Too many letters of rec... possibly a bad thing??

[selfhealer]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys,
I was looking for some advice on this. My school doesn't have a pre-med committee so I had to get individual letters. I have a total of 6 letters. 2 from science profs, 1 from advisor, 1 from DO I shadowed and 2 from MD's. They are all glowing letters and say great things about me which I would like schools to see, but I'm worried that they might be annoyed by so many letters and that sending all 6 could hurt me. Is this a realistic fear or if I have 6 great letters, should I send all 6 with no worries? Thanks.

 

[sedaniel]

A lot of schools have a max of 5 letters you can send in (some have less than that, like MSUCOM you can only send in two evaluations I think). I would drop one of the MD letters.

 

[TallScrubs]

. They are all glowing letters and say great things about me which I would like schools to see

Did you read your letters of rec?

 

[selfhealer]

Did you read your letters of rec?

Everyone who wrote me a letter provided me with a copy of the letter to read. Is that unusual or frowned upon?

 

[DrDre2001]

I've been sending the schools all that they require. Most schools just require two faculty (one of them being your undergrad committee letter) and one physician letter.

I haven't gone over any school's requirements. Should I? Have you all been sending in extra letters beyond the bare minimum?

 

[sedaniel]

I've been sending the schools all that they require. Most schools just require two faculty (one of them being your undergrad committee letter) and one physician letter.

I haven't gone over any school's requirements. Should I? Have you all been sending in extra letters beyond the bare minimum?

Unless a school specifically says they do not want more than a certain number of LORs, I sent all of them my 5 letter packet (1 MD, 1 DO, 1 undergrad science, 1 grad science, and 1 non-science).

 

[TallScrubs]

Everyone who wrote me a letter provided me with a copy of the letter to read. Is that unusual or frowned upon?

From what I understand, it is highly frowned upon that you have read your letters. You do not have to but they [adcoms] assume you have influenced what the letter says. I waived my right to view them and i know all of my friends also have.

 

[selfhealer]

From what I understand, it is highly frowned upon that you have read your letters. You do not have to but they [adcoms] assume you have influenced what the letter says. I waived my right to view them and i know all of my friends also have.

Wait, Im a bit confused. There is no way I could have influenced the letters.
The faculty and doctors who wrote my letters submitted my letters and then provided me with a copy just so I could see what they wrote. It's not as though they gave me a "rough draft" and I provided input or any editing suggestions. They simply gave me a copy of a letter they already submitted. How could this be frowned upon? Also, how could the Adcoms possibly know that I received a copy of the letter?

 

[blinkboy1156]

To comment on your original post: I don't think you should send in all 6. To my knowledge, most osteopathic schools only require 2-3. In addition, most schools don't openly say its okay to send additional LORs (at least most of the schools I looked at). I agree with one of the other comments about the MD LORs. 2 science, 1 advisor, 1 DO, imho, is sufficient. Besides, if the LORs are "glowing" then it shouldn't be a problem submitting fewer than 6 LORs. If you're still worried, then pick out the letters that talk about you the best.

It is frowned upon when the applicant can read the LORs. And, imho, you should not have read them even though they gave you copies. Should you be worried about this? I don't think so. Not if the adcoms don't know about it. The adcoms can't know the letter writers gave you copies of the LOR unless one of them specifically mentioned it (lol?) or you used non-confidential LORs on Interfolio, for example. It looks best if you submit confidential LORs, which shows the subject had no contact or influence over the letter writer whatsoever.

bottom line, look to see what schools allow extra LORs. If so, then don't submit more than 1-2 extra. I don't think you should be worried about reading the LORs.

 

[SFO-IST]

I applied with six letters too and have seen good results. If the school wants you to only send in 2, then let them pick which ones they want to use. More data sets would make them all the more confident that you are a stellar applicant.

 

[Skippygonenuts]

i actually sent in 7...and i sent them in myself using my return address on the envelope (meaning yes, i did read them all because the writers simply gave them to me and i'm sure schools put that together)

...worked fine for me..

 

[Juice9]

You absolutely should not read the letters. At my school we actually have to give signed document to our letter writers voiding our right to see the letters, this form must be turned in by the writer with the letter in order for the letter to be part of your file. I'm sure most places don't go this far but I've never heard of someone being allowed to read their letters

 

[romealone]

You absolutely should not read the letters. At my school we actually have to give signed document to our letter writers voiding our right to see the letters, this form must be turned in by the writer with the letter in order for the letter to be part of your file. I'm sure most places don't go this far but I've never heard of someone being allowed to read their letters

It's so odd that this is the general consensus. Apparently you are NOT supposed to read the letters, but it my case, ALL SIX of my letter writers voluntarily provided me with a copy of the letter to read. As I said, it's not as though they provided me with a copy so that I could edit/alter their letters. They simply gave me an unsealed copy of the letter at the same time that they submitted it to Interfolio.

In fact, the first person to give me a letter was a doctor I shadowed. When he handed me a copy of the letter I was actually surprised and said, "Well I won't read this, I will just keep it for my records I guess". And he responded by saying that that was ridiculous and that anyone who writes me a letter should provide me with a copy to read.

I am happy that I got a chance to read my letters. Everyone wrote amazing letters for me, I really could not have asked for more from a LOR.


I am curious why schools are so strict regarding the whole "letter reading" issue. Obviously it would be a problem if someone was intercepting a letter, tampering/editing it, and then sending it off, but why exactly would they care that I happen to have read what has already been sent in? I simply read a copy of a letter that was already submitted. Why would this concern them?

Obviously I won't mention the fact that I was allowed to read copies of my letters since it is apparently verboten, but I am curious why they are so concerned about it.