Puhleaze tell me how to properly get a letter of rec!

[DrDude]

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I've heard so many differenet things. Some people tell me to always waive your right to see the letter because an un-waived letter is essentially seen as worthless by some programs. Others tell me all you're waiving is your right to see the letter, so if the writer agrees to show it to you anyway then it's OK and you can truthfully check you've waived the right to see the letter. But that sounds shady. So what am I supposed to do...just take the attending's word that they'll write me a great letter and never see it? What if their definition of a great letter is a standard letter they write every student who asks them for one. How would I know if I never see it before it gets sent? Ahhhhh....this is so confusing! Help!

 

[Winged Scapula]

I've heard so many differenet things. Some people tell me to always waive your right to see the letter because an un-waived letter is essentially seen as worthless by some programs. Others tell me all you're waiving is your right to see the letter, so if the writer agrees to show it to you anyway then it's OK and you can truthfully check you've waived the right to see the letter. But that sounds shady. So what am I supposed to do...just take the attending's word that they'll write me a great letter and never see it? What if their definition of a great letter is a standard letter they write every student who asks them for one. How would I know if I never see it before it gets sent? Ahhhhh....this is so confusing! Help!

Yes, technically you are waiving your right to see the letter, so if a writer shows you the letter and you have already waived your right, then you are in the clear.

However, when you ask a writer to provide a letter for you, you must ask if they feel they can strongly support your candidacy. If not, then find another writer. Then your Dean's office should be verifying that the letters are received and that they support your candidacy. If they do not, the office should notify you that one of your letters is weak and ask you to provide another.

 

[Top Gun]

I've heard so many differenet things. Some people tell me to always waive your right to see the letter because an un-waived letter is essentially seen as worthless by some programs. Others tell me all you're waiving is your right to see the letter, so if the writer agrees to show it to you anyway then it's OK and you can truthfully check you've waived the right to see the letter. But that sounds shady. So what am I supposed to do...just take the attending's word that they'll write me a great letter and never see it? What if their definition of a great letter is a standard letter they write every student who asks them for one. How would I know if I never see it before it gets sent? Ahhhhh....this is so confusing! Help!

An unwaived letter might be taken less seriously by program, that's true. But I personally decided not to waive my right to see my letters. This is because I wanted to have them easily accessible in case I needed to scramble (hopefully that won't happen). If I had waived my right to see them, I wouldn't be able to get access to them if needed.

 

[Gas4Life]

An unwaived letter might be taken less seriously by program, that's true. But I personally decided not to waive my right to see my letters. This is because I wanted to have them easily accessible in case I needed to scramble (hopefully that won't happen). If I had waived my right to see them, I wouldn't be able to get access to them if needed.

Since the letters of recommendation are already in ERAS/NRMP and the scramble is through them as well, then won't you just be able to send your letters along with the rest of your application during the scramble? I really don't understand how that all works, but it seems that when applying to a program during the scramble that the letters would therefore already be available to them since they are already on ERAS/NRMP. Does that make sense or am I missing something?

I'm starting to get nervous about the match. Is it obvious?

 

[Putrescine]

you must ask if they feel they can strongly support your candidacy.

I will just chime in to echo this exactly. I waived the right to see all five of my letters of recommendation for my candidacy in general surgery this year. The first thing I asked the attendings was the question that WS already stated. None of the attendings hesitated for a moment or said anything negative, but if they did, then I wouldn't have had them write the letter. None of them actually showed me the letters after the fact, and that can be a little nerve racking. However, at one of my interviews, the PD went through all of my letters of rec with me highlighting some of the comments, etc. They all were great letters, except for the one where it said I would most likely stay in california for residencywhen 90% of my interviews were outside of California .

 

[Top Gun]

Since the letters of recommendation are already in ERAS/NRMP and the scramble is through them as well, then won't you just be able to send your letters along with the rest of your application during the scramble? I really don't understand how that all works, but it seems that when applying to a program during the scramble that the letters would therefore already be available to them since they are already on ERAS/NRMP. Does that make sense or am I missing something?

I'm starting to get nervous about the match. Is it obvious?

Yes, you can do this as long as you're applying through ERAS/NRMP. The problem with that, though, is that there is a limit on the number of applications you can send through ERAS (although I believe it has gone up to 45 this year). Depending on your luck in the scramble, you may need to apply to additional programs. And if you have reached the limit on the number of applications you can send through ERAS, then you will be forced to send your application documents the old-fashioned way if you want to apply to additional programs. This includes fax machines or possibly email attachments. So it is best that you have a copy of all of your documents on hand.