Letters of Rec Question

[Zmoney12]

I apologize if this is a stupid question, but I am a little confused...


As I am trying to get things lined up to be able to apply early this summer, I am somewhat confused as to how MD/PhD letters of recommendation work. Basically, I have 3 really strong letters from research advisors, that are almost entirely focused on research potential (they wrote them for my Goldwater App). Besides these, I have 2 other professors who will write me letters, but in a more general sense and I never worked with them in their labs. I also have a doctor who I shadowed for a month in a hospital who said he would write me one.

So with that being said, I know that my 3 research-oriented letters are by far the strongest. I am unsure about which ones to send in via AAMCAS and which ones to send in for MD/PhD supplementals? Or are these even separate? Like I said I'm just unclear and would appreciate any insight, and I apologize if should already know this.

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[MrMunkily]

AMCAS has nothing to do with letters, and each school's letter submission procedures are slightly different - almost without exception, letters are requested at the same time as or after the school's secondary is made available to you. Some schools specifically ask for different sets of letters, and some appear more lax about who writes them. In most cases you'll ahve the opportunity to have all of them sent (6!).

Most schools will accept a "letter packet" and composite letter created by your school's pre-med advising committee. This is the time of year you should be asking them about their procedure.

Sounds like you're a great candidate, so try to keep a positive attitude and not to let this process ruin your year like it did mine.