How legitimate is Interfolio?

[Coltuna]

Hello all,

I'm planning on using interfolio to manage my letters of recommendation. Im just wondering how legitimate it is? I'm having my letters sent via mail since most of my letter writers aren't tech savvy, and I simply have to provide a sheet to my letter writer to include with his/her letter in the mail to make the letter confidential. What's keeping people from writing their own letters and sending them in the mail? I assume letter writers are called to verify they wrote the letter? I just don't want the legitimacy of my letters called into question with so many other variables in this process.

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[drmantistobbogan]

It's pretty much the gold standard

 

[Coltuna]

It's pretty much the gold standard

can you explain?

 

[drmantistobbogan]

can you explain?

It's the preferred method of letter collection and submission. If you utilize your school's committee letter service, chances are you'll be required to use Interfolio. Almost everyone uses it and the legitimacy of your letters won't be questioned.

 

[Coltuna]

I guess I just don't understand how they legitimize letters sent in the mail. None of my letter writers have received any phone calls or Emails regarding the letters they sent in the mail.

 

[drmantistobbogan]

Don't worry about it.

 

[TRPMinus]

Interfolio is great. It's easy to use and it's relatively inexpensive. Nuff said.

 

[Thienyl15]

Interfolio kicked my dog and made a rude gesture in my general direction. 0/10 would not recommend.

 

[Goro]

Hello all,

I'm planning on using interfolio to manage my letters of recommendation. Im just wondering how legitimate it is? I'm having my letters sent via mail since most of my letter writers aren't tech savvy, and I simply have to provide a sheet to my letter writer to include with his/her letter in the mail to make the letter confidential. What's keeping people from writing their own letters and sending them in the mail? I assume letter writers are called to verify they wrote the letter? I just don't want the legitimacy of my letters called into question with so many other variables in this process.

I'm a faculty member and it's the only form of LOR submission I use for students.

 

[OchemOficionado]

The only downside so far is I didn't know they charged to send the letters 🙁 I thought there was just a yearly fee.

 

[Coltuna]

So should I just tell my letter writers to be prepared for a phone call/email from interfolio making sure they actually wrote the letter and sent it in the mail? Some of my writers are difficult to get ahold of, so I just want to make sure the process isn't delayed if it takes weeks for them to respond

 

[OchemOficionado]

So should I just tell my letter writers to be prepared for a phone call/email from interfolio making sure they actually wrote the letter and sent it in the mail? Some of my writers are difficult to get ahold of, so I just want to make sure the process isn't delayed if it takes weeks for them to respond

You don't have to tell them anything. Interfolio takes care of it all. You put their info into Interfolio and an email will be sent to them. (I don't even remember putting in phone numbers)

 

[Coltuna]

You don't have to tell them anything. Interfolio takes care of it all. You put their info into Interfolio and an email will be sent to them. (I don't even remember putting in phone numbers)

My letter writers are sending their letter via MAIL with an attachment stating "I, Coltuna, waive my right to view the contents of the letter." Interfolio must take some sort of step to verify the letter is sent by them; otherwise, anyone could write their own letter without fear of consequence lol.

 

[OchemOficionado]

My letter writers are sending their letter via MAIL with an attachment stating "I, Coltuna, waive my right to view the contents of the letter." Interfolio must take some sort of step to verify the letter is sent by them; otherwise, anyone could write their own letter without fear of consequence lol.

Why the mail? Email is so much easier.

I vote that you call Interfolio and ask them directly what to expect.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

The only downside so far is I didn't know that charged to send the letters 🙁 I thought there was just a yearly fee.

So there's a charge to send letters along with a yearly fee?

 

[LizzyM]

The letter is typically written on letterhead and mailed in an envelope that is sealed and, not infrequently, carries the sender's signature across the flap. This was how we did it in the "olden days". I don't recall anyone ever questioning whether the writer had actually written the letter. I'm sure Interfolio takes either an uploaded scan or a paper letter that it scans and uploads into your "folder".

 

[drmantistobbogan]

The only downside so far is I didn't know that charged to send the letters 🙁 I thought there was just a yearly fee.

Really? I'm using a committee letter and my school has access to my Interfolio account so I didn't have to pay to send my letters. On top of that, our school provides a free year of Interfolio.

My letter writers are sending their letter via MAIL with an attachment stating "I, Coltuna, waive my right to view the contents of the letter." Interfolio must take some sort of step to verify the letter is sent by them; otherwise, anyone could write their own letter without fear of consequence lol.

Why are you trying to make things more complicated than they have to be? You don't need them to send an attachment since you waive your right to see the letters on Interfolio when you submit the letter request. I also feel like not a single person is incapable of submitting their letter online. Literally everyone does this in some capacity in their career.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Really? I'm using a committee letter and my school has access to my Interfolio account so I didn't have to pay to send my letters. On top of that, our school provides a free year of Interfolio.

Lucky!

 

[Coltuna]

Really? I'm using a committee letter and my school has access to my Interfolio account so I didn't have to pay to send my letters. On top of that, our school provides a free year of Interfolio.



