Quick question to anyone who's used AADSAS: about LORs

[redchesus]

so, I have managed to get 3 science letters, 1 dentist and 1 employer letter... but not all schools need all 5

with AADSAS, can I select which ones go to which schools? For example, my state school only requires 2 science and one dentist, but another school needs 3 science and 1 other (and WON'T accept more), so I'm just confused about how to manage all this

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dentalWorks]

I was JUST about to start a thread that asked the same thing lol.... I have many LORs and don't know how many to send out / keep.

Someone please clear this up for us

 

[kapmann]

Yes, AADSAS only takes four, so you should be strategic about what ones you give to AADSAS. Most schools need 2 science, many need 1 from a dentist, some want non-science letters, some want employers. I'd make a list of all the letters all the schools need, and post the 4 most commonly needed via aadsas (or biasing towards the school(s) you're most interested in). Then individually send out the other letters to the other schools, most should be happy to accept as many as you send (within reason), but like you said, some only want the letters they ask for.

This was basically my gameplan for applying and I got numerous compliments on the breadth of my letters, better to have too many than too few. Good Luck!

 

[dentalWorks]

Oh I see... so AADSAS doesn't give you an option to differentiate which LOR goes to which school. You submit 4 to AADSAS and all those 4 go to each school you select.

If I am underestanding you correctly, if a school wanted an additional letter, you can send it to them directly.

 

[kapmann]

Yes, at least historically (last year) AADSAS sent every letter they got to every school. And yeah, most schools will accept additional letters by mail. Most make this pretty clear on their website as to whether they accept more letters or not.

 

[psi169]

Yeah, but you can't just send your letters by yourself. They still need to remain confidential. That's where Interfolio comes into play.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=712683

 

[kapmann]

I had some of my letters sent in electronically from professors. The others I collected in a signed/sealed envelope and sent them into AADSAS all together in a manilla envelope. They had absolutely no problem with that... I called and asked too.

One professor made me use interfolio this past time (I applied twice) and it was a big pain in the ass. I honestly would say it's pretty easy to avoid interfolio (and cheaper too). Maybe for medschool thats the way to go, but unless there have been changes in the system from last year to this year, it's completely unnecessary.

 

[dentalWorks]

Would it be a problem if one of ur letters is not confedential?

I'm only using interfolio...why do u say its a pain in the @ss?

 

[kapmann]

Schools like it when it's confidential, but even if you send them yourself they still are considered confidential if they are in a sealed envelope with the signature of your writer on the back. Obviously electronic ones are confidential too.

Even if you helped your professor/dentist write the letter, as long as you haven't opened the sealed letter from your writer, it can be considered confidential. I talked to AADSAS about this matter (one of my profs forgot to sign the back of the letter) and they didn't seemed too bothered by it. They seem to be somewhat lax about confidentiality. That being said, I wouldn't flaunt the fact if you have seen some of your letters.

I didn't like paying for interfolio, and I didn't need it except for one professor. I'm sure if you have it figured out its probably no big deal, but last I checked you couldn't easily deliver your letters directly to aadsas via interfolio any easier than just doing it yourself via mail or electronically.

Again I'm not applying this year and don't have much interest in getting acquanted with the new rules/format, so this might be one year outdated.