~*~*~*~*~* Offical Letters of Evaluation Questions Thread 2023-2024 *~*~*~*~*~

[chilly_md]

Hi, I have received 5 LORs that were all uploaded to Interfolio. I am not sure which are strongest as they are obviously confidential. Am I allowed to send the LOR's to my athletic/academic advisor and ask them to let me know which are best? I will make it clear I do not want to know the contents of the letters! Please let me know if this is considered ethical?
FYI my school doesn't have a pre-med committee

You should pick based on your own judgement of your relationship with the letter writers. A regular advisor is not suited to replace what some pre-med committees do for students. It would not be in the spirit of confidentiality if you do this.

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[mayatb]

Do medical schools see that you didn't send them every single letter of recommendation you requested? I had my Charge RN write one but she didn't submit it on Letterhead so I created a new submission for her to re-submit. I'm just confused at what schools can see about my requested LORs and that they'll be concerned that I didn't technically submit all of my letters. I'll still have 4 which satisfies and normally goes over all of my school requirements.

Also while you're here, is 4 enough? I have my Charge RN, OChem professor, volunteer coordinator, and Scholars professor/director. I am 2+ years out of school so can't get another STEM professor, and I'm not super close to the MDs I've shadowed and don't really want to ask them to submit anything generic.

Thank you in advance!!

 

[doc.Junior]

A couple questions about letters of recommendation, please:

• Would it be beneficial to have a writer mention they were a former Assistant Prof at a medical school (currently director of a medical center)? Or does it look irrelevant and reaching? Is there a way that makes it sound better (e.g. "Former Assistant Professor, X Medical School")?
• Assuming it's a good school, is it beneficial for a letter writer to mention what school they graduated from (e.g. "X Medical School, '92")?

Particularly regarding the above two questions: there's some schools they have ties to, but I guess I'm wondering if it's ok if they reference those ties in a letter that goes to all schools (because we can't customize most letters to a specific school).

Thanks.

 

[chilly_md]

Do medical schools see that you didn't send them every single letter of recommendation you requested? I had my Charge RN write one but she didn't submit it on Letterhead so I created a new submission for her to re-submit. I'm just confused at what schools can see about my requested LORs and that they'll be concerned that I didn't technically submit all of my letters. I'll still have 4 which satisfies and normally goes over all of my school requirements.

Also while you're here, is 4 enough? I have my Charge RN, OChem professor, volunteer coordinator, and Scholars professor/director. I am 2+ years out of school so can't get another STEM professor, and I'm not super close to the MDs I've shadowed and don't really want to ask them to submit anything generic.

Thank you in advance!!

If you already assigned the letter and deleted it on AMCAS, then yes. If it just was an unfilled slot since the nurse didn’t submit it or you never assigned the letter to schools, then they will not be aware of its existence.

Shadowing letters are of no value. 4 letters are enough. Letters beyond this usually do not add anything new.

 

[chilly_md]

A couple questions about letters of recommendation, please:

• Would it be beneficial to have a writer mention they were a former Assistant Prof at a medical school (currently director of a medical center)? Or does it look irrelevant and reaching? Is there a way that makes it sound better (e.g. "Former Assistant Professor, X Medical School")?
• Assuming it's a good school, is it beneficial for a letter writer to mention what school they graduated from (e.g. "X Medical School, '92")?

Particularly regarding the above two questions: there's some schools they have ties to, but I guess I'm wondering if it's ok if they reference those ties in a letter that goes to all schools (because we can't customize most letters to a specific school).

Thanks.

I have moved your question to the main Letters of Rec questions thread we have.

No, those associations do not help. What is important is that the letter writer knows you well. Do not customize the letter since all schools will see it. Considering many employees come and go, as well as the fact that schools graduate at least 100 doctors every year, the ties do not matter.

 

[doc.Junior]

I have moved your question to the main Letters of Rec questions thread we have.

No, those associations do not help. What is important is that the letter writer knows you well. Do not customize the letter since all schools will see it. Considering many employees come and go, as well as the fact that schools graduate at least 100 doctors every year, the ties do not matter.

Ok, thanks. And, just to check--we can select what schools we want letters to go to, so you should be able to customize for one or two schools, no? (You could just select in AMCAS to only send a certain letter to that one school.)

 

[chilly_md]

Ok, thanks. And, just to check--we can select what schools we want letters to go to, so you should be able to customize for one or two schools, no? (You could just select in AMCAS to only send a certain letter to that one school.)

Yes, be sure you do not mix up your letters when doing this.

 

[Tic_Tac Lover]

So I am getting ghosted by one of my letter writers rn. Thankfully, I already have 3 that fulfill the requirement for all schools that follow the 2 prof 1 PI/mentor requirement. I do think this 4th letter will be beneficial. Unfortunately, they are a nationally renowned researcher and notorious for pushing back their letter writing to the bottom of their long to-do list (understandable).

