Official AMCAS LOE Thread

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chad5871 said:
They are due with the secondaries. You don't have to turn them in until you turn in your secondary, and even then you can turn your secondaries in before your LORs. For most schools that's some time in the early winter, but it's advisable to get them in much (MUCH) earlier than that.
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so start asking the professors now will be a good idea? 🙂 thank you very much for answering. appreciate it from bottom of my heart. thank you thank you.🙂🙂
 
DrYanKu said:
so start asking the professors now will be a good idea? 🙂 thank you very much for answering. appreciate it from bottom of my heart. thank you thank you.🙂🙂
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Definitely, ask ASAP. I asked for mine in February, and I just had my last one turned in to my pre-med office on Friday. Really, the sooner, the better. So many things can go wrong in this process that is out of your control, so you want to make sure you're ahead of the game.
 
CancerKiller007 said:
Is it absolutely imperative to have the letters signed? Please let me know. I already requested letters using Interfolio.
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One of my professors had no problem submitting her MS Word doc and submitting her digital signature through Interfolio.

Two of my professors had the worst problems with the digital sign, and after a long period of frustration on all of us, they ended up printing a hard copy and either faxing it or snail mailing it to MCAS with their handwritten signature there. One of them called Interfolio with this problem and they told my prof that about half the letter-writers have this issue with digital signature. Well, anyway, so then Interfolio ended up scanning and uploading the signed letters for me 🙂
 
Holly Golightly said:
I sent out a LOE from Interfolio on 5/25 and AMCAS only verified that they received it today. I called AMCAS to see how long it would take to have letters show up in the file but they said since this is a pilot system, even they don't have an approximation. Hope that helps!
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I see - thanks!!
 
Furthermore, if the author is no longer writing a letter you must send a letter to AMCAS indicating as such and AMCAS will mark the said letter received.
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Does anybody have any idea what this means? Is that after you submit your application? Because there is still an option to delete a recommendation that you have created.

And yes, ask ASAP if you haven't yet. Case in point, I asked for all of mine back in January. I have one in, but I know two others are on their way. However, I have another that the writer swears was sent in months ago. I definitely believe that, but Interfolio doesn't have any record of it, and now I can't get in touch with the writer. And of course it has to be my non-science letter. Fortunately I have another professor that is willing to write one at such late notice.

Why does everything have to be so difficult?
 
ChubbyChaser said:
damn!!! When did you become an Ass Mod?
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Yeah, my comment was not intended to be quite that cynical. That's what happens when you only get ~2 hours of sleep a night for several days straight.

UVAbme2009 said:
Does anybody have any idea what this means? Is that after you submit your application? Because there is still an option to delete a recommendation that you have created.
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Was this from the AMCAS help manual? I would think that you should be able to still add/edit/delete LORs after submitting since this section is not due at the same time. However it might be possible that once the application is submitted that section cannot be altered, in which case there will be many stressing pre-meds calling AMCAS about this. As soon as some people submit and get verified, we can find out for sure.
 
chad5871 said:
Yeah, my comment was not intended to be quite that cynical. That's what happens when you only get ~2 hours of sleep a night for several days straight.



Was this from the AMCAS help manual? I would think that you should be able to still add/edit/delete LORs after submitting since this section is not due at the same time. However it might be possible that once the application is submitted that section cannot be altered, in which case there will be many stressing pre-meds calling AMCAS about this. As soon as some people submit and get verified, we can find out for sure.
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It's from the help manual. Depending on how things go, I may not have one, so I'd kind of like to know what it means. It seems to me though that you can still alter the section as it says the section isn't due with the primary.
 
UVAbme2009 said:
It's from the help manual. Depending on how things go, I may not have one, so I'd kind of like to know what it means. It seems to me though that you can still alter the section as it says the section isn't due with the primary.
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That's what it sounds like to me. And even if you put it into AMCAS now and end up not getting it, you can always call AMCAS to fix it if it ends up you can't change it later.

Good luck! :luck:
 
chad5871 said:
Yeah, my comment was not intended to be quite that cynical. That's what happens when you only get ~2 hours of sleep a night for several days straight.
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It wasnt cynical...I just noticed it under your avatar
 
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Since I just submitted, the delete option goes away for the letters. So you need to have all of your intended letter writers entered before you submit. So if my one recommendation falls through, I'll have to call AMCAS to have them mark it as received.
 
UVAbme2009 said:
Since I just submitted, the delete option goes away for the letters. So you need to have all of your intended letter writers entered before you submit. So if my one recommendation falls through, I'll have to call AMCAS to have them mark it as received.
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Thanks for the update. Can you still add letters after submitting?
 
So my school uses Virtual Evals and I am not sure what to do.

