interfolio = potential plagiarism?

[Dr_Dan_the_man]

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I had this thought today.... 🙄

with nearly every school accepting interfolio these days, and no way of tracking where the letters came from.... really what is stopping some premed from writing his own LOR and sending it thru the service

ok so you're going to tell me most schools require official letterhead and signature.... how hard is that to fake for someone who knows the first thing about photoshop.
Remember the good old days when letters had to be sent directly from the prof's office with a signature across the seal etc....

I think interfolio is amazing.. especially when you are applying to a wide range of schools. ---- But are they just making it easier for cheaters to weasel their way in?

 

[drizzt3117]

I had this thought today.... 🙄

with nearly every school accepting interfolio these days, and no way of tracking where the letters came from.... really what is stopping some premed from writing his own LOR and sending it thru the service

ok so you're going to tell me most schools require official letterhead and signature.... how hard is that to fake for someone who knows the first thing about photoshop.
Remember the good old days when letters had to be sent directly from the prof's office with a signature across the seal etc....

I think interfolio is amazing.. especially when you are applying to a wide range of schools. ---- But are they just making it easier for cheaters to weasel their way in?

A lot of writers put something like "if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected]" and even if they don't, the official letterhead/stationary will usually have their phone number... I assume most of the time the ADCOM reading the letter won't call/email, but what if they know/know of the professor and contact them? lol

 

[Disinence2]

Two ways to approach this.

Either your so intelligent that you can execute it flawlessly and get in (You are probably smart enough to get in the honest way in this situation)

Or you do it cause you don't think you can get in on your own accord, Do a crappy job and most certianly get caught, then have to go out of country or go into alternative medicine.

 

[Dr_Dan_the_man]

A lot of writers put something like "if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected]" and even if they don't, the official letterhead/stationary will usually have their phone number... I assume most of the time the ADCOM reading the letter won't call/email, but what if they know/know of the professor and contact them? lol

I agree with this but if I was going to fake a letter I probably wouldn't put the name of an ACTUAL professor.
You are obviously taking a chance putting fake email/phone but really what are the chances the school is going to contact them?

(p.s. i know this would be a really dumb idea, but just wondering if it's actually possible that people are doing it)

 

[mc4435]

forgery, not plagiarism!

 

[gary yoghurt]

.

 

[Karina 07]

I can't be *certain* it's happened, but I'm sure enough that I'd bet money that it has.

Mind, I guess the people who would do this kind of thing could probably pull it off just as well before interfolio came about, it just made it a little simpler but not incredibly.

 

[Dr_Dan_the_man]

gary why did you delete your response? It was a hilarious comment

 

[gary yoghurt]

gary why did you delete your response? It was a hilarious comment

Because I think I misunderstood the person I was replying to.

 

[jochi1543]

LOL, I've never thought of that, but I HAVE considered mailing these letters to a friend who works at a university so she could read them for me so I'd see what people wrote about me. Mostly out of sheer curiousity, though. Some of my references e-mailed me their letters anyway, even without me asking, but one guy (who I was friends with, which is the weird part) was all secretive and wouldn't tell me a single thing about what he wrote there.

 

[drizzt3117]

If you're going to put some random professor, I'm not sure it'd have a lot of weight even if the letter was glowing. I mean a lot of faculty have students write the letters anyways, and then make their own edits. I mean, how much better could the letter be, anyways? "John doe is the best student I've encountered in thirty years of teaching..." blah blah blah it doesn't carry that much weight unless the person is someone the adcom knows personally or knows of by reputation, IMO.

 

[Dr_Dan_the_man]

LOL, I've never thought of that, but I HAVE considered mailing these letters to a friend who works at a university so she could read them for me so I'd see what people wrote about me. Mostly out of sheer curiousity, though. Some of my references e-mailed me their letters anyway, even without me asking, but one guy (who I was friends with, which is the weird part) was all secretive and wouldn't tell me a single thing about what he wrote there.

hmm never thought about that?
couldn't you just mail them to yourself? or would they not allow that?

 

[Dr_Dan_the_man]

If you're going to put some random professor, I'm not sure it'd have a lot of weight even if the letter was glowing. I mean a lot of faculty have students write the letters anyways, and then make their own edits. I mean, how much better could the letter be, anyways? "John doe is the best student I've encountered in thirty years of teaching..." blah blah blah it doesn't carry that much weight unless the person is someone the adcom knows personally or knows of by reputation, IMO.

do you think the adcoms know every science professor in the country?? Give me a break man, that is ridiculous. A great LOR is still a great LOR even if the writer is not the director of admission's college roommate!

 

[BlackSails]

at NYU, its possible to set up an email alias, which can be changed once per year. It is possible to change it to the name of a professor, but that would leave a trail if you are ever caught.

I also have 3 aliases at brandeis, from when I was accepted and set up my email, but then didnt go. I can still access those.

