LOR Dilemma - Lazy Professor ruining app cycle

[fmpak93]

Okay my school requires 5 letters BEFORE you can request an interview for a committee letter. There is a huge waiting list of students waiting for the interview. Once you're interviewed by the school's premedical committee, they write you a committee letter.

Problem 1: I have only 4 Letters for a while now

Problem 2: I'd have 5 but this one professor is taking forever to write it (8+ weeks), his memory is not too good as he is old but he does say he is working on it. And he is kind of lazy.

Problem 3: No 5 letters = No committee letter

Problem 4: I am ready to submit my secondaries, but haven't sent letters only because of this issue.

Possible Scenario:

1) Submit 4 LORs, forget the 5th, and submit secondaries by end of July. (2 physics professors, 1 writing professors, 1 my research professor) and be done with everything.

2) Wait for 5th letter, get a Committee Letter, and have LORs sent out, and secondaries received by end of August with the Committee Letter arriving somewhere in September.

Don't have good numbers, just average (30 MCAT, 3.5 science/cum) so time will work against me harshly the longer I take.

Random question: Are LORs even this big of a deal that I should be so worried about all this?

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[kyamh]

LORs are definitely a big deal, the contents of mine were mentioned at more than one interview.

I would just submit the letters and move forward. Some schools will ask why you did not use the committee letter service, and I would just honestly say that your school's backlog would delay your application by two months.

 

[lobo.solo]

I'll move forward. Also realize that some schools want 5 or more LORs