*~*~*~* Official Letters of Recommendation Questions Thread 2020-2021 *~*~*~*

BU Medical Sciences
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Just to be super clear, is it okay if my AMCAS primary is transmitted to schools before I have assigned any LOR to these schools? My app already got verified, so it'll be transmitted tomorrow, but I don't have all of my LOR in yet (missing 2), so I'm hesitant to assign any of them to my schools in case they don't come in. But I want to make sure I can assign LOR after transmission--I couldn't find a clear answer on this
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I uploaded a rec letter a couple weeks ago from a professor who wrote me one last year (he was not responding to my emails). He just emailed me yesterday that he updated it, but I already uploaded the old one to AMCAS and AACOMAS, any suggestions on what to do?
 
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gonnif said:
1) you arent supposed to load letters yourself
2) you didnt need letters until secondarie
3) now you got the correct letter

Have you assigned letters to schools yet?
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I meant load through Interfolio. I submitted more than half of my secondaries for DO schools so thats why I uploaded it.
 
gonnif said:
Well, hypothetically, if an applicant loaded a letter on their own and then a new letter from the prof was updated, it could possibly be discovered and that could cause an investigation. If you havent loaded any letter from Interfolio to AMCAS it wouldnt be an issue, but I would leave AACOMAS alone.
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I think I might not be being clear, it's the same letter from the same professor, but an updated version. Both for medical school (planning to apply last year but did not.)
 
During the pandemic, I have been sewing masks for a non-profit organization that serves people experiencing homelessness. The executive director offered to write me a letter, which I think could really help my application. However, she is not familiar with the letter writing process, so she asked for a sample letter so she could better understand how they should be crafted. I haven’t been able to find any good ones online that are from a community service supervisor as opposed to the usual professor or physician letters. I know AMCAS has a document that explains the process a little bit, but I wanted to give her a sample since she asked. Are there any good samples out there that might be helpful in this situation?
 
Hey everyone, If I submit to a throw away school and have yet to be verified. Will I be negatively impacted if I add more schools and don't have any letter writers put in yet? I don't want a decision to be made on my application until I can input my letters and since I am using interfolio I don't even have my letter writers names input into either application yet until they submit my letters to interfolio. Any help would be great!
 
gonnif said:
I do not have any examples to share but typical is four paragraphs

1) who they are, what position the hold, how they know you, and a strong recommendation for acceptance to medical school
2) what role you had, what you actually did, with "professional" characteristics
3) what personal characteristic, attributes, or traits you demonstrated
4) closing/summary and reiterate recommendation

use the AMCAS/AAMC guide to see what traits characteristics to note.
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Thanks gonnif! I have one more question. Would it be acceptable to include a letter from the parent of a student I volunteer tutored for around 300 hours? This was not through an organization, so that would be the only way to get a letter from the experience.
 
Will it really hurt me if i already assigned all 5 of my LOR to go to all the schools and some schools only want 3 or 4 to be sent? Will they just pick 3 or 4 from the ones I sent or will it hurt me? I don't think I can change it on AMCAS, so just wondering.
 
gonnif said:
It will not have much impact unless there are some particular issues with the student you tutored and if the letter is not written both transparently and professionally. Since a mother has an emotional investment with a child, it is difficult to do
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That makes sense. Thank you again, gonnif.
 
Alright, I'm in a tricky spot and could use some advice. Currently I have a committee letter and 3 other strong letters. I was waiting for 1 more from a job supervisor I expected would be strong, and today they sent it to my pre-health office. While I didn't ask them to do this, they also sent me a copy as a pdf. I guess I shouldn't have opened it, but I was curious. Unfortunately, it seems like the letter is quite generic, mainly consisting of job duties and some nice adjectives, but no anecdotes or specific experiences with me.
I was a little surprised because I worked there for over a year, so surely they had material to work with. In any case, I'm not going to bring it up to the writer, but I am debating whether or not to send it in with the other letters. We choose what letters we want the pre-health office to send to AMCAS.
On the one hand, I doubt adcoms want to read a generic letter that doesn't add anything meaningful. On the other, they might wonder why I didn't have a letter from a job I held for over a year. Thoughts?
 
