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I searched around for a bit, but did not come across any thread addressing my specific question.
I have seen frequently that medical schools prefer letters of recommendation to be signed by the author and be printed on official letterhead/stationary. In sending letters of recommendation to AMCAS and AACOMAS, do they somehow mark on your application that the letter had an actual pen signature, not just a scanned copy, and that it was printed on official letterhead? How is it that a medical school knows that a letter is truly authentic if they are just receiving electronic copies?
I ask these questions because a couple of my letter writers have been forward enough to let me have a copy of the letter they have written me and for simplicity sake, have asked me to just print it out on letterhead myself and mail it with the return address as their own. I'm not going to argue the ethics of doing this as I know many premeds do, I am just wondering how my letters will be handled if things like the signature are just scanned and not directly signed. Technically the letter has a "signature" but not hand written.
Similarly, if a letter writer just prints out a scanned copy onto letterhead (instead of me doing it) without directly signing it, will this discredit the letter? I know nothing about the process, so forgive me if these questions are vague.
I have seen frequently that medical schools prefer letters of recommendation to be signed by the author and be printed on official letterhead/stationary. In sending letters of recommendation to AMCAS and AACOMAS, do they somehow mark on your application that the letter had an actual pen signature, not just a scanned copy, and that it was printed on official letterhead? How is it that a medical school knows that a letter is truly authentic if they are just receiving electronic copies?
I ask these questions because a couple of my letter writers have been forward enough to let me have a copy of the letter they have written me and for simplicity sake, have asked me to just print it out on letterhead myself and mail it with the return address as their own. I'm not going to argue the ethics of doing this as I know many premeds do, I am just wondering how my letters will be handled if things like the signature are just scanned and not directly signed. Technically the letter has a "signature" but not hand written.
Similarly, if a letter writer just prints out a scanned copy onto letterhead (instead of me doing it) without directly signing it, will this discredit the letter? I know nothing about the process, so forgive me if these questions are vague.
