*~*~*~*Official Letters of Recommendation Questions Thread 2012-2013*~*~*~*

[Boerboel]

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Hi all,
I'm a bit confused. I'm getting a letter from a professor of mine, so I selected the "Individual" option and then it asked me if it was from a school. Since this is from my professor, do I say "No"? Or since he's a professor at my school should I say "Yes"? I'm just a tad confused as to what they're wanting.
Thanks!

 

[stoutt]

So my primary app will be sent to schools 6/29 (the 1st day) and my committee letter should be in to amcas very shortly after that. I'm trying to be "complete" at my schools asap. I have another letter that I could assign but it will not be received until late july/early august. If I want to be marked as complete early should I only assign my committee letter to schools and wait until the later letter is in amcas before assigning? This would mean sending another letter to schools after I had already been "complete". Thanks!

 

[Heavens Cloud]

What the hell do I put under "address" under "add a letter of evaluation/recommendation"? I feel like an idiot. All of my letters are awaiting on Interfolio.

 

[estradiol9]

I submitted my AMCAS with a committee letter assigned. I am currently awaiting verification. AMCAS has everything else they need for a "complete" application except the commitee letter.

1.) They will send all my application to the school I applied to even without the letter being there yet correct?

2.) Will schools begin reviewing your application if the LOR is not there yet?

3.) If the LOR is sent/uploaded by the committee to AMCAS, will they automatically send it to the school? Do I have to update the school or anything?

 

[geh926]

Okay, so I feel like one of my writers may have flaked on me. Can't really blame them as they found out last minute they had to teach 2 summer classes.

So now I'm emailing another professor to ask her for one. I just had her this past semester, so the relationship is pretty fresh/informal. I've already established that she's out of her office for the summer so I don't think a meeting to ask her for one is going to work.

Really want this e-mail to be perfect so any feedback is appreciated. Sorry if this seems a little crazy asking for advice but my entire app is pretty much on the line here. N it seems a little off when I read it back to myself for some reason.

( It's a reply email from when she wouldn't be available in her office)

Dr. ___,

Sorry I missed you a few weeks back. I'm studying for the MCAT and had some questions at the time on some lab techniques but I think I've got them all straightened out now. I also wanted to ask you was if you would be willing to help me with my medical school applications by writing me a positive letter of recommendation. I need one more science professor letter to complete my file and would greatly appreciate your time and effort if you could provide one.. Being Summer and all, I wouldn't want to take up too much of your free time, so I could provide all the materials you would need to make the process as easy as possible and ample time to complete it. Please let me know if this is something you might be interested in and I have attached my resume if you would like to take a look before making a decision.

Thanks!
___

 

[sgpsmith]

I have a question regarding secondaries and letters of rec. What if I have received a secondary but AMCAS has not received my letter packet yet? Can I submit the secondary without the letters, or should I wait?

Please help! I am freaking out!

 

[sodarayg]

I have a question regarding secondaries and letters of rec. What if I have received a secondary but AMCAS has not received my letter packet yet? Can I submit the secondary without the letters, or should I wait?

Please help! I am freaking out!

We're still so early in the cycle there's no reason to freak out lol. You can submit the secondary but your app won't be considered "complete" and won't be looked at until your letters of rec are received by the school.

 

[Mistadawkins]

I have all my lor's in except one, which I am sure is the best one I will get. I am ready to submit my primary but i read on the amcas manual that if I add an letter after i submit my initial primary, i must re submit and re verfiy. What do I do?

 

[sector9]

I have all my lor's in except one, which I am sure is the best one I will get. I am ready to submit my primary but i read on the amcas manual that if I add an letter after i submit my initial primary, i must re submit and re verfiy. What do I do?

Merging with LOR questions thread

You re-certify and resubmit not reverify. You are only verified once and adding LOR's doesn't change your place in line for verification

 

[chillaxbro]

nvm

 

[Whomp]

My school uses the Committee letter format, and I have recently had them upload it to "Virtual Evals" .... however, on the AMCAS application it still says "Not Received". Is there something else I have to do to get the committee letter attached to my application? Thanks.


Also, can I still attach this "Committee Letter" to the schools I will be applying to and when they are received by AMCAS they'll automatically be sent there?

 

[psychmdhopeful]

.

