LOR Timing (Writing them, Not submitting them)

[sgtbrushes]

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All the threads on this forum with "LOR timing" as the subject line refer to the timing of when to submit LORs in conjunction with one's AMCAS application. My question concerns the timing of having professors write LORs for me. I am taking all my med school pre-reqs during my first two years of college. If my Bio 101 professor writes me an LOR in Summer 2010 for instances, and I am applying for matriculation during the summer of 2012, is my LOR going to be obsolete?

On a related note, is an LOR from Bio/ Chem/ Phys/ Ochem I and II considered good for an application, or should I be getting my science LORs from upper-division courses?

 

[flip26]

All the threads on this forum with "LOR timing" as the subject line refer to the timing of when to submit LORs in conjunction with one's AMCAS application. My question concerns the timing of having professors write LORs for me. I am taking all my med school pre-reqs during my first two years of college. If my Bio 101 professor writes me an LOR in Summer 2010 for instances, and I am applying for matriculation during the summer of 2012, is my LOR going to be obsolete?

On a related note, is an LOR from Bio/ Chem/ Phys/ Ochem I and II considered good for an application, or should I be getting my science LORs from upper-division courses?

Get them when you can, and ask the prof to submit them to Interfolio - so sign up for an Interfolio account, a place to store these letters until you need them.

Letters won't become obsolete in a year or 2...not a concern.

Get letters from the profs who know you the best, and hopefully in classes that you aced...doesn't matter if that is upper div classes or not.

 

[dw2158]

Get them when you can, and ask the prof to submit them to Interfolio - so sign up for an Interfolio account, a place to store these letters until you need them.

Letters won't become obsolete in a year or 2...not a concern.

Get letters from the profs who know you the best, and hopefully in classes that you aced...doesn't matter if that is upper div classes or not.

this. my letters were all 1-2 years old when i applied... and so far it hasn't caused me a single problem.

 

[sgtbrushes]

Thanks! I'll make an account soon.

 

[rHinO1]

For Amcas it says that all LOR must have the applicants Amcas ID #. Since ID #'s won't be assigned until May, how do you submit LOR to interfolio early? Do you have to have the writer update the letter, or something else? Thanks in advance.

 

[flip26]

For Amcas it says that all LOR must have the applicants Amcas ID #. Since ID #'s won't be assigned until May, how do you submit LOR to interfolio early? Do you have to have the writer update the letter, or something else? Thanks in advance.

Another reason to use Interfolio to store letters - they will assign whatever IDs you want to the letters before forwarding them to AMCAS or to individual schools...also, your AMCAS ID is the same as your MCAT ID from AAMC...

 

[rHinO1]

Another reason to use Interfolio to store letters - they will assign whatever IDs you want to the letters before forwarding them to AMCAS or to individual schools...also, your AMCAS ID is the same as your MCAT ID from AAMC...

Thanks that is extremely helpful to know because I'm gathering my letters now for next cycle. So just to be sure I've got it straight... I can have my writers submit the letters to interfolio and when I complete my primary I can assign my own ID # to the letters when I forward them to Amcas or the school? Or alternatively I can give my writers the ID # from my MCAT?

 

[flip26]

Thanks that is extremely helpful to know because I'm gathering my letters now for next cycle. So just to be sure I've got it straight... I can have my writers submit the letters to interfolio and when I complete my primary I can assign my own ID # to the letters when I forward them to Amcas or the school? Or alternatively I can give my writers the ID # from my MCAT?

Don't burden your writers with the ID.

You will not be "releasing" any letters from Interfolio until next July anyway, so anytime prior to having them send them over to AMCAS, you can assign your AMCAS ID, and it is the same as your MCAT ID (AAMC) so you don't even have to wait to inform Interfolio, but there is no rush, either.

 

[FlowRate]

I distinctly remember some schools saying that "letters older than 1 year are not acceptable." or something of the sort. I waited about 6 months to get a letter from a prof because it would have been slightly too old if I got it when I wanted to.

 

[flip26]

I distinctly remember some schools saying that "letters older than 1 year are not acceptable." or something of the sort. I waited about 6 months to get a letter from a prof because it would have been slightly too old if I got it when I wanted to.

Never seen any such requirement for any school, certainly none of the ones I applied to. That is simply not a realistic requirement for many people.

You are gonna have to provide a cite for that one...

 

[FlowRate]

Never seen any such requirement for any school, certainly none of the ones I applied to. That is simply not a realistic requirement for many people.

