Recycle letters of Rec?

[Sartre79]

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I used Interfolio to compile LORs last cycle but didn't get in. Can I use them again? Or do I need to get new ones? They are all pretty good LORs. 😕

 

[RxnMan]

I used Interfolio to compile LORs last cycle but didn't get in. Can I use them again? Or do I need to get new ones? They are all pretty good LORs. 😕

I had old letters from last year forwarded on to this year's application, but I supplemented them with updates.

 

[GujuMD]

I used Interfolio to compile LORs last cycle but didn't get in. Can I use them again? Or do I need to get new ones? They are all pretty good LORs. 😕

it would be a good idea to atleast update them. also if your letters were not strong then you should get new ones.

 

[Sartre79]

it would be a good idea to atleast update them. also if your letters were not strong then you should get new ones.

What exactly do you mean by update them? Have the review augment their original statement?

 

[RxnMan]

What exactly do you mean by update them? Have the review augment their original statement?

Last cycle I had my supervisor write me a letter. Then, for this cycle, I recycled his letter and had him send another one, with an update of my progress and his opnions of me after working with me for another year.

 

[madonna]

what about profs? i did not take any classes since my last application 🙁

 

[Sartre79]

Exactly, mine are from profs and employers I haven't worked for in a year or so (I moved). Plus, I don't think i could get a quality letter from where I took my last few prereqs. 👎

 

[DrValentine]

There is a LOR I sent to my schools this year that I will not send if I reapply because it was poorly written (don't ask how i saw it). Will the schools I applied to this year have copies of that letter still next year?

 

[frany584]

I was wondering the same about LOR's. I plan on reapplying this upcoming cycle, and nothing really has changed so should I keep the same letters? Add more?? (Mine come from a committee too) Also, what do you mean by updating LOR's?? Thanks!! 🙂

 

[RxnMan]

I was wondering the same about LOR's. I plan on reapplying this upcoming cycle, and nothing really has changed so should I keep the same letters? Add more?? (Mine come from a committee too) Also, what do you mean by updating LOR's?? Thanks!! 🙂

For my '05 application, I asked my new boss (after working for him for only 4 months at the time,) to write a LOR for me. For my '06 application, I had him write another letter, now updated with experiences over the 1.5 years of time (now) working for him. I forwarded on the '05 letter to be a part of the '06 application and sent the '06 letter as well to show that I operated at a high level and could do so for a long time.

If nothing's changed then keep the letters. But has nothing really changed? Where have you been working? What have you been doing for a year? While your thoughts are concentrated on the application process, some part of your life must have moved on, changed, grown, right?

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

I used Interfolio to compile LORs last cycle but didn't get in. Can I use them again? Or do I need to get new ones? They are all pretty good LORs. 😕

You can keep some in, take some out, or just add a few. Don't add fluff LORs. Some schools have a limit as to the number of LORs they will accept. Although you may supply more, they may think that you can't follow directions.

 

[Sophie]

I'm going to use my LORs from last year, with the addition of one new one (my current boss). It makes no sense for me to contact the old recommenders to have them update their letters since I haven't had contact with them for the past year and there's nothing they could add.

 

[ValidPoint]

You can keep some in, take some out, or just add a few. Don't add fluff LORs. Some schools have a limit as to the number of LORs they will accept. Although you may supply more, they may think that you can't follow directions.

\

heres a question......when applying to amcas...do we send them all our LOR's or do we send it to each individual school we're applyin to......

 

[2DEG]

I'm going to use my LORs from last year, with the addition of one new one (my current boss). It makes no sense for me to contact the old recommenders to have them update their letters since I haven't had contact with them for the past year and there's nothing they could add.

That's exactly what I was thinking too. I haven't taken any additional courses or had any additional interactions with three faculty members that wrote me LORs. I have a brand new LOR that I am gonna use. But asking those three profs to re-write or edit the LOR doesn't make sense to me.

I am still gonna ask two of those three profs to see if they would like to add/edit anything in their letter. I really hate to do that.

Good luck all.

 

[Whichdoctor]

I'm on the waitlist at 3 schools for 2006. Since it doesn't appear I'm gonna get in, I'm working on amcas 2007.

Do I need to resend LORs for the schools on which I am currently waitlisted? Do I have to contact the same people to send the same letters to these schools all over again? Thanks in advance.

 

[Sartre79]

I was told by a doc that you should send "updated" lors. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[2DEG]

I was told by a doc that you should send "updated" lors. Take it for what it's worth.

I asked one of my professors (he has retired from the school) to see if he would edit the letter. I also told him that since I have not taken any courses with him, I would be perfectly fine if he wants me to use the original LORs. This is the reply I got from him:

" I do not think I could have been any more positive than I was in my letter. I simply implied that you were perhaps the best student that I have ever had in CH201 and that I thought your motivation for medical school was excellent. "

I don't mean to show that I am super genious (which I am not of course) or anything. I feel rather humbled by his remarks.

I guess my point is..if you know your LOR writers did their best and I know that for sure with this prof. and my organic chem prof., then there is no point in asking them to edit and re-send the letters.

Bottom line, I am gonna use the old letters and new ones from profs. who didn't write for me in the last apps. cycle.

S.

 

[ericali]

If you do use old letters, do you have to have the carrer development center at your undergrad institution resend those letters? Can the schools look at your file from last year and find those old letters? The thing that dinged me was the MCAT, so I'm pretty confident that using old letters won't hurt me. In the new year I tutored a lot of private students. Kind of pointless to get my private clients to write letters for me.

Please PM me if you know if we have to resend letters even if they're exactly the same letters to the admissions committees that I've applied to last year.

 

[Whichdoctor]

I was told by a doc that you should send "updated" lors. Take it for what it's worth.

Well, I graduated in '05 - haven't seen the profs who wrote my LORs in a year and the medical committee at my college hasn't seen me in a year. From them at least, there is nothing to update. (I'll probably add an LOR from my current employer.)

My question is whether the three schools to which I am reapplying (where I am currently waitlisted) can just pull the LORs from my 2006 file and incorporate them into my 2007 file. It seems kind of pointless to resend letters that they already have.

 

[prana_md]

I kept my original science letters -- I mean, not much is going to change. I took their class, etc, etc. I supplemented this year's letters with letters from where I volunteer (I took on a lot more responsibility in the year in between) and a letter from an MD who had kind of become my mentor.

 

[MasonPrehealth]

I would always ask for updated LOR's, even if the information is pretty much the same. Part of it is being collegial and maintaining your network with your references... that you weren't using them just for getting a letter.

However, I would talk to your premed advisor (like me) to see if there should be a particular focus that the recommenders could address. Sometimes, those faculty or general references are generally positive but do not address the characteristics of being a doctor that the admissions committee is looking for. That way, when you do ask your references for updated letters, you should be sure that they specifically address those qualities that make you a good health professional.

 

[DoctorEmDee]

I used the SAME exact letters from previous applications, and also the same personal statement (with a few minor tweaks). My problem was my GPA, which improved over my last application, and now I'm starting medical school in the fall. I guess what I'm saying is that re-using letters or even personal statements won't hurt your application if what's really preventing you from getting in is your mcat or gpa.