LORs: When to submit, and how many.

[YourRealName]

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Do medical schools expect letters of evaluation to be attached to my primary application, even if they won't review them until the secondary? Does it benefit/harm me to try to have them designated before I get a secondary?

Also, how do you determine how many and what kind of letters each school would like? Most schools have an FAQ page stating that a committee letter is required. Can I submit additional letters along with my committee letter? That is - are these schools saying the ONLY letter I should submit is my committee letter, or are they saying I must AT LEAST submit my committee letter?

Example from the Icahn School of Medicine:

Q: How many letters of recommendation do I need to submit?
A: Letters of recommendation will only be accepted through AMCAS. We require a letter of recommendation from your Premedical Advisory Committee. Individual recommendations from professors who taught you (one Science and one Non-Science) will be acceptable substitutes only if your school does not have a Premed Committee.​

Sounds simple enough, but no information on whether I should add them to AMCAS before or after I get a secondary and whether I can send additional letters.

There seems to be a few posts similar to this one on SDN, but I couldn't find one with a straightforward answer. Thanks in advance!

 

[LuciusVorenus]

Do medical schools expect letters of evaluation to be attached to my primary application, even if they won't review them until the secondary? Does it benefit/harm me to try to have them designated before I get a secondary?

Also, how do you determine how many and what kind of letters each school would like? Most schools have an FAQ page stating that a committee letter is required. Can I submit additional letters along with my committee letter? That is - are these schools saying the ONLY letter I should submit is my committee letter, or are they saying I must AT LEAST submit my committee letter?

Example from the Icahn School of Medicine:

Q: How many letters of recommendation do I need to submit?
A: Letters of recommendation will only be accepted through AMCAS. We require a letter of recommendation from your Premedical Advisory Committee. Individual recommendations from professors who taught you (one Science and one Non-Science) will be acceptable substitutes only if your school does not have a Premed Committee.​

Sounds simple enough, but no information on whether I should add them to AMCAS before or after I get a secondary and whether I can send additional letters.

There seems to be a few posts similar to this one on SDN, but I couldn't find one with a straightforward answer. Thanks in advance!

I don't know how committee letters work but I imagine you only want to submit that if you have it. If committee letters don't include information from work supervisors and research mentors then it is most likely ok to submit them as individual letters - at least from what I have seen on school FAQs.

You assign the letters to each school in AMCAS and they're sent when they request a secondary from you. You can submit the secondary without the letters but most schools won't consider you complete until the letters come in.

Most schools have a maximum number of letters you can send in terms of individual letters and I've seen it range from 4-6. I'm guessing once you get the secondaries for those schools they will have more information for you, but you can always email and ask.

 

[dirty630]

Submit them to AMCAS as soon as you get them. There's no point in waiting. I didn't have mine with my primary because I hadn't received them yet, and it took me an extra week to be complete at all my schools because of it. No school will penalize you for sending letters with your primary. If they want your letters, they'll have instant access then. I haven't heard of any schools rejecting additional letters, you might as well add them.

 

[eefen]

-If you have a committee letter, submit that with your app ASAP (always submit letters as soon as you get them...even if you haven't completed a secondary for a school).

-If you have additional letters, you can submit those as well. In general, don't submit more than six letters at any one school. Check their requirements for their preferred max - schools vary.

-If you do NOT have a committee letter, schools will usually accept some combination of letters (e.g. 2 science, 1 nonscience) as a substitute. Check the school's webpage for more info. Again, more letters may be submitted if you have them, but only up to that school's max.

-Email schools directly if you have any questions.