TehTeddy said:
Alright, I'm in a tricky spot and could use some advice. Currently I have a committee letter and 3 other strong letters. I was waiting for 1 more from a job supervisor I expected would be strong, and today they sent it to my pre-health office. While I didn't ask them to do this, they also sent me a copy as a pdf. I guess I shouldn't have opened it, but I was curious. Unfortunately, it seems like the letter is quite generic, mainly consisting of job duties and some nice adjectives, but no anecdotes or specific experiences with me.
I was a little surprised because I worked there for over a year, so surely they had material to work with. In any case, I'm not going to bring it up to the writer, but I am debating whether or not to send it in with the other letters. We choose what letters we want the pre-health office to send to AMCAS.
On the one hand, I doubt adcoms want to read a generic letter that doesn't add anything meaningful. On the other, they might wonder why I didn't have a letter from a job I held for over a year. Thoughts?
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If this is part of the letter packet/committee letter materials, the focus will be on the rest. When I write committee letters, I try to re-package the most important points of otherwise generic letters to blend with the more personal letters in showcasing the students experiences. The letters are then just supporting material attached at the end.
 
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Question. I'm fairly certain that the MD who wrote my letter of rec did not sign it (Assuming the signature requirement is talking about his written signature and not just his typed name at the end of the letter), the letter is a part of a packet I've sent to all schools already. I'm pretty sure there is nothing I can do at this point. But How bad is it that the letter won't carry his signature?
 
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Hello!
I had a question regarding the non-science letter of recommendation. I did a fellowship through the school of social work and we were required to take a graded course as a part of the program. The director of the program ( dean at the school of social work) was in charge of the course and I got a strong letter of recommendation from him. Would this satisfy my non-science lor requirement?
I would appreciate any thoughts on this!
 
I just had someone upload a letter to my AMCAS, and I assigned it to all of my schools & resubmitted but the letter is now nowhere to be found.

Is this just some kind of glitch? It was in the system as received and now there is no trace of it at all.
 
Hey, so most of the schools I am applying to have a max of 5 letters which I have already assigned bc I received confirmation that they would be able to send in time. However, I have heard that a good time to submit secondary's is 2 weeks from when you get them. I am pretty much finished, but still waiting on this letter. It is for a physician that I scribed for and I feel like it will be strong. I texted him about it 2 weeks ago saying I needed it in 2 weeks and he told me he would call me and get it done that weekend, then f/u this past Sunday and haven't heard back. Basically question is, should I keep waiting or go ahead and submit?
 
whaxin said:
have you guys thought of any ways to send thanks to your letter writers with everything online? I'm definitely going to send an email, but I wanted to give them a gift of some kind in-person too.

I guess the only option would be to give them a small gift next year? i'm super thankful for my letter writers because I had been stressing about whether they would accept my request to write for me, and they all replied within an hour saying they would be happy to. one professor moved my letter to the top of her list and sent in my letter within a day, even though I had given her at least two months. so I want to do something more than just an email.. please let me know if you have ideas :)
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I sent them a hand-written note to their home address and I included a $10 amazon gift card.. that said, I had good relations with all of these people and it was more of a thank you for the years of mentorship etc. I wouldn't send a gift to someone you don't know well.
 
Hello,
I'm having a minor issue, but I'm not sure if it's big enough to contact schools about it. I had 2 slots for my LORs, 1 individual, and 1 committee packet. I made a mistake when I gave the request forms, and gave the "committee packet" form to both parties. So now both letters are uploaded onto the same LOR slot. I called AMCAS and they advised me to resubmit the individual LOR in the correct slot. So now, each medical school will get a duplicate LOR from one writer. Do you think I should contact each school explaining the situation and apologize, or let it go?
 
Not sure if this question makes sense, but is there a such thing as being able to store a committee letter on Interfolio?

