how do LORs work?

[JohnUC33]

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I am curious about how the LOR process works. I already have my people lined up for writing letters of recommendation (a MD, a DO, and the head of my school's science department). I want to know how does the whole process work. Do they write them and give them to me to mail in, or do they just mail them theirselves? Would I make several copies of the letter? I am just overall confused on this. Any help would be appreciated.

John

 

[aphasia]

I am curious about how the LOR process works. I already have my people lined up for writing letters of recommendation (a MD, a DO, and the head of my school's science department). I want to know how does the whole process work. Do they write them and give them to me to mail in, or do they just mail them theirselves? Would I make several copies of the letter? I am just overall confused on this. Any help would be appreciated.

John

I think a lot of people do this, but I signed up with interfolio.com. Your professors can mail or fax, and I think even electronically submit their letters to interfolio. From there you can mail them out to the schools you need to send them to. It's important that you fill out the confidentiality waiver if you want most schools to accept. It's convenient b/c you don't have to give your profs a list of schools to mail things to. It doesn't help for schools that have their own eval. forms...but anyways..
That's how I did my letters and I didn't have any problems. Hope this helps! Good luck.
OH yeah, if I"m not mistaken, some schools have letter service things...

 

[Nate]

Check with your advisor at your undergrad (even if you have already graduated) for a school run letter service. If not you will have to pay a service like mentioned to gather the letters, copy them, and send them to all the schools that you are applying to. It is important you sign a confidentiality form and not see the letters and as long as that form is included with the letters and the letters are on letterhead you should be fine with most schools. Good luck

 

[NUKid]

I think a lot of people do this, but I signed up with interfolio.com. Your professors can mail or fax, and I think even electronically submit their letters to interfolio. From there you can mail them out to the schools you need to send them to. It's important that you fill out the confidentiality waiver if you want most schools to accept. It's convenient b/c you don't have to give your profs a list of schools to mail things to. It doesn't help for schools that have their own eval. forms...but anyways..
That's how I did my letters and I didn't have any problems. Hope this helps! Good luck.
OH yeah, if I"m not mistaken, some schools have letter service things...

Are the schools cool with it being a scanned copy of a signature instead of the real deal? Thanks for mentioning interfolio, I wasn't aware that a service like that existed.

 

[smc927]

Make sure you ask each school about things like sending a copy. I arranged my letters in advance. Then when each school told me how many letters they wanted and from whom I contacted those people. They wrote their letters and mailed them in - one showed it to me first.

I'm pretty sure they want the letters directly from the writer.

 

[calichik]

Are the schools cool with it being a scanned copy of a signature instead of the real deal? Thanks for mentioning interfolio, I wasn't aware that a service like that existed.

My LORs were sent via my school's reference file service. They sent copies of my LORs on official school letterhead with the waiver notes on top. 99% of the D.O. schools are cool with the scanned copies. The only school I knew that required an official copy from the recommender themselves was MSUCOM.

 

[cosmo]

What does a confidentiality waiver say? Is there a standard form for it, or can a signed statement do the trick?

 

[crys20]

On interfolio you just check a box for waiving the right to access or not, then you print out the form and sign it and give it to your letter writer. The system records that you waived access so the schools know...Hopefully we all know this but ALWAYS waive access!


Is there ever a situation where a school requires a letter straight from the letter writer and doesn't accept what interfolio sends them?? I mean besides in cases where a school has their own eval form...

 

[JohnUC33]

thanks for all your help in this matter.

 

[MHC]

Ask the recommenders to send you several sealed copies with their signature on the closed envelope flap. Then you can send in the LORS in the same packet as your secondary app and know that everything got to the schools in good time. I did this and had no probs or questions from the schools. Some may want them separately sent directly from the recommenders, but like I say, I had no probs with this technique.