Missing last letter of rec for VIRMP

[space whale]

VIRMP deadline is this Monday (good luck to everyone!) and the last of my letter of recs is not yet in. I've touched base with my clinician last week and she reiterated that she would write me a strong reference, but the VIRMP application still has not yet received her letter. She would've been the 4th letter, the other 3 were from various clinicians I've worked with in practice or done research with. So it isn't essential i get her letter, I just wanted a good letter from an internist well as a surgeon and ER vet for my internship application. VIRMP told me they receive letters past the deadline but it's up to the programs if they'll count the letter. Is it better to leave one letter as "not received" or just delete the unfinished request from my application? I can only delete unfinished references before the deadline. I just don't want having an unfinished letter to hurt my application. Thoughts?

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[VIN-Foundation]

The deadline is not here yet. I wouldn't worry about it.

William Thomas

 

[SocialStigma]

Give them until Monday. My last LOR wasn't submitted until 2pm the day of the deadline. Clinicians are busy and often they are likely writing multiple LORs this weekend.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

VIRMP deadline is this Monday (good luck to everyone!) and the last of my letter of recs is not yet in. I've touched base with my clinician last week and she reiterated that she would write me a strong reference, but the VIRMP application still has not yet received her letter. She would've been the 4th letter, the other 3 were from various clinicians I've worked with in practice or done research with. So it isn't essential i get her letter, I just wanted a good letter from an internist well as a surgeon and ER vet for my internship application. VIRMP told me they receive letters past the deadline but it's up to the programs if they'll count the letter. Is it better to leave one letter as "not received" or just delete the unfinished request from my application? I can only delete unfinished references before the deadline. I just don't want having an unfinished letter to hurt my application. Thoughts?

pretty sure 100% of my classmates going for the match this year currently have incomplete references. We're talking about it in our FB page right now, actually! It's stressful to see that your entire application can get tossed through no fault of your own.

 

[thatsallfolks97]

This is not uncommon, unfortunately. Last year one of my references submitted the morning of the deadline. This year, I'm still waiting on my last letter of rec to be submitted. It happens. It can be anxiety inducing, but you have to trust that your reference will follow through on their promise to write you a strong letter of recommendation. Hang in there!

 

[dvmhopeful2018]

“You must complete the sections on transcripts and letters of reference by the deadline. However, transcripts and letters of reference will be processed if they are received by the VIRMP after the deadline.”

from VIRMP website. As long as you have the section for LOR completed by the deadline, your letter writers can submit their letters after the deadline and VIRMP will process them.


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[pinkpuppy9]

“You must complete the sections on transcripts and letters of reference by the deadline. However, transcripts and letters of reference will be processed if they are received by the VIRMP after the deadline.”

from VIRMP website. As long as you have the section for LOR completed by the deadline, your letter writers can submit their letters after the deadline and VIRMP will process them.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

True, but that doesn't necessarily mean the programs will consider them if they come in after the deadline. Many programs print off what you have in right at the due date and if it's not in, it's not in (which sucks, but it does happen). Some places also grant interviews on a rolling basis, so it's to your advantage for your stuff to be in ASAP. This isn't like VMCAS where applications are sent once they are complete. Once you hit 'apply' for an internship, the program can access anything/all of what you've submitted thus far.

 

[Lab Vet]

True, but that doesn't necessarily mean the programs will consider them if they come in after the deadline. Many programs print off what you have in right at the due date and if it's not in, it's not in (which sucks, but it does happen). Some places also grant interviews on a rolling basis, so it's to your advantage for your stuff to be in ASAP. This isn't like VMCAS where applications are sent once they are complete. Once you hit 'apply' for an internship, the program can access anything/all of what you've submitted thus far.

