. Best of luck!

 

[username01]

Thanks, I know that it is late.

 

[scummie]

Thanks, I know that it is late. And that basically, I'm in an unfavorable position. As having no DO letter, I look like another allopath who is applying to DO as a second option. I just wish I had known earlier that this DO would not have given me a letter of recommendation instead of letting this carry on throughout till this point. I honestly am now just frustrated because having gone through the process of applying as a DO, they must know what it feels like to be on the other end of the stick. I am also feeling a bit shaken. It is making me doubt whether I honestly have the "toughs" to make it through this, and through the potential more rough-ness during medical school. As I am aware of obtaining recommendations during clinicals. Sigh is all I can say at this point.

Dude! If you want it bad enough, you'll find another DO to shadow. I shadowed a DO for less than a week and got a letter. Don't ask me how many people I tried to get in contact with beforehand for shadowing/letter of rec, but it was a lot. Do your best to get a letter and let the schools know that you're in the process of trying to get one. A DO letter isn't the end-all, but it is a sure nice shiny gold star on your app.

If you have to reapply next year, it's not the end of the world. In fact, you'd have everything ready very early in the summer and you'd actually be in a much more favorable position. Just food for though!

 

[username01]

I started the hunt for a DO letter back in August. I am on the east coast and after calling multiple phone numbers on the state osteopathic website, I called the recruiter/admissions officer for osteopathic medicine. Got in touch with the dean of admissions for the closest osteopathic school who forwarded 3 names. I called these names and stuck it out with one particular DO because they were actually practicing/interacting with patients to observe. And after all this, no letter. When calling previously during the summer the list of DOs to shadow, most of them sounded like they had checked some form that stated they would be willing to let someone shadow them, but they weren't actually "serious." I know some other people who got DO letters readily as well.

 

[samuraiR]

I guess I had really good luck with my DO. I've been going every saturday morning for 2-3 hours for about 6 months. He is awesome...explains everything he is doing, why he is doing, and exactly what the diagnosis/prognosis is for the patient (he is PM&R).

To find him, I called a total of 4 doctors, 2 of which no longer worked where they were listed, the other one said no. Talk about luck, i didnt realize it'd be such a hassle. The only problem is the DO i shadow is 45-1hour away... but totally worth it, I learn a lot.👍

 

[DrMagic]

I have been in many situations like this in my life. It is not that the person doesn't want to write you a letter, but that the person is very busy and may need a constant reminder to do something. He has so many things to worry about, you may be the last thing on his mind. Keeping up with the patients and his business takes a lot of time, as well as paying the many bills at home. I would show up at the place of business and casually talk to someone there, saying like "hey I just was in the area and wanted to remind you that I really wanted to put a DO letter in my application because it was strongly recommended, could you please write a quick one, it would really help a lot. I know you are probably busy would you be able to write a quick letter for me though, I need it by {date} or as soon as is convienient for you, I was interested in you what you do, so I wanted a letter especially from an {speciality}" Techniques like this always work with me. I have found that some people just don't have the time to type out an email, and that the old fashioned in person or phone call method works great.

 

[randombetch]

Deeyum, this thread is old.

 

[cubicw86]

I been using interfolio for my letters of recommendation. I was wondering if a letter head and a signature is require for medschool recommendation.

 

[stelllar]

a

 

[fitz0809]

start sucking up/ going to office hours in whatever classes you are in right now.

consider taking a class during the first half of the summer that is a science class and try to get to know the professor.

the worst that can happen is someone who you will probably never see again will just tell you no... so it doesn't hurt to ask.

on the other hand they should know you well to write a decent letter, but if you went in and talked to him/ provided him a personal statement then there is a shot that he could write an ok one.

always ask in person... it is harder to say no and it doesn't get put on the backburner.

good luck...

 

[fitz0809]

If they upload a letter to interfolio it will have an electronic signature. Make sure they are marked as confidential letters though.

Letterhead is not needed.