 

[drizzt3117]

do you think the adcoms know every science professor in the country?? Give me a break man, that is ridiculous. A great LOR is still a great LOR even if the writer is not the director of admission's college roommate!

I guess. My point is that most LORs are positive, so they need to be phenomenal or from someone important to carry a lot of weight. Additionally, a lot of secondaries I filled out actually require you to put the address for your recommenders, as well as their name and title. How difficult would that be for the admissions department to verify that info?

 

[jochi1543]

hmm never thought about that?
couldn't you just mail them to yourself? or would they not allow that?

Well, I thought mailing them to myself would definitely be suspicious, and I'd hate to have them contact him and ask him if he knows about it. But then I was like, meh, not worth it. The risk of Interfolio/him finding out and the consequences were too much for sheer curiousity.

 

[RunShare]

hmm never thought about that?
couldn't you just mail them to yourself? or would they not allow that?

I was wondering about this too. I really really want to send my letters to myself next summer if I don't get in this year. Because you never really know if there's a bad letter, you know? Would that be shady?

 

[postbacker]

hmm never thought about that?
couldn't you just mail them to yourself? or would they not allow that?

Interfolio says they have "controls" that limit the mailing of these letters to legit recipients, but I really don't see how they could prevent you from doing it...the service is also used by people who are simply trying to get a job somewhere, not necessarily applying to some school, so how would they know that a "rec letter" would not legitimately be sent to Vandalay Industries?

My guess is that a small number of people do it (obtain copies of LORs through nefarious means) and very few if any ever get caught...but not enough people do it to damage the credibility of the system to the point that med schools would stop participating...

 

[lacesoutdan]

Two ways to approach this.

Either your so intelligent that you can execute it flawlessly and get in (You are probably smart enough to get in the honest way in this situation)

Or you do it cause you don't think you can get in on your own accord, Do a crappy job and most certianly get caught, then have to go out of country or go into alternative medicine.

Just because you're intelligent doesn't mean you will get in. A lot of very smart people have trouble because of bad GPAs, either because they were lazy/immature in undergrad or because at the time they didn't realize they would be trying for medical school and would need the great grades.

And anyway, you wouldn't need to be that smart to pull it off. Generally I don't think adcoms really call anybody to check on letters, employment, volunteer experiences or anything else. Before I applied I assumed they would...but now I think they just don't have time. Unless you did something really weird in the letter, you would probably get away with it. I'm sure people have done this.

 

[postbacker]

Just because you're intelligent doesn't mean you will get in. A lot of very smart people have trouble because of bad GPAs, either because they were lazy/immature in undergrad or because at the time they didn't realize they would be trying for medical school and would need the great grades.

And anyway, you wouldn't need to be that smart to pull it off. Generally I don't think adcoms really call anybody to check on letters, employment, volunteer experiences or anything else. Before I applied I assumed they would...but now I think they just don't have time. Unless you did something really weird in the letter, you would probably get away with it. I'm sure people have done this.

Are you suggesting forgery or making up recommenders? I think that is very risky...adcoms tend to break applicants into school groups, so one adcom reviews all the apps from School X...I think it would be very easy for a sharp eyed adcom to smell a forgery, or to note that your letters come from people he has never heard of before...

In my prior post, I was suggesting that it is probably easy to get away with obtaining a copy of LORs...I was not implying that I think forgery is easy to get away with...

 

[lacesoutdan]

Are you suggesting forgery or making up recommenders? I think that is very risky...adcoms tend to break applicants into school groups, so one adcom reviews all the apps from School X...I think it would be very easy for a sharp eyed adcom to smell a forgery, or to note that your letters come from people he has never heard of before...

In my prior post, I was suggesting that it is probably easy to get away with obtaining a copy of LORs...I was not implying that I think forgery is easy to get away with...

No...I would 'suggest' getting real LORs by asking people to write them for you. I'm just saying if you wanted to cheat this I don't believe it would be as difficult as you think.

Why would anyone use fake names? You wouldn't make up recommenders; you would use real professors you had classes. If you had a copy of the university's letterhead, it would incredibly easy to duplicate it exactly with Abobe CS. And if we're talking about letters from an employer or a volunteer coordinator or someone like that, you wouldn't even need to fake a letterhead.

 

[postbacker]

No...I would 'suggest' getting real LORs by asking people to write them for you. I'm just saying if you wanted to cheat this I don't believe it would be as difficult as you think.

Why would anyone use fake names? You wouldn't make up recommenders; you would use real professors you had classes. If you had a copy of the university's letterhead, it would incredibly easy to duplicate it exactly with Abobe CS. And if we're talking about letters from an employer or a volunteer coordinator or someone like that, you wouldn't even need to fake a letterhead.