I know how it works by uploading and sending via AACOMAS for the most part, but if it could be stored on Interfolio that may make things easier for me. I might also be applying to masters programs where the committee letter would suffice and that way I can have the letter stored on Interfolio to send instead of requesting my school's committee to send the letter again multiple times. Any help about this is appreciated.
 
gonnif said:
you need to ask the committee to submit to interfolio
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Ok, thank you. Like there’s a space in the committee letter form for providing “relevant links/ID numbers” so I may put in aacomas information and also something for Interfolio(when I set up an account that is).
I feel out of the loop sometimes when it comes to this application stuff. First gen, single parent household etc. Glad that there’s places like this otherwise idk what id do!
 
So I tried to add another letter to my application after submission via interfolio. Interfolio said the letter was delivered to AMCAS. However, I refreshed the page before hitting resubmit and now there is no entry for the letter on my AMCAS application, even though Interfolio said it was sent in. Will the entry just show up once AMCAS receives it. My previous letters all had entries before being marked as received by AMCAS.
 
gonnif said:
Just to be clear
you created a letter entry in AMCAS
the letter was uploaded to Interfolio
Interfolio then sent to AMCAS
?
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Yes I created a letter entry in AMCAS which gave me a letter ID. I added that letter ID to my interfolio letter. Interolio sent me an email stating they have sent it to AMCAS. However, I accidentally refreshed the amcas application page before clicking "resubmit application" and the entry I made just went way. I still got the confirmation from Interfolio that the electronic delivery was sent though so I'm not sure what happened. I'm not sure if I should make another letter entry and resend it or something.

I'm thinking that even though the letter entry on amcas mysteriously vanished, it was still sent by interfolio so it will be delivered to my application eventually? But at the same time without the letter entry, how exactly would it get there? idk if any of this makes sense to you.
 
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Hi @gonnif ,

I took a class with a psychology professor that taught "science of parenting". Does his letter count as a science rec or a non-science rec? The class was classified as a BCPM by AMCAS.
 
I am applying to DO Schools soon. I have a premed committee letter as well as LORs from my english professor, humanities major advisor, public health research PI at a medical school, physician letter. Due to Covid, I was unable to get a letter of rec from a science professor. Can I still apply?
 
Hey! I thought I had my clinical letter covered, but I'm second-guessing myself, so I'm trying to figure out what to do.

How would we go about submitting a letter in a completely different, not very well known language? I served as a Health Volunteer in Peace Corps and while my Country Director wrote me a letter, I'm not sure if she included any remarks my Clinic Director may have made. I was thinking of reaching out to the Clinic Director to see if he would write a letter, but he doesn't speak English. Any advice?
 
Premed committee gave a committee letter without getting a science professor LOR?
 
If I didn't receive a committee letter because of their MCAT cutoff, should I do a letter packet? I have 7 LOR uploaded individually, but the schools I am applying to have a max of 5. I'm confused of what to do :/
 
gonnif said:
You have 7 letters uploaded to AMCAS? You have 5 Max at School A? Then only assign 5 of the 7 letters
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Okay, thanks. So if a school that I'm applying to has max of 3, and I do not have a committee letter, would it be wise to put together a letter packet? Or just pick my best 3 individual letters that fits their criteria?
 
gonnif said:
1) you cant put together a letter packet; that is for a UG school to do
2) and if a med school only wants 3 letters what makes you think they will appreciate more than three?
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Gotcha. All of my letters are from my UG, so I was confused whether I should request a letter packet from UG and if it would just count as '1' letter. Thanks for clearing that up!
 
So after submitting to a school, I looked at their letter requirements. It's stupid I did this after I know. But basically, they require two faculty letters and another one of my choice. I've sent four letters but only one is from faculty. One from my calc professor, one from a community member, one from a physician, and one from a supervisor for my research. Here's the thing, I did my research for a grade so this person did grade me.

What do you think? How can I communicate that the supervisor was technically faculty I guess? Should I just leave it?