 

[FalconSlice]

Okay people quick question: I am applying MSTP and my PI is currently out of country and will write the LOR when he returns in about 10 days... Should I wait submitting my secondaries until that LOR is in or just submit my secs? )(BTW my other four letters are already in but my MSTP application is not competitive/complete wout my PI letter

 

[RvP90]

i have 5 letters of recommendation right now. all i need to do is assign them on the primary app.

question-if i submit my primary app without assigning any of my letters, that will not be detrimental to my application process, will it? i'm under the assumption that the letters only really matter when i am submitting my secondaries (as in, my secondary app will be complete once the school receives my submitted secondary app + the letters i've assigned till that point)

 

[chillaxbro]

So I hear that most schools ask for 2 science LOR and 1 non science LOR. What if we are using the committee letter? Do we have to give the 2 science/1 non science to the committee? Or does the requirement only matter if you are sending the 3 letters alone? Do we have to send the 3 letters along with the committee letter or do we send in the committee letter only?

 

[MedPR]

The FAQ alludes to the fact that LORs are sent automatically to schools so long as we assign them. It doesn't say it explicitly though... Is my thinking correct?

 

[MedPR]

i have 5 letters of recommendation right now. all i need to do is assign them on the primary app.

question-if i submit my primary app without assigning any of my letters, that will not be detrimental to my application process, will it? i'm under the assumption that the letters only really matter when i am submitting my secondaries (as in, my secondary app will be complete once the school receives my submitted secondary app + the letters i've assigned till that point)

This is answered in the FAQ.

 

[chillaxbro]

So I hear that most schools ask for 2 science LOR and 1 non science LOR. What if we are using the committee letter? Do we have to give the 2 science/1 non science to the committee? Or does the requirement only matter if you are sending the 3 letters alone? Do we have to send the 3 letters along with the committee letter or do we send in the committee letter only?

I hate how no one actually answers the questions 🙁

Do I add an entry for each LOR I ask for even though I'm using a committee letter? Or do I just put one for the committee letter?

Sorry I'm so lost it's not even funny

 

[JamesKudo]

Hi all,

I have a quick question. If a school says something like "Submit a letter from your pre-medical advisor OR three individual letters from blah blah blah," and I elect to send the three individual letters, would it hurt or help me to also send the pre-med advisor's letter? I don't want to look like I don't know how to follow instructions, but maybe it would be helpful to send that fourth letter anyway.

Is that a good or a bad thing to do?

Thank you so much in advance for the help!

 

[Taranis]

I didn't ask my two science references for a reference yet, and I won't be able to see them in person until September. Do you think I should just ask them now via e-mail so my application is complete earlier, or should I wait until September to ask them in person?

 

[catecholic]

Question for anyone who may know! Does it normally take a while (>1 week) for schools to receive letters of recommendation after amcas has submitted our primary app (plus already uploaded letters) to those schools? Or does it take some time for the schools to update us that letters have been received? Thanks!

 

[jansOri23]

So I collected confidential letters through Interfolio and sent them all to AMCAS. However, when I send med schools the letters through AMCAS, how would they know that the letters are confidential? How do they know the original letters in Interfolio were confidential to begin with?

Thanks in advance.

 

[chillaxbro]

I just realized that many schools want 2 science LOR from different departments. Both of mine are from the same department. How bad is this for me? How much do they care?

 

[bearofthesnow]

If your school is providing a committee letter, would it be beneficial to include additional LORs, eg. non-science professors, PIs and/or employers?

 

[bigDee]

Ok my brother will be a freshman in the fall and I want him to get LORs from his professors from his first semester no later than the end of the class. So once he gets those letters, how does he hang on to them for the amcas? Would he guide them to the process of interfolio and let interfolio save them for him till when he applies after junior year?

That route makes sense but then you have the problem of baylor saying they don't accept letters more than one year old. So should he tell the professors to write him a LOR and then say he'll be back in 2 years to pick it up so they can have a current date on it?

Or how about this. If he gets them to upload to interfolio, when it comes time to apply two years from now can they pull the LOR back from interfolio to change the date on it and update the letter if needed? Would that be a hard process? What if they forget their username/password that they created with interfolio (if that's how that works).

 

[Copernicium]

Ok my brother will be a freshman in the fall and I want him to get LORs from his professors from his first semester no later than the end of the class. So once he gets those letters, how does he hang on to them for the amcas? Would he guide them to the process of interfolio and let interfolio save them for him till when he applies after junior year?