I have 5 letters available so far and from what I've read on this thread it seems that I should send each letter via virtual evals with its own AMCAS letter ID. HOWEVER, I read on the AMCAS website that if you use virtual evals, all the letters can be sent as one packet (see below), what do I do?

8. My school uses the Virtual Evals (VE) service, how do I enter these letters in AMCAS?

  • Enter this VE-packet only once in the AMCAS application

  • Enter your advisor as the "Primary Author/Contact"
  • Optional: Enter the authors of the other letters in the packet as "Additional Authors"
  • Provide your advisor with the AMCAS Letter Request form that contains the AMCAS Letter ID
 
chad5871 said:
Thanks for the update. Can you still add letters after submitting?
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You can. I don't see why they cut off the option to delete. What's the difference?
 

Ok, I am sorry if this has already been answered, but I couldn’t find it in earlier posts. I have 9 LOE’s at my pre-med advising office. I understand that I can bring in my LOE request form and have my pre-med advising office attach it to each letter. Now, here is my question. What address do I list? The residence of my LOE writers, or the address from which the letters will be mailed (my pre-med advising office)? Also do I then put Florida State University for “organization name” since that is where the letters are coming from, or do I put their affiliated organization? (this question applies more to my character letters) This is way too complex… Maybe I shouldn’t be a doctor.
 
BeardedRunner said:
So my school uses Virtual Evals and I am not sure what to do.

I have 5 letters available so far and from what I've read on this thread it seems that I should send each letter via virtual evals with its own AMCAS letter ID. HOWEVER, I read on the AMCAS website that if you use virtual evals, all the letters can be sent as one packet (see below), what do I do?

8. My school uses the Virtual Evals (VE) service, how do I enter these letters in AMCAS?

  • Enter this VE-packet only once in the AMCAS application

  • Enter your advisor as the "Primary Author/Contact"
  • Optional: Enter the authors of the other letters in the packet as "Additional Authors"
  • Provide your advisor with the AMCAS Letter Request form that contains the AMCAS Letter ID
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I believe that this is only if your advisor is sending them all as a packet. If he/she is sending them together, you need to mark it as a packet. If he/she is sending each letter individually, they need to be marked individually. Check with your pre-med advisor to figure out exactly which way they transmit the letters.

EMTpremed181 said:
Ok, I am sorry if this has already been answered, but I couldn’t find it in earlier posts. I have 9 LOE’s at my pre-med advising office. I understand that I can bring in my LOE request form and have my pre-med advising office attach it to each letter. Now, here is my question. What address do I list? The residence of my LOE writers, or the address from which the letters will be mailed (my pre-med advising office)? Also do I then put Florida State University for “organization name” since that is where the letters are coming from, or do I put their affiliated organization? (this question applies more to my character letters) This is way too complex… Maybe I shouldn’t be a doctor.
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It depends. See the response I typed above. It depends on how they're being transmitted by your pre-med office. If each letter is being transmitted separately, you need to list the author of each letter, their mailing address, and the organization that they are representing - not the information for your undergraduate university.
 
My school collects all the LOEs and sends them together as a packet. So on AMCAS, I selected packet/committee letter (it's not a committee but still it's sent as a packet).

Do I need to list the individual authors anywhere?? If it's all sent as a packet, AMCAS should receive everything together right?
 
bozz said:
My school collects all the LOEs and sends them together as a packet. So on AMCAS, I selected packet/committee letter (it's not a committee but still it's sent as a packet).

Do I need to list the individual authors anywhere?? If it's all sent as a packet, AMCAS should receive everything together right?
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That's right. List it as a packet and then list your pre-med advisor as the contact.
 
When medical schools receive our letters from virtual evals and see them in our AMCAS app. for the pilot program how do they know that we have not seen our letters? For example, I am using virtual evals through my school, so will med schools assume that I did not see them? thanks
 
I am using virtual evals through my school and my prehealth advisor said to list the letters as a packet. When I click on a med school to specify letters I can't pick which letters that I want to be sent to a particular med school. Should I just change and list the letters individually so that I can pick certain letters for certain schools? I do not have a committee letter or anything just indiv letters.
 
moto_za said:
I am using virtual evals through my school and my prehealth advisor said to list the letters as a packet. When I click on a med school to specify letters I can't pick which letters that I want to be sent to a particular med school. Should I just change and list the letters individually so that I can pick certain letters for certain schools? I do not have a committee letter or anything just indiv letters.
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That's what I did - if you already sent them as a packet w/ just one letter request form though, you'll have to resend all of them w/ a letter request for each letter.
 
Is everyone using Interfolio or the amcas service for requesting LOR's?

And if the schools are not listed there, is it generally understood that the letter writer's have to mail them out to the schools you indicate?

I want to be able to communicate the instructions clearly to my letter writers and appreciate any feedback.
 
smtort said:
Is everyone using Interfolio or the amcas service for requesting LOR's?