You are gonna have to provide a cite for that one...

a school that I'm sure everyone here knows about:
http://www.bcm.edu/admissions/index.cfm?PMID=2324

this is not where I originally saw it, but here's one link: http://www.advising.ufl.edu/prehealth/handouts/application.pdf

 

[flip26]

a school that I'm sure everyone here knows about:
http://www.bcm.edu/admissions/index.cfm?PMID=2324

this is not where I originally saw it, but here's one link: http://www.advising.ufl.edu/prehealth/handouts/application.pdf

So that's one school, and that would be a problem for someone who applies there (I did not). But where are the schools (plural) you mentioned.

I applied to well over 20 schools, and none of them had such a requirement.

Also, the PDF is TLDR...

 

[MedAdComMD]

So that's one school, and that would be a problem for someone who applies there (I did not). But where are the schools (plural) you mentioned.

I applied to well over 20 schools, and none of them had such a requirement.

Also, the PDF is TLDR...

I can confirm with you my state school has the same requirement, we need CURRENT letter of recommendations.

Heres another school that has this requirement...

http://www.unmc.edu/com/entrance.htm

" If you are reapplying, current recommendations are required "

 

[flip26]

I can confirm with you my state school has the same requirement, we need CURRENT letter of recommendations.

Heres another school that has this requirement...

http://www.unmc.edu/com/entrance.htm

" If you are reapplying, current recommendations are required "

Surely there is a list of these schools somewhere.

And again, I applied to well over 20 schools, and none of them had this requirement.

 

[dw2158]

Surely there is a list of these schools somewhere.

And again, I applied to well over 20 schools, and none of them had this requirement.

ditto. except i only applied to 18.

 

[FlowRate]

So that's one school, and that would be a problem for someone who applies there (I did not). But where are the schools (plural) you mentioned.

I applied to well over 20 schools, and none of them had such a requirement.

Also, the PDF is TLDR...

Yeah, because I'm going to go do all the work to supply you with an exhaustive list of schools that strongly recommend or require that your LOR's be written within one year of application. Or, just maybe, you could consider the fact that a two minute google search has already proven me right (2+ = plural) and that I was reading over about 40 schools' requirements within the last month. This requirement is far from being the majority of schools (<10%), but it certainly applies to MY #1 choice (Baylor) and thus matters to anyone who would apply to one of these (few) schools with that requirement (as n_schools->00, p(need lor within 1 year)=1).

 

[flip26]

Yeah, because I'm going to go do all the work to supply you with an exhaustive list of schools that strongly recommend or require that your LOR's be written within one year of application. Or, just maybe, you could consider the fact that a two minute google search has already proven me right (2+ = plural) and that I was reading over about 40 schools' requirements within the last month. This requirement is far from being the majority of schools (<10%), but it certainly applies to MY #1 choice (Baylor) and thus matters to anyone who would apply to one of these (few) schools with that requirement (as n_schools->00, p(need lor within 1 year)=1).

Pal, I don't need anyone to do any work for me - my cycle is done (see my sig below).

This is similar to all the people who unnecessarily get LORs from physicians when only a couple of allo schools require it (Utah, ?) because someone like you comes on SDN and posts vaguely about the limited exception to the rule without explicitly naming the handful of schools.

Same thing happens with "calculus" requirements. I LOL every time at the ad nauseum posts stating "most med schools require one year of calculus" when the actual number of schools that do could be counted on one hand that has been in a saw mill accident...

 

[halekulani]

i suggest you use LORs dated within the last year if possible
most professors save them, add any new info since writing your LOR previously, then re-date them to keep it "updated"

 

[flip26]

i suggest you use LORs dated within the last year if possible
most professors save them, add any new info since writing your LOR previously, then re-date them to keep it "updated"

Good common sense advice, and the reality for probably 99 percent of applicants.

One thing to note is that many profs only "gear up" to write all the LORs for a cycle at one time, say around May-June. So chances are that if you approach a prof in, say, November, he may not be all that motivated to write a letter for you until you actually need it so that he can do all the LORs he has agreed to do in one stretch.

But if you are applying next cycle, you are already within the "one year" date requirement that would evidently cover you for 100 percent of med schools, so it is not too early to get letters now that may be more difficult to get next year.

 

[FlowRate]

Pal, I don't need anyone to do any work for me - my cycle is done (see my sig below).

This is similar to all the people who unnecessarily get LORs from physicians when only a couple of allo schools require it (Utah, ?) because someone like you comes on SDN and posts vaguely about the limited exception to the rule without explicitly naming the handful of schools.

Same thing happens with "calculus" requirements. I LOL every time at the ad nauseum posts stating "most med schools require one year of calculus" when the actual number of schools that do could be counted on one hand that has been in a saw mill accident...

I distinctly remember some schools saying that "letters older than 1 year are not acceptable." or something of the sort.

Congratulations on getting into medical school.