 

[medschoolfamily]

I was in a similar situation to you when I was applying, and felt totally helpless. I recently transferred schools for the 4th time and, needless to say, never had a meaningful relationship with a professor. While I got A's in every science class, it all came pretty easy and I never had to use office hours, so my profs knew basically nothing about me. So what I did 3rd year was take about 20 credits, including anat/phys and biochem, and made sure that the professors were also pre-med advisors. I made sure to go into to office hours to b.s. with them any chance I had and tell them of my med school plans. I made sure to finish at the top of each class, volunteer to help them as much as possible, and helped other students in the classes whenever possible (making sure the professors saw me). The end result - two great letters, each covering the necessity of either a science faculty or pre-med advisor. I would strongly suggest that you do the same, or as close to the same as possible (it might be a little late for you since you're in the final semester before applying, but maybe you could take an upper level bio class first summer session with a big shot science prof at your school and really lay the charm on). Otherwise you'll be forced to get a hold of a gchem teacher who may not even remember you, let alone be able to sell you to an adcom. Best of luck to you and God bless.

 

[snitchseeker88]

I have a question regarding LORs, the one I have from a doctor is a few years old in the sense that I haven't actually worked with that doctor in a few years, but I know them really well, am a patient of theirs so I still see her a lot and have a good relationship with her. I picked her because I know her really well and I feel she knows me well enough to write a good LOR, but seeing as how I haven't volunteered at her office for a while, I wondered if the timing would be considered a problem by some schools.

Also, when schools say they want letters from physicians that you've "worked with" or "observed" does it necessarily mean shadowing, or can it be volunteering in their office as well? I didn't shadow this doctor, but rather volunteered in their office, though I did work in close proximity with her and learn about medicine. It doesn't specifically say a doctor you shadowed in the requirements so I'm wondering if it would be ok.

 

[Doubtnichts]

I'm new to the forum, so I'm really sorry if this has been discussed before. I did use the search tool but came up with conflicting answers....
Do DO schools require that you have a LOR from a DO or can I use one from an MD??

 

[Dr Skeptismo]

I'm new to the forum, so I'm really sorry if this has been discussed before. I did use the search tool but came up with conflicting answers....
Do DO schools require that you have a LOR from a DO or can I use one from an MD??

Check the "2009-2010 Application Cycle Important Threads" sticky at the top of the forum.

 

[DoctorBoom]

I'm new to the forum, so I'm really sorry if this has been discussed before. I did use the search tool but came up with conflicting answers....
Do DO schools require that you have a LOR from a DO or can I use one from an MD??

Most schools don't REQUIRE but strongly recommended

 

[reese07]

I have a DO that will write me a LOR, what are the steps that I have to go through to have his LOR sent to multiple schools without him having to write one for every school I'm applying to? I know most schools use aacomas but I think TCOM uses a different application system so how do I approach that?

 

[Dr Skeptismo]

Do you have a pre-med committee letter? Usually they'll have you send your LORs to them and then they'll send your LOR packet to all the schools you're applying to via interfolio or another electronic service.

If you don't, then check out the interfolio website for yourself. Many schools use this service, but I can't speak for TCOM specifically.

 

[reese07]

My pre-med committee said they're responsible for sending committee LORS but do you think they'll send my DO's letter along with theirs?

 

[Dr Skeptismo]

Mine did.

They had me send them 3-4 LORs from profs/docs before they wrote my committee letter. Once they wrote the committee letter, they used it as the cover page for a packet which included all the other LORs. They used interfolio to make this packet electronically available to all the schools I applied. I imagine if I received another LOR, they'd include that in the packet as well. If they received this LOR after schools had already viewed/printed the initial packet, then I imagine I could inform the schools I applied to that a new LOR was posted/available for them. Although, it might be different for you. This is just my understanding of how these hypothetical events would have played out for me.

 

[Doubtnichts]

I guess, from the link, that LECOM does require it though. That was my main choice for DO 🙁

 

[Master Deep]

If you don't know any DO's or have any friends/family that know DO's, then pickup the phone and call around to all the DO physician's around you. Hopefully at least one will let you shadow them.

Honestly not shadowing a dr. and applying to med school is probably not the smartest thing to do. That's a huge red flag right there on your application and severely limits the number of schools you will even meet the minimum requirements for.

 

[Master Deep]

I just had 2 doctors write me a letter of rec and gave them each a list of school addresses to mail it to.

They can send the same letter to every school.

 

[Doubtnichts]

I have a letter from an MD whom I shadowed over the summer for over 120 hours. Unfortunately I'm kinda new to this....It's hard to find all the information that you need when you don't even know where to start. So I'm a junior and kind of running out of time.

 

[Master Deep]

I have a letter from an MD whom I shadowed over the summer for over 120 hours. Unfortunately I'm kinda new to this....It's hard to find all the information that you need when you don't even know where to start. So I'm a junior and kind of running out of time.

