School has own LOR service: can you choose which get sent?

[Overmjnd]

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Hi,
My undergrad requires pre-meds to submit LOR's to the pre-health committee, which collects them and sticks them in a personal portfolio. For some reason they are untrusting of Interfolio/other services, which I don't completely understand.

In any case, the problem is that once you ask a teacher for a LOR and the teacher submits it, you cannot pick and choose which of your letters gets sent along with the prehealth committee letter (all letters collected are added as an attachment at the end).

Is there any place in AMCAS that you can specify which letter(s) you want sent to medical schools, even if they are in a giant packet like this?

I already have 3 LOR's in my portfolio (2 science, 1 non-science), but one of them is mediocre, and I'd rather ask a new science prof. to write me a letter. I'd only ask a new teacher for a letter if I could "cancel" one of my previous LOR's through AMCAS, so that I can comply with the recommended 2 science LOR's limit. Thanks guys and gals.

 

[Richardh]

i don't remember if you can specify AMCAS which letters to be sent out. but i do remember while completing secondary applications for the schools i applied that there was a section where i was able to indicate which letter of recommendations i want the school to consider when reviewing my file (basicaly the application asked me to write down the name of the individual and his/her title who wrote the letter of recommendation for me). i think by this way even when a hugh packet of letters are sent out, the school will consider which letters i want the school to read.

 

[hiyaman]

How do you know one of them is mediocre? Did your counselor read it and say it wasn't good?

 

[venacontracta]

Have you tried simply asking your school's premed office (or whoever maintains your letter file) to remove the mediocre letter from your file?

I'm pretty sure if I went to my premed office and asked them to remove Dr. X's letter from my file, they'd do it no questions asked.

 

[Overmjnd]

@hiyaman: I'm assuming it's mediocre because it was one of those classes you get an A, you went to office hours, the teacher has a relatively good impression of you, but nothing exceptional for them to really talk about. Then again, I haven't read it!

@david06: I asked my pre-health counselor, and she said she could not remove it from my file. It really doesn't make much sense, but I think it's because they have an obsession with people 'cheating the system' and assume you somehow got a sneak peek at it, and want it removed. They're very peculiar about the way certain things like this are handled.

Also, in case someone may ask why I asked a teacher whom I knew would probably write me a mediocre letter in the first place, it was because it was the end of junior year and I initially planned on applying that year (and was a bit desperate).