Please help
 
gonnif said:
What does the requirement actually say: two faculty or from faculty who have taught you in a class?
Is your lab supervisor a professor/instructor as well (ie do they have a faculty appointment)?
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It just says two faculty members. It was off-site research though so I am worried it will not count and they will not see it as faculty. She may not have explicitly stated it was for a class even if it will be on my transcript. I am worried they wont be able to connect the dots or throw it out doing so.
 
gonnif said:
You got a grade for doing research. That doesnt make the supervisor faculty. So again, was the supervisor a professor or instructor at the school?
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No, she is not. I am already reaching out to other professors for a letter just to meet the requirement even if it is not very strong. I believe my other letters and overall app are strong enough that a generic letter would not cause too much of a problem. However, I have already submitted the secondary for this school. Should I send an update if I get another letter so they can download it or is it automatic>

Also, a lab instructor should be fine for a science letter correct?
 
Hi all,
I apologize if this has been asked before:
My application has been verified and transmitted. I just added another letter of recommendation to a school that had already been added when my application was first transmitted. Do I need to do anything else? I do not have the option of reverifying my app. Also, how long should I wait for the school to obtain the letter? Thank you!
 
gonnif said:
1) you dont need to do anything else
2) the letter is forwarded in one business day after you assign it
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Hi @gonnif ,
When I logged into my AMCAS app this morning, I no longer see the letter assigned to the school. Is this normal?
 
gonnif said:
Are you sure you saved it correctly? If you try to reassign does it let you?
Click to expand...
So, I go to my medical school list, click to edit the school, add the letter, click save, then click save again so that I move to the next screen. Is this correct?
 
fishberry said:
So, I go to my medical school list, click to edit the school, add the letter, click save, then click save again so that I move to the next screen. Is this correct?
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I think you have to return to the main menu and hit the resubmit application button after you save your changes on the medical schools page. As I understand it, the button would be grayed out until you make a change to your app. When you make the change by adding the letter to schools, the button should go back to purple like when you first submitted for verification. I'm not sure what you mean by reverifying your app, but as I understand it, resubmitting for this purpose has nothing to do with the verification process in AMCAS.
 
Spartyking23 said:
I think you have to return to the main menu and hit the resubmit application button after you save your changes on the medical schools page. As I understand it, the button would be grayed out until you make a change to your app. When you make the change by adding the letter to schools, the button should go back to purple like when you first submitted for verification. I'm not sure what you mean by reverifying your app, but as I understand it, resubmitting for this purpose has nothing to do with the verification process in AMCAS.
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Thank you for your reply! After I go back to the main menu, the button is still greyed out. Do you know why this might be?
 
fishberry said:
Thank you for your reply! After I go back to the main menu, the button is still greyed out. Do you know why this might be?
Click to expand...
So you went back to the medical schools page, clicked the check box next to the new letter that would have previously been unchecked for a given school, hit save, and then went to the main menu to hit resubmit? In other words, you can't just go back to the main menu after you saved and then exited out from earlier. You would have to start over now on the medical schools page and do it all at once for it to save. I just did this a couple weeks ago, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't be clickable for you. Try it one more time from the beginning to make sure it saves.
 
Spartyking23 said:
So you went back to the medical schools page, clicked the check box next to the new letter that would have previously been unchecked for a given school, hit save, and then went to the main menu to hit resubmit? In other words, you can't just go back to the main menu after you saved and then exited out from earlier. You would have to start over now on the medical schools page and do it all at once for it to save. I just did this a couple weeks ago, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't be clickable for you. Try it one more time from the beginning to make sure it saves.
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Correct, that's what I tried.
I just tried again and no luck. I'll get in touch with AMCAS tomorrow. Thank you for your help!
 
fishberry said:
Correct, that's what I tried.
I just tried again and no luck. I'll get in touch with AMCAS tomorrow. Thank you for your help!
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Called AMCAS and they helped! It seems like the app is just kinda buggy. They had me go to the biographic section and add something, save it, and then that popped up the option to resubmit.
 