I agree with this. Most training programs have an abundance of quality applicants- far more than they need to fill their limited quantity of slots. As PP mentioned, many programs will interview on a rolling basis. If you happen to be one of those folks who gets your complete packet in at the last minute, some programs won't wait for you. They'll have already filled their interview roster, and you'll be left out in the cold. It behooves you to get everything in before the deadline drops.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I agree with this. Most training programs have an abundance of quality applicants- far more than they need to fill their limited quantity of slots. As PP mentioned, many programs will interview on a rolling basis. If you happen to be one of those folks who gets your complete packet in at the last minute, some programs won't wait for you. They'll have already filled their interview roster, and you'll be left out in the cold. It behooves you to get everything in before the deadline drops.

Yep. And still waiting for my third letter (as is my classmate who is waiting on the same clinician). I'm hoping this doesn't impact my application negatively.

 

[VetMedSurvivalGuide]

As mentioned above, from the VIRMP website: "The VIRMP application deadlines are strongly enforced. You must complete your application packet and apply to programs by December 3, 2018 at 9:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. The VIRMP will continue to process transcripts and letters of reference after December 3, 2018 but you must enter school and reference information into your application packet prior to the deadline."

If one or more of your references hasn't submitted a letter (since we're past the deadline) you should contact them ASAP. As mentioned in one of the posts above, certain programs download all the applications soon after the deadline (when VIRMP sends them the application packages for everyone that applied) and will not go back. They might incorrectly think your application is incomplete and "throw it away". Other programs will take longer to download them and will never know a letter/transcript was late.
For the first example, I'd strongly consider contacting the programs you applied to when the missing letters are in. Just to make sure they have the opportunity to review your complete application.

Yep. And still waiting for my third letter (as is my classmate who is waiting on the same clinician). I'm hoping this doesn't impact my application negatively.

As long as the internship committee reviews the full application (ie. with all 3 letters) there isn't a negative impact on the application. Everyone knows that you don't have control over letter submission other than inputting the reference information to the website.

 

[VIN-Foundation]

I've been on our intern selection committee for 25 years and also been involved in selecting residents for almost as long. We would never throw away an application because an LOR was late; we know that's rarely the fault of the applicant. We always go back and check if there are any late LORs if an application is missing one. And by the way, we can tell if a transcript or LOR was submitted late because there is a little note in green font next to the application indicating this. It doesn't matter.

My suggestions are this:

1. If it's before the deadline, chill. Do not send reminders to your references. We already get reminder emails from the VIRMP. When I agree to write a LOR I agree to have it submitted by the deadline. Not before. You don't get extra points for getting the LOR early. This year I wrote 7 LORs and submitted the last one about 12 hours before the deadline. I patted myself on the back for getting them done so early this year.

2. If it's past the deadline, I think it's OK to check with your reference once to see what's up. My experience is most of these will get submitted within a few days. If not, it's not the end of the world. We just assume some busy clinician never got around to doing what they said they would do.

William Thomas

 

[VetMedSurvivalGuide]

I've been on our intern selection committee for 25 years and also been involved in selecting residents for almost as long. We would never throw away an application because an LOR was late; we know that's rarely the fault of the applicant. We always go back and check if there are any late LORs if an application is missing one. And by the way, we can tell if a transcript or LOR was submitted late because there is a little note in green font next to the application indicating this. It doesn't matter.

My suggestions are this:

1. If it's before the deadline, chill. Do not send reminders to your references. We already get reminder emails from the VIRMP. When I agree to write a LOR I agree to have it submitted by the deadline. Not before. You don't get extra points for getting the LOR early. This year I wrote 7 LORs and submitted the last one about 12 hours before the deadline. I patted myself on the back for getting them done so early this year.

2. If it's past the deadline, I think it's OK to check with your reference once to see what's up. My experience is most of these will get submitted within a few days. If not, it's not the end of the world. We just assume some busy clinician never got around to doing what they said they would do.

William Thomas

I completely agree that it makes zero sense to throw away an application for this reason and that should never happen. Unfortunately, there are programs that, for various reasons, never go back to check if those have been completed.