Interfolio/LOR Questions

[turkeybean]

Hi All -

I've been reading the forums and see that Interfolio is generally recommended as a convenient service.

Input and advice appreciated for the following:

1) How exactly does Interfolio receive letters from writers? Does the writer submit the letter online via my account once, or does he have an option of mailing the letter in?

2) Once the letter is on Interfolio, how is it submitted to the individual schools? Do I get to choose and actually send the letters (by requesting through Interfolio); or do the writers have to log in and send the letters to each school themselves? What about in situations where the school/program requests that the letter writer submit the reference via the school's own system - would Interfolio still work in these cases?

3) Does Interfolio work for international schools?

The reason I ask is because I actually plan to ask some writers to provide more generic letters (focusing mostly on my character, intellectual abilities, integrity, personal qualities, etc.) that could be used for other programs. I will be applying to medical schools but there's certainly no guarantee on the results. And I am equally passionate about music and literature which I've also been thinking about. So, I'm hoping that I could minimize work by my writers as much as possible and just have a set of 'all-purpose' letters ready; and in fact this is what I will tell them when I make my requests. Does this sound like a reasonable approach?

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[BiochemGuy]

1. The writers have an option to mail in a physical letter or create a free 'writer account' (once) and submit the letter electronically.

2. Once all of your letters are with interfolio, you enter you aamc id number in account settings and have the option to schedule a delivery to amcas.

3. not sure..

 

[rHinO1]

Hi All -

I've been reading the forums and see that Interfolio is generally recommended as a convenient service.

Input and advice appreciated for the following:

1) How exactly does Interfolio receive letters from writers? Does the writer submit the letter online via my account once, or does he have an option of mailing the letter in?

2) Once the letter is on Interfolio, how is it submitted to the individual schools? Do I get to choose and actually send the letters (by requesting through Interfolio); or do the writers have to log in and send the letters to each school themselves? What about in situations where the school/program requests that the letter writer submit the reference via the school's own system - would Interfolio still work in these cases?

3) Does Interfolio work for international schools?

The reason I ask is because I actually plan to ask some writers to provide more generic letters (focusing mostly on my character, intellectual abilities, integrity, personal qualities, etc.) that could be used for other programs. I will be applying to medical schools but there's certainly no guarantee on the results. And I am equally passionate about music and literature which I've also been thinking about. So, I'm hoping that I could minimize work by my writers as much as possible and just have a set of 'all-purpose' letters ready; and in fact this is what I will tell them when I make my requests. Does this sound like a reasonable approach?

1) With your interfolio account you will have the option of e-mailing or hand delivering a LOR request form to your writer. Then your writer will have the option of creating a free writers account and submitting electronically (most profs probably already have an account, and if not it only takes a minute to set up), or your writer can mail in the LOR with the form. All of the instructions for either option is on the request form you will give your writer. Very simple and user friendly.

2) You will have control of which letters get sent, and where they will go. You can forward your letters to AMCAS LOR service when it opens. Any schools that don't use the AMCAS LOR service you can send your letters to directly from interfolio. Once your writers send their letters to interfolio they are done and the rest is up to you.

3) I don't know about international schools. However, I don't think you should collect an "all-purpose" letter. You want your LOR for medical school to reflect why you would make a good physician. Being a physician is both an art and a science, the skills that make you suited for a career in medicine is totally different from the skills that would make you suited for a career in music or literature. I would suggest commiting yourself 100% toward getting into medical school.

Speaking of commitment,one of my old profs used to always say: "What makes a good breakfast?"

Students: "Eggs and bacon."

Prof: "Yes that does make a good breakfast. The difference between eggs and bacon is that the chicken was involved, but the pig was committed."

I know, kinda random but I always liked it Good luck.

 

[turkeybean]

Great - thanks to the responses above!

I know I should really get focused and explicit letters speaking to my commitment to medicine. I will likely get a couple of those. But since I'm a non-trad, a few of my writers will be my ex-colleagues/bosses, who I think can speak to general qualities about me that will be relevant to the practice of medicine as well. I hope I can show both the spirit of eggs and bacon on my apps!