I have submitted a few secondaries, however, I am worried one of my letter writers forgot to sign. If they reupload the letter, will all schools get the updated version, or do I have to reach out and tell them there is an updated letter. Should I explain the situation to schools anyway?
 
djlad said:
I have submitted a few secondaries, however, I am worried one of my letter writers forgot to sign. If they reupload the letter, will all schools get the updated version, or do I have to reach out and tell them there is an updated letter. Should I explain the situation to schools anyway?
Click to expand...
It is my understanding that schools will see that you removed the old letter and they will also see the new letter. I’ve read that folks suggest that schools might perceive the revoked letter as an indication of something negative. So perhaps it would be nice to contact the schools as well or add an update to your app.
This might not be totally correct so if someone else has advice, please add!
 
Does anyone know if it's possible to upload a committee letter stored on Interfolio onto AACOMAS? I know how it works for individual letters but I have not come across anything online in regard to being able to do so with a committee letter.
 
Question: I started a new job and the doctor I work under offered to write me a letter of recommendation. Is it smart to send this new letter of recommendation to all of the schools I applied to now? I was complete at all schools in August using a committee letter from my school. Thanks!
 
gonnif said:
No.
1) adding a letter to a complete file implies that you are asking to be removed from complete status, return to evaluation, had letter read, then mark file complete where it could now be at the bottom of the queue as complete in Oct. in other words, you possibly loss your place in the review pile
2) a letter from a doctor in a job you just started has no evidence of length of relationship to provide an good picture of uour qualification
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Thanks for the response!

1. So you are saying that admissions committees have already reviewed my file and my application is only marked complete after it is reviewed by the committee? If my application has not even been reviewed yet then why would this make a difference after adding another letter?
2. Can I send an additional letter to a school that has put me on hold already?
 
gonnif said:
1) adding a letter to a complete file implies that you are asking to be removed from complete status, return to evaluation, had letter read, then mark file complete where it could now be at the bottom of the queue as complete in Oct. in other words, you possibly loss your place in the review pile
Click to expand...

If I added another letter to ONE school and clicked "resubmit app" for amcas to update it, do my letters already sent to OTHER schools get resent and put me at the bottom of the pile even though I didn't change anything for all of the other schools?
 
gonnif said:
No
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response! When I log onto the portal of other schools that I did not send any updated letters to, it says the "received letter date" is October although I was complete at these schools in August. Does that affect anything?
 
So I'm in an SMP program and am planning to submit an update letter from the program since the first semester of med blocks is over. I already have one letter in from this SMP program which was needed to verify my enrollment back when it started.

Should I have the program update the same letter ID with a new letter update, or create a new letter ID for the new letter?
 
Hey everyone, so I just want to follow up with a question raised in the OP.

13. If I apply this June, and I have given every school my 5 chosen LOR's with committee letter through AMCAS virtual evals upload by my prehealth office, and then I get anther LOR over the summer/fall and want to send it to all schools in December, do I have to have the prof mail it to all 25 schools or will AMCAS distribute it?

Having a pretty strong LOR from my gap year PI, I am wondering what's the best way of having it submitted at this time point. As Gonnif mentioned in another thread, submitting a LOR late can put my application to the bottom of the queue (which is obviously not optimal). What should I do to have this letter submitted?/Should I not submit this letter until post-interview? (background: most of the schools I applied to are MSTPs)
1609656315985.png
 
gonnif said:
1) Technically, you can only submit LOR/LOE via AMCAS. Schools would be in violation if they accepted letters from outside this system
2) The deadline for submitting letters at most schools is likely passed by December, and I believe thet AMCAS system would not send these letters
3) Submitting a letter directly to the school pre-interview might be after your file has been evaluated which can mean it wont be part of the eval.
4) Submitting a letter directly to the school post-interview masks the very big assumption that you will get an interview
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Hi Gonnif! Thanks a lot for explaining. I guess my understanding of this is just don't ever use this LOR then? I am a little bit conflicted as I know this would be a strong LOR( and it's research for MSTP). But if there is consequences associated with it I'd rather just give it up.
 
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