Letters of Recommendation

[sushi328]

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I know it is important to turn in your AMCAS and secondaries as soon as possible in order to have the best chance at getting into medical school. With that, before when must the letters of recommendation be turned in? If someone can write me one, but it will take him to the end of June to submit it, is that too late?

Thanks!

 

[iheartmcats]

No. Late June is still early.

 

[bonsaitree1]

By the end of June, a lot of your secondaries will not have come out yet. You only need to submit your LOR along with your secondaries, so don't sweat it. Just try to get it in ASAP, but not at the risk of hassling your referee.

 

[Redoxify]

By the end of June, a lot of your secondaries will not have come out yet. You only need to submit your LOR along with your secondaries, so don't sweat it. Just try to get it in ASAP, but not at the risk of hassling your referee.

i'm in a similar situation - i found out that my prof wont be able to write it till early july. Can i still submit my amcas with all the other recs attached, EXCEPT that one? and then add that later?

 

[PhilIvey]

i'm in a similar situation - i found out that my prof wont be able to write it till early july. Can i still submit my amcas with all the other recs attached, EXCEPT that one? and then add that later?

Yes. You can submit letters after submitting your AMCAS. However, you can make no changes to it.

 

[Redoxify]

Yes. You can submit letters after submitting your AMCAS. However, you can make no changes to it.

make changes to...my AMCAS? is that what you meant??

also, will adcomms not review my application till ALL the LORs are in? Or will be look at the LORs i send them, then look at the final one when i send it in july? or will they just wait till all of them come in, and THEN review.

Reason I'm asking is because I know the timing was crucial and planned everything around applying first day it opens in June. If adcoms dont even review my app till all the LORs come in, then all that planning will be wasted...

thanks yall, and sorry to OP for hijacking this thread

 

[Xinlitik]

I'm a bit confused about letters of recommendation. Are they due with the primary or the secondary application? If they're due for the primary only, I'll be at no disadvantage if none are in my AMCAS when I submit June 1, right? My impression is that it's for the 2ndary app, but I cant find a concrete answer..

Thanks

 

[anfleisch]

First, the June 1 submission is only important so that you can get verified quickly. The schools won't be reviewing anything until that is done. As for letters, it depends on the school. Usually you are not considered a complete applicant (aka in line for review) anyway until both the secondaries and letters have been received. Since secondaries for most schools are automatic, it does not really matter if they receive your secondary or letters first. The only difference will be if you have the secondaries saved on your computer or if you have uploaded them to the schools. You don't have to wait to start writing the secondary essays, since they are pretty much the same every year and can be found on this forum site.

Aka: unless they are like Mayo and don't need your letters until after a real decision has been made on your application, just fill out secondaries based on last year and wait for your letters to come in. The schools will auto notify you of secondaries usually via email.

 

[AH3]

I think the letters are mostly required for secondary applications, so adcoms will probably review your primary application without the letters. I'd get them in asap anyway though, since it never hurts to have all your stuff together early on.

I have a quick question about letters too. I currently am having 4 people write me letters:
1) Professor who taught and is my advisor. Will probably be my strongest letter.
2) Professor who taught and was PI of a lab I worked in.
3) Non-science professor who has taught 2 of my classes and lectured at a program I did.
4) Employer who I've known for several years and get along well with.

With those 4 letters, should I try to get a 5th from an MD? I've shadowed and know several doctors decently well, but I don't feel like any would write me a home run letter or anything. The letter would probably still be good, just not amazing. Should I stick with my 4 or go for a 5th?

 

[azrael87]

Schools don't consider your application complete until your secondary application AND letters of recommendation are received. As such, you could consider the letters due at the same time as the secondaries.

Basically, as long as the schools confirm receipt of your letters before or on the same day as they confirm receipt of your secondary app, your app won't be delayed or otherwise negatively affected.

 

[Xinlitik]

Thank you two. About what is the time frame for receiving the secondaries? (basically the first day the letters could be turned in with effect) I understand that many are automatic.. does that mean they come within a few days of sending in the AMCAS application?

I ask because I plan on getting my 2nd science letter from a course I am currently taking, and thus can't really get it until the course is over (about June 7).

