? on items to send to waitlisted school

[trying2becomeMD]

Hi all,

I am debating whether I should send 2 letters of recommendations to the school I am wait-listed at. While I am told that any new information since the interview is fine to send as updates, I have been working at the same job, participating in same E.C. activities since the date of my interview. I have 2 rec letters I didn't send to the school (because they only wanted 5 total) that I would like to send, since both are on the E.C. activities I was involved in school.

Only thing is one was written in 2000 and the other in 2001. Since both of the recommenders can't be reached to write more "updated" versions, I am not sure if sending the old letters will just irritate the commmittee members... What do you think? Am I going to look like someone who is desparate (I am) if I send them the two letters?

Thanks for reading.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[UCMonkey]

Are the letters being sent by you, or the author or the letter service at your school (if you have one)? If you, then I'd say don't bother, especially since they are relatively old. Med schools like the letters to come from the original author or from the school's letter service. If they come from you, their authenticity is almost automatically suspect.

Also, if the school only required 5 letters, and you've already sent them 5, who's to say that they won't just toss them anyway?

Addtionally, I think you have to consider who the letters are actually from - profs vs. work experience, vs EC's etc.

Overall, though, I don't think it would be worth your time to send these - they are relatively "old", nothing in your situation has changed since your interview, and you seem to imply that you did send the school the maximum number allowed.

Perhaps you should consider a letter of intent instead if the school is high on your list of choices.

 

[Oski]

I say send everything.

You have to be persistent.

 

[Suz177]

I'm with Oski on that one.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

I just spoke to my premed dean about this last week. He said ONLY send in a new LOR if it adds something new and different to your application. He said more than one is bad and if the letter contents are redundant, it will annoy the med schools. So for your sake, please be cautious in what you send. Before you decide on those old LORs, think to yourself, "after reading them, would adcoms say, wow, what a great applicant, he/she should be accepted!" If not, it probably won't help you. Of course this is just my dean's opinion, but I trust him, so I'm following his advice. I almost asked a professor to write one for me, but it really wouldn't be anything more than 'Dra Foxy is a great student, etc.', so I passed on that. Instead, I'm getting ONE from the director of the clinic I worked at the summer after I submitted my amcas app, so it will definitely add something new to my app.

Best of luck to you

 

[trying2becomeMD]

Monkeyrunner:

Those two letters will be sent by the letter service. My only concern is whether or not sending the information might actually harm my chance... I am thinking about this because my personal statement didn't include the info about these two activities due to limited space. I read one of the letter that's dated 2000 (assistant dean who wrote it let me see it) and it was "tepid" meaning nothing spectacular-- activity was leadership program I was involved for 2 years. But if it doesn't hurt my chances, I am willing to send it. And the other letter one is from homeless clinc coordinator/course instructor, I was involved in it for 2 years as well, this letter is dated 2001. My file at the med school would have info about these two activities on my AMCAS application, but nowhere else, so I think (hope) that the supplemental letters can be helpful. It's just the date when the letters were written, I don't want to be the only person who sends things from past times when others send stuff from newly developed events. I am so sorry that this is getting to be really long, but hope you all understand.

 

[SarahL]

I would send the one dated 2001 and a letter of intent/update. A lot of schools are flexible about the number of LOR that you send, as long as you ask them first.

I sent 7 letters to Einstein because they insisted that I include two from undergraduate science professors, even though I haven't talked to them in years and I have been doing research with medical school professors since college. I also wrote a brief letter explaining why I was sending them. It must have worked because it only took them a day to review my secondary and offer me an interview.

If the one from 2002 is tepid, I wouldn't include it. 2001 seems recent enough if it will add to your applications. Also, you might want to consider asking a patient you've worked with or a medical student at the school you're interested in to write you a letter. This has worked in the past for people I know. I did both and got interviews at almost every school I applied to.

Good luck!!

 

[Oski]

I'll amend my previous advice...

Send everything positive.

I just sent off a bunch of extra recommendations to a school I am waitlisted at and one of them is from 1996. But it is a great rec...I figure that anything that says good things about me should go into my file.