And if the schools are not listed there, is it generally understood that the letter writer's have to mail them out to the schools you indicate?

I want to be able to communicate the instructions clearly to my letter writers and appreciate any feedback.
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Greetings,

I just wanted to post with a few brief answers to some questions we have been getting fairly often:


  • If a school isn't listed on our list of electronic receivers, you can still send your letters there via paper (i.e. USPS or DHL)

  • For a list of current electronic receivers check here.

  • In the last two weeks, Yale, Vanderbilt, and Columbia have all set up electronic receiver accounts.

  • We understand that not all letter writers are comfortable with technology. Interfolio will ALWAYS accept paper copies of letters. Those will be scanned and uploaded within 1-3 days of receipt guaranteed, but usually they are uploaded on the first day. This is included in your account fee, so don't hesitate to tell your writers to do this, if you think it will be easier for them.

  • I think this is in another entry in this thread, but I just want to reiterate here. We have been working with AMCAS to ensure we can transmit letters to them electronically. As they work out the kinks for the pilot system, we will be sending the letters to their office via DHL 2-Day delivery.
I really hope this information is helpful for you guys. If you have any questions about the AMCAS process, we recommend getting in touch with them or posting here. If you have questions about Interfolio that aren't answered on the forums at SDN or on our website and Help Center*, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us by phone (202-223-3358 or 877-77-FOLIO) or e-mail ([email protected]).

Thanks and good luck!
Jack

* Help Center for File Holders: https://www.interfolio.com/helpcenter/index.cfm/fh

* Help Center for Letter Writers: https://www.interfolio.com/helpcenter/index.cfm/lw
 
OK!

I have submitted my AMCAS, and am now writing the information for the LOE. I wrote in everything, the committee crap, the individual letters, all the stupid information, and i selected which schools get what letter.

When i breathed a sigh, left, and came back to my computer the next day, everything was GONE😱! This happened to me twice. Yes I always hit "Done"

Do they want me to resubmit?

Secondly, I have submitting five letters. Three will come in a committee packet now, and I will send in the next two via committee packet later on. Once the first three get processed, will they automatically be sent to the schools? Or will they wait until all five are in? This problem is pointless if I am never even able to write what letters are coming in......
 
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hey..i had the same problem..you have to resubmit..as a fellow indian..good luck
( i lived in india too)
 
ganesha123 said:
hey..i had the same problem..you have to resubmit..as a fellow indian..good luck
( i lived in india too)
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👍 Thank you very much for your help!👍

Do you have an MDapps? If so leave me a comment, so I can get back to you and see how your doing.

Good luck to you too.:luck::luck::luck::luck::luck::luck:

Now can anyone answer my second question? Will they wait for all letters before they send out them out, or will they send out the letters as they receive them.
 
Question: can I submit my AMCAS primary before I have all of the AMCAS LOEs in? Several of the schools to which I am applying participate in the AMCAS LOE program, and I want to make sure I'm not screwing myself over if I submit the primary without assigning any letters to those schools.

Thanks!
 
I have a problem and wanted to see if anyone else could comment-

I sent my letters to TMDSAS via Interfolio and they won't accept them because they weren't uploaded on letterhead- well my school has letterhead paper but not letterhead for word documents being uploaded. Will this be a problem anywhere else???
 
-
 
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zootso said:
First off, thank you all so much for getting this information!

Secondly, my questions:

(1) What is the address for my professors to send (snail mail) their LORs to AMCAS to? I cannot seem to locate it on the AMCAS website

(2) What is this 'AMCAS Letter Request form' that is mentioned over and over on the AMCAS website-I can't find it to send it out...or, am I missing something in this process?
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you have to fill out all the information about the letter writer. Who they are/ their phone number/address/ etc. Once you have done this for a single writer, you are given the option to print out a letter request form. You give the writer this request form, they will attach it to the letter.

On the request form is the address of where to send the letter.

GL
 
does anyone know what will happen if I had accidentally left out the letter I.D. on my LOR? It had my AMCAS I.D.

I sent it through interfolio, but I just realized that I didn't mention the letter I.D. on it. Should I process it again, or do you think I should just wait and see if AMCAS is smart enough to match the names together?

thanks! 🙂:luck:
 
i'm really confused... AMCAS said that we can submit the app before we have our letters, so I went ahead and submitted it a few days ago. Now I finally know who exactly are going to write the letters, so I'm trying to put them in my application, but it's not letting me save anything since I've already submitted the app. What do they want me to do now?
 
phospho said:
i'm really confused... AMCAS said that we can submit the app before we have our letters, so I went ahead and submitted it a few days ago. Now I finally know who exactly are going to write the letters, so I'm trying to put them in my application, but it's not letting me save anything since I've already submitted the app. What do they want me to do now?
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i believe you have to resubmit your application so that the changes are saved. it's not really "resubmitting," its more like saving, but to do it, you have to click the submit button and sign off on your changes by entering in your password and agreeing that you can't make any changes once its been submitted.
 