Edit: Oh, and while on topic--my 1st science letter is from my PI. Is this a problem for schools requesting two science teachers? I work in his lab for a grade, and it's an actual class I'm enrolled in (Independent Studies).

 

[aesculapian]

I don't know how many LORs you're supposed to have, but it sounds like the 5th one would be pointless. Especially if all you've done with those doctors is shadow, what can they really say? "X has eyes and is a good observer." And since they wouldn't really be able to say anything new about you--i.e., anything your four other recommenders didn't cover-- I would just skip this one.

(Sorry, this is a response to the poster above me, not the OP)

 

[sexycani]

how are letters of rec submitted? like what do i tell my professor to do once he/she has the letter written up? (my school has no advisor or committee or whatever)

 

[anfleisch]

Letters can be submitted many ways. There is a way to have your professors sign in directly to an account on amcas with and they enter it with a letter id. There are third party thing like interfolio that can work. You just have to add each letter on your application and give the teacher the letter id and link. Call the number if you can't figure it out.

 

[anfleisch]

The secondaries all come in batches kinda and depends on the school. I would just start writing them as soon as you can and submit when you can and don't worry about that. It can be days, weeks, or months depending the school and when you submit.

As for the letter from the PI, that is actually a very important letter and probably fits as a science teacher. Many people submit as many as five or six letters, so you might want to look for more than just the minimum 2 and 1. In some ways, having an additional letter later on coms in handy to get off of waitlists or improve your application after an interview. So definitely don't take classes with potential letter writers lightly. Same thing with grades, since using those in update letters and having legitimate things to send in updates is important.

 

[stoptouchingme]

how are letters of rec submitted? like what do i tell my professor to do once he/she has the letter written up? (my school has no advisor or committee or whatever)

Please read the 2011 AMCAS instructions before filling out the application:

http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/2011amcasinstructions.pdf

 

[anfleisch]

Why would you want your app reviewed without letters of recommendation. Those are critical in most schools. If you will be missing one letter and it is coming in too late, just submit without it and add it later on. Additional letters later in the cycle can be beneficial as long a your initial app already has good letters and you will not be shut out due to lack of meaningful letters. Letters can be sent throughout the cycle and even into May when the waitlists move.

 

[JJMrK]

These threads deal with exactly the same issue, so I've merged them together.

 

[lahela623]

The secondaries all come in batches kinda and depends on the school. I would just start writing them as soon as you can and submit when you can and don't worry about that. It can be days, weeks, or months depending the school and when you submit.

As for the letter from the PI, that is actually a very important letter and probably fits as a science teacher. Many people submit as many as five or six letters, so you might want to look for more than just the minimum 2 and 1. In some ways, having an additional letter later on coms in handy to get off of waitlists or improve your application after an interview. So definitely don't take classes with potential letter writers lightly. Same thing with grades, since using those in update letters and having legitimate things to send in updates is important.

When entering info for letters of evaluation, amcas asks is this letter from a school? What does that mean exactly? I have a gsi (general student instructor, which is the same thing as a ta) writing me a letter, so she was affiliated with the school, but the letter is not from a committee or anthing. Do I say yes or no? Also, it asks you to enter an address: do i enter the address of the school that she was my gsi at? or do i enter her personal address?

Additionally, if anyone has any advice on getting professors to cosign letters, I'd appreciate it greatly. What's the appropriate protocol?

 

[MiniMoo]

When entering info for letters of evaluation, amcas asks is this letter from a school? What does that mean exactly? I have a gsi (general student instructor, which is the same thing as a ta) writing me a letter, so she was affiliated with the school, but the letter is not from a committee or anthing. Do I say yes or no? Also, it asks you to enter an address: do i enter the address of the school that she was my gsi at? or do i enter her personal address?

Additionally, if anyone has any advice on getting professors to cosign letters, I'd appreciate it greatly. What's the appropriate protocol?

What I did was I answered "yes" if the writer was affiliated with a school. So in your case, the GSI would fall into that category. Anyone that was not affiliated with the school (ie: outside employer, community service reference), I'd answer "no".

I used the writer's school mailing address.