If you are a junior in college right now you are definitely not running out of time. I didn't even start shadowing until July before my Senior year. My apps were complete around the beginning of December.

Just go to each school site, get the address, and make a word document and give it to the doctor. They will mail it out for you.

I didn't use Interfolio, so someone else can comment on how that works.

 

[Doubtnichts]

That's comforting!! I still have to work on my EC's. I was just worried about the DO letter because I'd rather go to LECOM than PCOM...if given a choice that is!

 

[Master Deep]

That's comforting!! I still have to work on my EC's. I was just worried about the DO letter because I'd rather go to LECOM than PCOM...if given a choice that is!

You have so much time. My advice is to find a DO. Your school might be able to set something up for you if you cant set up shadowing on your own.

 

[Yutis]

.

 

[acs3838]

Hey everybody, I am in a bit of trouble with my LOR's.

I definitely have one science prof that is writing me a letter, but I cannot see myself finding another before summer.

My pre-med advisor (douche) pretty much told me I wouldnt even get in the door without TWO from science faculty. Is this true? Will DO not even consider you without two science faculty letters?

The coordinator for my research is part of my schools department of pediatrics, and she is writing me an awesome letter, my advisor said that I could MAYBE pass this off as science faculty. What do you all think?

 

[Master Deep]

Hey everybody, I am in a bit of trouble with my LOR's.

I definitely have one science prof that is writing me a letter, but I cannot see myself finding another before summer.

My pre-med advisor (douche) pretty much told me I wouldnt even get in the door without TWO from science faculty. Is this true? Will DO not even consider you without two science faculty letters?

The coordinator for my research is part of my schools department of pediatrics, and she is writing me an awesome letter, my advisor said that I could MAYBE pass this off as science faculty. What do you all think?

Does your school have a pre-med interview committee? This would be the best option as they would write all the letters for you.

Otherwise you will have to usually find at least 2 science professors. Some schools require as much as 4 professors.

 

[Dr Yiot]

Hello all,

I have been working in a nursing home for quite some time now and have made a good relationship with my boss. I volunteered at this job prior to being hired so I have this place listed on my aacomas application quite often and I am assuming will be brought up in either interviews or when I begin writing my secondaries(today). I was contemplating whether a letter from my employer would be helpfull. I asked her and she said that she would be more than willing. Knowing she is the administrator to a large nursing home and that she doesn't have time for anything, I anticipated that she would ask me to write the letter and have her sign it. I had a physician I shadowed ask this of me and was very against it because he didnt even know me and I felt quite uncomfortable with that task. With my boss however, I feel ok doing so. so I have come to this thread with a few questions. Before I go on my whole application is finished and I have all the "essential" lor's and everything is submitted except secondaries and LOR"s(I just started recieving them).

1) what should be included in a physician LOR?
2) when using interfolio....how would I produce an LOR' with her letterhead? would I just type it, give it to her, she would place it on letter head and then uploaded via the email I sent her?

thank you in advance...

 

[nerd athlete]

so i shadowed an er doc this summer and he agreed to write me a letter but it's been about two weeks since the last time i reminded him, how long do you wait to check in without being annoying or needy

 

[wolverinepwns]

Here's a question:

what would look better: I already have a DO LOR, I can get another one from an MD or possibly another DO. (since both have asked me to write them an outline either way its gonna be a good LOR). should I go with the MD or the DO?

 

[Dr Yiot]

Hello all,

I have been working in a nursing home for quite some time now and have made a good relationship with my boss. I volunteered at this job prior to being hired so I have this place listed on my aacomas application quite often and I am assuming will be brought up in either interviews or when I begin writing my secondaries(today). I was contemplating whether a letter from my employer would be helpfull. I asked her and she said that she would be more than willing. Knowing she is the administrator to a large nursing home and that she doesn't have time for anything, I anticipated that she would ask me to write the letter and have her sign it. I had a physician I shadowed ask this of me and was very against it because he didnt even know me and I felt quite uncomfortable with that task. With my boss however, I feel ok doing so. so I have come to this thread with a few questions. Before I go on my whole application is finished and I have all the "essential" lor's and everything is submitted except secondaries and LOR"s(I just started recieving them).

1) what should be included in a physician LOR?
2) when using interfolio....how would I produce an LOR' with her letterhead? would I just type it, give it to her, she would place it on letter head and then uploaded via the email I sent her?

thank you in advance...

bump