You would have to forge the signature...not sure that is so "easy" to do, and it is a crime...really a stupid thing to do any of this stuff...

 

[cyclingmo]

LOL, I've never thought of that, but I HAVE considered mailing these letters to a friend who works at a university so she could read them for me so I'd see what people wrote about me. Mostly out of sheer curiousity, though. Some of my references e-mailed me their letters anyway, even without me asking, but one guy (who I was friends with, which is the weird part) was all secretive and wouldn't tell me a single thing about what he wrote there.

Maybe in his letter he confessed his love for you. lol *_~

 

[cinemuse82]

if you feel so bad about yourself, and think having a fake LOR will help you get into medical school, please reconsider whether medicine is the right thing for you. you obviously think that your real self is not qualify to studying medicine (or getting into med school).

it's pretty certain that you'll feel guilty about it (unless you're a pathological liar) for the last of your life being a doctor.

please don't even think about it!!

 

[brainfry]

Maybe I'm horribly naive, but I'd like to think people wouldn't pull crap like that. For one, if someone ever found out, it would be grounds for expulsion. Also, I remember a thread during peak AMCAS primary application time where someone was wondering if AMCAS would find out about a bad grade left out here or there if the class was taken at a different school. And the respondants ripped the person a new one for lack of integrity. That gave me faith in the high moral standards of my peers. And I do know of a few schools that contact letter writers.

S

 

[jochi1543]

Maybe in his letter he confessed his love for you. lol *_~

Yeah, that's kinda what I was wondering.

 

[OCallag]

After this is all over (and - I hope - I get in), I'd kind of like to take a peak at what my LOR's say. Do you think you can do that? I mean, even if Interfolio saw that you emailed them to a sketchy source to see them yourself, would it matter if you're already done with them? Couldn't you just delete the online LOR once you read it and be done?

 

[SententialElf]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I have a question...an old PI of mine e-mailed a letter to me that I was given permission to use "for any purpose" i needed. It is on official letterhead, with his signature, etc...but this was a few years ago, and he has since retired/disappeared. The contact info he left with the department info is either incorrect or he just isn't responding to me to get him to upload it to Interfolio. Would it be super wrong of me to upload this letter to Interfolio myself? It's not like I faked the letter, but I don't have any way to contact him to get him to upload it.

 

[FFH]

If there is any concern with the quality of the letter, you can send those from interfolio to your premed advisors or your regular advisors. They can tell you if there are any serious concerns and if they want, they can advise you to use it or not for application. At my school they prescreen all LORs anyway.

 

[FFH]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I have a question...an old PI of mine e-mailed a letter to me that I was given permission to use "for any purpose" i needed. It is on official letterhead, with his signature, etc...but this was a few years ago, and he has since retired/disappeared. The contact info he left with the department info is either incorrect or he just isn't responding to me to get him to upload it to Interfolio. Would it be super wrong of me to upload this letter to Interfolio myself? It's not like I faked the letter, but I don't have any way to contact him to get him to upload it.

You can't upload the letter yourself because the letter has to be sent by the letter writer. You can send them to school yourself but that would be an LOR without waiver, which won't be taken seriously.

 

[SententialElf]

I meant if I make a separate letter-writer account and upload from there.

 

[FFH]

I meant if I make a separate letter-writer account and upload from there.

You can't make an account on behalf of someone. I think deep down you know this as well. Sorry man. It would not be wise to have a short cut for a small gain only to have your whole career ruined.

 

[plumhill]

You can't make an account on behalf of someone. I think deep down you know this as well. Sorry man. It would not be wise to have a short cut for a small gain only to have your whole career ruined.

It seems like they just want to make an account to physically get the letter onto Interfolio. If the letter is real, is this really a problem?

 

[FFH]

It seems like they just want to make an account to physically get the letter onto Interfolio. If the letter is real, is this really a problem?

What do you mean?
The normal procedure to have a letter stored in interfolio:

1. You make your own account. You request the letter from your writer, send them an email containing a letter ID.
2. You sign the waiver stating that you waive the right to see the letter.
3. Your writer send the letter in and SIGN.

The aforementioned member can't do step 2 because he did not waive the right to see the letter. Neither can he or she do step 3. Because that would require the member to forge someone else's signature.

The bottom line is, the school only want to see LOR given to them under legal waivers, thus the requirement to use service like Interfolios. The member has a letter without the appropriate waiver, so no. He can't use it.

 

[plumhill]

What do you mean?
The normal procedure to have a letter stored in interfolio:

1. You make your own account. You request the letter from your writer, send them an email containing a letter ID.
2. You sign the waiver stating that you waive the right to see the letter.
3. Your writer send the letter in and SIGN.

What the aforementioned member can't do step 2 because he did not waive the right to see the letter. Neither can he or she do step 3. Because that would require the member to forge someone else's signature.

Ah okay, I didn't know about step 3.