I am thinking of going about this two ways and just wanted some advice.

First: I can just wait till mid to late July, if I'm still getting ghosted, just submit my secondaries and mark the letter as no longer being received and just let him know I don't need the letter anymore.

Second: I am using inter-folio, and I read on here that even if you mark the letter as no longer being received, it will go through if sent to AMCAS. So what I would do is mark it as not being received. If he does end up sending it to my inter-folio I'll update it whenever he does. If he doesn't, then it'll already be assigned as no longer being sent, and my secondary will be ready to review in mid-July when I plan to submit my essays.

 

[WPXN Learner]

Hi,

One of my reference letter writers has left the institution where we previously worked together and is not currently employed. They are not allowed to use the past institution's letterhead. What alternatives do we have for the official letterhead requirement?

 

[wysdoc]

Hi,

One of my reference letter writers has left the institution where we previously worked together and is not currently employed. They are not allowed to use the past institution's letterhead. What alternatives do we have for the official letterhead requirement?

Anyone can create their own personal letterhead on a computer.
He can still write you a letter stating how he came to know you.

Remind him it should have the letterhead, a date, and a real "by hand" signature.

 

[chilly_md]

Hi,

One of my reference letter writers has left the institution where we previously worked together and is not currently employed. They are not allowed to use the past institution's letterhead. What alternatives do we have for the official letterhead requirement?

I moved your question and the answer you received from Wysdoc to our Letters of Evaluation thread. Some questions pop up often, so it is helpful for applicants to go through it instead of waiting for a response.

For example, at the top of this page, someone had a similar question.

 

[yhp246]

Hi! I have a couple questions about my LORs.

I have 5 letters: 1 PI (psych), 1 employer, 2 sci prof, 1 non-sci prof.

I am very confident in my PI, employer, and non-sci prof LORs. My two science LORs I know will be more generic. My questions are:

• If a school only requires 1 science LOR, should I submit both or will I be better off just submitting one?
• If a school has a 3 letter maximum with no specifications on who they are from, would it be okay to send my PI, employer, and non-sci letters or would it look bad that I am not including a science letter?

Thanks!

 

[chilly_md]

Hi! I have a couple questions about my LORs.

I have 5 letters: 1 PI (psych), 1 employer, 2 sci prof, 1 non-sci prof.

I am very confident in my PI, employer, and non-sci prof LORs. My two science LORs I know will be more generic. My questions are:

• If a school only requires 1 science LOR, should I submit both or will I be better off just submitting one?
• If a school has a 3 letter maximum with no specifications on who they are from, would it be okay to send my PI, employer, and non-sci letters or would it look bad that I am not including a science letter?

Thanks!

I moved this to our main LOR Questions thread.

If they only need 1 science LOR and make no mention of preferring 2, just submit 1. In general, schools tend to value the science LOR more than the others, so you should probably include that over the non-sci professor LOR.

 

[meowth85]

Hello,

I received a letter from my PI on Interfolio, and its quality check reports that my PI didn't upload a signature.
He insists that he did so I asked Interfolio and they mentioned that it's typewritten so it's not considered a digital signature.
I really don't want to bother the PI again, especially when typewritten signatures are accepted everywhere else. Is this not acceptable?

 

[chilly_md]

Hello,

I received a letter from my PI on Interfolio, and its quality check reports that my PI didn't upload a signature.
View attachment 374424
He insists that he did so I asked Interfolio and they mentioned that it's typewritten so it's not considered a digital signature.
I really don't want to bother the PI again, especially when typewritten signatures are accepted everywhere else. Is this not acceptable?

It depends what format Interfolio or the PI says it is. As far as we know, he could have just typed his name in plaintext. I do not recall any previous reports that Interfolio was flagging signatures, so I would lean towards them being right and you getting this letter fixed.

 

[infiniteregress2020]

In y'all's experience, how long does Interfolio typically take to deliver LORs from Interfolio to AMCAS?

 

[genetics101]

Are there any schools that do not require letters to begin reading your secondary application? My composite letter is slightly delayed and was wondering if it is worth prioritizing those schools

 

[infiniteregress2020]

Are there any schools that do not require letters to begin reading your secondary application? My composite letter is slightly delayed and was wondering if it is worth prioritizing those schools

Maybe GW and Tufts, they tend to send secondaries out before application verification.

 

[Goro]

Yes.

But MD schools don't care about doctor LORs

 

[Catalystik]

But MD schools don't care about doctor LORs

Employment letters from a physician would be an exception. It is Shadowing letters that carry no weight.

 

[wizard123]

URGENT QUESTION:
I have already submitted a committee letter 1+ months ago but I'm still waiting on the MD I currently work for to submit his letter, is my secondary application still considered incomplete? Please let me know!

 

[chilly_md]

Is it okay for a DO that I’ve worked with for over a year to write a recommendation letter if I am applying to allopathic med schools?

I merged your question with our main Letters of Evaluation thread.