That route makes sense but then you have the problem of baylor saying they don't accept letters more than one year old. So should he tell the professors to write him a LOR and then say he'll be back in 2 years to pick it up so they can have a current date on it?

Or how about this. If he gets them to upload to interfolio, when it comes time to apply two years from now can they pull the LOR back from interfolio to change the date on it and update the letter if needed? Would that be a hard process? What if they forget their username/password that they created with interfolio (if that's how that works).

 

[Shockwave456]

Just a quick question...does AMCAS send you an email when they have received an LOR, or do you have to keep checking your status?

Thanks.

 

[psychmdhopeful]

.

 

[BernardM]

Hey all,

Just a question about sending LORs to schools.

If I have 1 science prof and 1 non-science prof but I'm still waiting on another science prof to fulfill the req's.... is it OK if I send the LORs that I have and then send my last science prof later. I'm worried that ADCOMs will think I am not interested because of my delay in sending in LORs.

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[fluorescing]

How does one determine which LORs are best for which schools?

I'll provide some background info (please bear with me).

I'm a non-trad applicant. I graduated 3 years ago with a BS in neuroscience and history from a private research institution. I have since worked part-time in an ER as a medical scribe. I have developed great relationships with several physicians. I am still in contact with my research PI from the undergrad days, but I haven't maintained any significant ties to my other profs.

So far, I have requested letters from 10 people. 9 people have responded and agreed to write a LOR for me. The last person is a non-science prof I had 3 history classes with--1 of which was a graduate seminar. I took his classes about 3-4 years ago, but I think he may still have a vague recollection of who I am since he also served on my neuroscience honors thesis board. He has not responded. But then again, it has only been 2 days since I emailed him.

Anyway, here's the breakdown of the people I asked for letters:
* 1 from a history prof who was on my honors thesis board
* 2 from neuroscience/biology profs who were on my honors thesis board; one of them was my PI for the research project
* 1 from my current full-time employer/supervisor who is a physics Ph.D and chairman of the academic department
* 1 from a DO emergency med doc
* 1 from the Chief of Medicine (former ER director) of the hospital where I currently work part-time
* 4 from 4 MD emergency med docs, who all agreed with enthusiasm after I asked (1 of them actually submitted her letter to the AMCAS within 36 hrs of me asking by email)

I am confident that 8 of these 10 people will write fantastic letters of recommendation. The remainder 2 should at least write good letters of recommendation. One of the 2 is one of my science profs who agreed to write a LOR, but his response wasn't exactly made of a bag of rainbows. And as previously mentioned, the history prof has yet to respond.

So, many schools have a max cap for how many letters I can send. How do I decide which ones would suit which schools best? I will obviously consider the individual requirements set forth by the schools (e.g., X number of letters from science profs, Y number of letters from non-science profs, and Z number of letters from other), but it's still rather difficult of a decision to narrow everything down. I would like to include the letter from the Chief of Med for all the schools, but I'm unsure about the others.

How did you decide?

 

[pharm219]

My science professor had write a LOR for me and he sent it to me and ask if there;s anything I would like him to change. This is a professor that I took class with during post-bacc studies. I had bad grades during my junior year but I never discuss my grades issue with him. Would it be helpful to my application if I ask him to add a couple sentences about my grades? ( I show a upward trend during junior and post-bacc) Thanks.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

When will a school actually receive a letter? All four of my letters are in as far as AMCAS is concerned, so will they be sent once I am verified?

 

[Syfte3]

When will a school actually receive a letter? All four of my letters are in as far as AMCAS is concerned, so will they be sent once I am verified?

When I was verified all of my letters were marked as automatically sent.

 

[Syfte3]

I only have one of the "optional letters" it's from my research PI and I know it's a really strong letter because I've been working with her for years. I didn't get a letter from a doctor because I hadn't been shadowing that long and my school had a deadline for a committee letter so I didn't feel comfortable asking for a letter so soon. Now I'm worried not having a letter from a doctor will screw up my application. I really didn't think it was a big deal at the time but after reading some posts that say that you should have a letter from a doctor, I'm worried. Has anyone here had the same situation?

 

[phonyreal98]

I have a professor who sent in my letter via mail. Does anybody know how long it takes AMCAS to process letters sent in via snail mail once they are received?

