Letter writer asking for other recommendations normal?

[Johnwicksdog]

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I did research with and shadowed a doctor last last summer who I was pretty close with. Recently asked him for a letter of recc which he seemed happy to write but he's asking me to send him my "school letters" for reference aka the letters I got from my university professors. Is this normal, not even sure what he means. Should I just send him the 5 professor letters I have stored in Interfolio? Anyone else experience this?

 

[LizzyM]

This is bizarre. You should give him the AMCAS guide for letter writers. You should emphasize that adcoms want his observations and his opinion based on his past experiences and how he's seen you perform in comparison to other students he's worked with.

 

[wysdoc]

I agree. You don’t really “have” those letters because you’ve waived the chance to see them. He needs the guide on what to write

 

[Johnwicksdog]

I agree. You don’t really “have” those letters because you’ve waived the chance to see them. He needs the guide on what to write

Yah that makes sense, I did already give him the guide a while back. So I actually just went ahead and sent them to him after I posted through interfolio, is this an issue? Again, not sure what he's looking for but only thing I care about is maintaining the validity of the letters for AMCAS so I hope i'm good right?

 

[wysdoc]

Not sure why you asked if you already did it? You should be able to truthfully say you did not read them, because it asks that on AMCAS I believe.

 

[lockon7]

He might be asking to review your letters for you (and possibly let you know if there's a bad one). I don't know if this is allowed tho (or rather if you would get caught because interfolio is careful about where letters got sent).