A couple of noob questions:

1. I just submitted my primary yesterday and listed 3 LOR (1 committee/1 Volunteer Director/1 Doctor). I might never have the doctor send in a LOR because I won't need it. Is that going to be a problem because it is listed on my application?

2. I am currently applying to both DO and MD med schools. Do I use the same interfolio account?

3. Since I just submitted my app, I am getting nervous that I should've had my LOR's sent in already if they're going to take weeks to verify. Is it imperative that I go to my school's premed office and get those sent in asap, or if I go in on thursday is that soon enough?

Thanks, I know I'm a nub, but I am thoroughly confused, and without a premed advisor (she was in some sort of accident ><).
 
anyone? Bump? O wait, the bump wasn't a question, scratch that! (also scratch the "!", it's not necessary)
 
dtepper said:
A couple of noob questions:

1. I just submitted my primary yesterday and listed 3 LOR (1 committee/1 Volunteer Director/1 Doctor). I might never have the doctor send in a LOR because I won't need it. Is that going to be a problem because it is listed on my application?

2. I am currently applying to both DO and MD med schools. Do I use the same interfolio account?

3. Since I just submitted my app, I am getting nervous that I should've had my LOR's sent in already if they're going to take weeks to verify. Is it imperative that I go to my school's premed office and get those sent in asap, or if I go in on thursday is that soon enough?

Thanks, I know I'm a nub, but I am thoroughly confused, and without a premed advisor (she was in some sort of accident ><).
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You probably want to double check with someone else here who's much more knowledgeable, but my initial responses would be:

1. I think as long as you don't *assign* the letters to any schools, it won't get send.
2. Yes
3. It depends: I think all it is that you want your letters "received" by AMCAS by the time secondaries come around.
 
I have a question of my own. This is getting kinda ridiculous.

I sent my letters from interfolio to AMCAS on 5/29. Interfolio confirmed the delivery on 5/29 afternoon.

It is STILL not received by AMCAS.

I mean, okay, so transcripts and processing applications are their priorities, but... should I call and see what's up?
 
justapremed said:
I have a question of my own. This is getting kinda ridiculous.

I sent my letters from interfolio to AMCAS on 5/29. Interfolio confirmed the delivery on 5/29 afternoon.

It is STILL not received by AMCAS.

I mean, okay, so transcripts and processing applications are their priorities, but... should I call and see what's up?
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My interfolio "delivery" status is also "sent" but no updates from AMCAS
 
If I am having letters sent out from two different places (school + Interfolio) and assuming Interfolio gets there first, will my secondaries be processed if my Interfolio letters fulfill the requirements or will they wait for all of my letters to come in first?
 
About changing your LOE info after submitting, from what you've been saying, is it that we can Add but cannot Remove (must contact AMCAS to remove), and we'll have to Resubmit after adding?

My biggest question is whether we can change which letters are assigned to which school after submitting... does the Medical School screen still let you do that?

Thanks!!
 
With regards to inputing the LOE information into the AMCAS application:

The second question is "Is this letter from a school?"
Next, of the required info, an address is required for the specific LOE.

I am using Interfolio, and I have 4 LOE's (2 science professors, 1 supervisor, 1 volunteer); my questions are:

1) because my letters are from Interfolio and I am submitting them as individual letters rather than a packet, should I select that the 2 LOE's from my professors are from a school?

2) again, because my letters are being submitted to AMCAS via Interfolio, do I give Interfolio's address or the letter writer's address?

Thank you to anyone who can answer these questions and thank you all for this thread. Super helpful!
 
sorry.lame question. is the LOR distribution service by amcas free? i use my school LOR system and it costs $8 ($20 express) to send to each school.

I'm still not clear WHY we shall use AMCAS system over our regular LOR storing service. Or shall we?
 
spicynoodle21 said:
sorry.lame question. is the LOR distribution service by amcas free? i use my school LOR system and it costs $8 ($20 express) to send to each school.

I'm still not clear WHY we shall use AMCAS system over our regular LOR storing service. Or shall we?
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You must use AMCAS for the designated schools. You're school can send the letters to AMCAS.
 
This LOE stuff is a bunch of crap...applying to medical school is already difficult and time consuming enough...it does not have to be this hard...

It should be submit your letters electronically to AMCAS and TMDSAS (why Texas has its own service is beyond me), then those two services need to store your letters and send them to the schools that you indicate you are applying to...real simple...charge an extra $10-$20 per applicant to cover costs but the way it is set up now is absolutely ridiculous and its not that hard to fix.
 
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