 

[ajs08029]

I have a professor who sent in my letter via mail. Does anybody know how long it takes AMCAS to process letters sent in via snail mail once they are received?

bump.

 

[SicEmBears]

So for USUHS they need someone who has seen you in a clinical environment to write you a letter. I did that, and it should be a very good letter. I have already done the committee letter so can I still send this additional letter to the other schools/ should I? Thanks!

 

[Member212920]

I am an engineering major with a minor in bio. Will my engineering professors be considered science or non science LOR's? I don't know if there is a strict difference because one of my profs teaches engineering economy and another teaches basically anything and everything. Any feedback would be helpful!

 

[phonyreal98]

bump.

According to USPS, my letter would have been received on Friday. Was placed in my file today. That said, I just found in the AMCAS FAQs that the process can take up to 15 business days after the letter is received.

 

[chillaxbro]

I just found out one of my LOR writers didn't send in my letter
I asked him to do it in April -_-

My fault for not checking up on it until now

 

[ajs08029]

According to USPS, my letter would have been received on Friday. Was placed in my file today. That said, I just found in the AMCAS FAQs that the process can take up to 15 business days after the letter is received.

My letters were sent 2 weeks ago and AMCAS still hasn't received them. Should I follow up? I can't believe it's taking this long

 

[Patric10]

How much do medical schools really look at your letters (are they very important compared to other aspects of you application/somewhat important/etc.)

I have a recommendation letter from a world renowned doctor...arguably the best in his field (has testified in-front of Congress on a case/on a committee for the department of defense). Also, he would never have written a letter unless I actually deserved it and therefore it should hopefully not say anything bad (or he would have told me he would not write it).

However, my application is so-so (for some schools): 3.92 GPA and a 31 MCAT. So I was wondering how much a letter of recommendation would help.

Also, how bad is it if one of your other professors writes a mediocre or bad recommendation letter when you are sending 5 total (and the other 4 should be good).

 

[naixin]

what to do if a letter writer forgets to use the letterhead The AMCAS website says that once uploaded, the letter cannot be edited by any party.

 

[cwrig14]

My university's committee letter is not a composite letter. It contains no other individual letters and is based solely on its own application process, an interview, and the students academic record.
Would this letter be regarded as a typical committee letter? In that case I would only use an additional letter from my PI and maybe another letter from my employer or a science professor?
Or, would this letter be considered as an individual letter? It may be designated as a non-science letter, major letter, or anything else. In this case, I would need an additional 3-4 letters.
I don't know! I've contacted a couple admissions offices about this question and they weren't able to resolve my issue.

 

[psychgirrrl]

Does anyone know if whether you can send letters from interfolio to AMCAS?

I am assuming so, but do I need to write up a letter request and whatnot?

 

[Jwinsler7]

I know it's quality over quantity, but Is it too much if I have about 6 to 7 letters of recommendation? Three are from science professors, one from a non-science professor, one from a pastor from my church and one from my employer.

I've known all of them for at least more than an year and happen to be close to them.

 

[Twink]

I just sent my 5 letters to AMCAS through Interfolio. I sent them as a batch instead of sending them one by one. Would that affect the time it takes for AMCAS to process my letters? It's been one day already since I sent them but I have not heard anything from AMCAS yet and I'm worried. I'm not sure if they work over the weekend, anyone has any experience with this?

Also, Can I go ahead and submit my application while they are still processing my letters? I am finished with my application and mm just waiting for the letters to be processed.

Thanks

 

[eggs13]

I had my career services at my alma mater upload one more letter to the AMCAS service. many of the schools had already downloaded my earlier letters (in a packet). do I need to alert schools that this new letter is there, or will they receive it automatically if it has been assigned to them already (this new letter was just added to my old packet)?

thanks!!

 

[Turpulus]

How important is the official letterhead with a hand written signature? I'm not 100% sure, but I think some of my recommenders typed up a recommendation in MS Word and uploaded it to AMCAS. They obviously have their name and contacti info on there, but I'm just not sure about the hand written signature or the "official" letterhead. Thoughts?

 

[Member244322]

I am a bit confused on how I need to put my letters of recommendation into AMCAS. I am doing the committee letter. So my question is, do I need to include each letter on AMCAS or does the committee letter include them? Thanks.