Why are you trying to make things more complicated than they have to be? You don't need them to send an attachment since you waive your right to see the letters on Interfolio when you submit the letter request. I also feel like not a single person is incapable of submitting their letter online. Literally everyone does this in some capacity in their career.

My letter writers are NOT tech savvy and due to the handwritten signature and letterhead requirement, I felt having them send it in the mail would be easiest as opposed to printing, signing, scanning THEN emailing.

 

[drmantistobbogan]

My letter writers are NOT tech savvy and due to the handwritten signature and letterhead requirement, I felt having them send it in the mail would be easiest as opposed to printing, signing, scanning THEN emailing.

Whatever floats your boat. I'm just saying, you might want to give your letter writers more credit. If they are faculty, chances are this is not new to them. Most of the time, faculty have a scanned version of their signature that they just put in a word document - no scanning needed. I just find it hard to believe that someone is incapable of submitting a PDF. Hopefully this isn't for this cycle.

 

[Coltuna]

Whatever floats your boat. I'm just saying, you might want to give your letter writers more credit. If they are faculty, chances are this is not new to them. Most of the time, faculty have a scanned version of their signature that they just put in a word document - no scanning needed. I just find it hard to believe that someone is incapable of submitting a PDF. Hopefully this isn't for this cycle.

They are for this cycle. Overnighted to Interfolio, so I'll know tomorrow.

 

[Coltuna]

Interfolio doesnt verify letters nor does AMCAS. It is up to the end-user, that is the school to ultimately do "due diligence" on these letters. A large fraction of schools do so, after you have taken up an offer of acceptance during the post-admissions/pre-matriculation phase. They arent going to do so for 5,000 applicants but they may do so for 150 acceptees

Thank you for this!

 

[TheBiologist]

interfolio is also good in case you don't get in the first cycle, you have all your letters stored (for a yearly fee of about 20$)

 

[Mad Jack]

I guess I just don't understand how they legitimize letters sent in the mail. None of my letter writers have received any phone calls or Emails regarding the letters they sent in the mail.

Interfolio is actually more legit than traditional mail, as they can verify sender emails. It's a part of why it's the gold standard.

 

[Coltuna]

Interfolio is actually more legit than traditional mail, as they can verify sender emails. It's a part of why it's the gold standard.

Do they basically do this by reaching out to the letter writer and waiting for a response?

 

[drmantistobbogan]

I've never seen someone so concerned with how letters are verified. Is OP attempting to forge his LORs? It would make sense, since mailing would bypass the faculty email requirement.

 

[Coltuna]

I've never seen someone so concerned with how letters are verified. Is OP attempting to forge his LORs? It would make sense, since mailing would bypass the faculty email requirement.

I still have to provide an Email when I enter their information into Interfolio. I also requested that all of my letter writers provide their Email and phone number in their letters. But I can see how my post could come off that way! I think anyone applying to medical school can vouch for the difficulty to get ahold of some professors, so I just wanted to to get as many ducks in a row as possible. Not to mention the letterhead requirement.

 

[Mad Jack]

Do they basically do this by reaching out to the letter writer and waiting for a response?

They call letter writers directly for verification. Here's a school that uses Interfolio that has a FAQ covering why. One of the reasons is fraud protection.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Do they basically do this by reaching out to the letter writer and waiting for a response?

They tell you once you request a letter that they will email your writer. I already told you that. Dude, call Interfolio. They would be more than happy to tell you all of this and more in one simple phone call.

They call letter writers directly for verification. Here's a school that uses Interfolio that has a FAQ covering why. One of the reasons is fraud protection.

I think the OP is asking about Interfolio's steps, not each school. I THINK.

 

[Coltuna]

I just told my letter writers to be prepared for a phone call or email to verify their letter.

 

[drmantistobbogan]

I still have to provide an Email when I enter their information into Interfolio. I also requested that all of my letter writers provide their Email and phone number in their letters. But I can see how my post could come off that way! I think anyone applying to medical school can vouch for the difficulty to get ahold of some professors, so I just wanted to to get as many ducks in a row as possible. Not to mention the letterhead requirement.

This is one of the reasons why Interfolio is helpful, you don't have to wait until the last minute to get your technologically-illiterate professors to mail in letters. Rather, you can collect them as you go and be done with it.

 

[Coltuna]

This is one of the reasons why Interfolio is helpful, you don't have to wait until the last minute to get your technologically-illiterate professors to mail in letters. Rather, you can collect them as you go and be done with it.

Would it surprise you to hear that I requested these letters in March? lol

I'm not submitting until 2nd week of June, so it's not a huge deal timeline wise.

 

[Goro]

My letter writers are NOT tech savvy and due to the handwritten signature and letterhead requirement, I felt having them send it in the mail would be easiest as opposed to printing, signing, scanning THEN emailing.

Just how hard do you think it is for a faculty member to write a LOR, print it out on letterhead, scan it and then submit to Interfolio???? This is part of their job!

 

[Goro]

You mean I am not supposed to charge a sliding scale fee for each letter I write for a student?

I count the time as part of my Service responsibilities in my annual evals.