U of Minnesota Recommendation Forms

[cheesegirl]

For any of you applying to U of M:

If your school has a letter writing service that compiles all of your recs into a packet and sends them all together along with a recommendation form, does Minnesota require that you have your recommenders fill out their form as well? I plan to call them tomorrow but I wanted to see if anyone had already encountered this. Thanks!

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[eyesonwx]

I had recently talked to admissions with a similar question, and they said to have that form with your LOR when it was sent in. I believe your prof or whoever is writing the letter needs to fill it out. It never hurts to call and ask.

 

[reverend doc]

In a related question, does anyone know if you can send LORs via Interfolio, then have profs send the recommendation forms separately?


And just a general 👎 for the extra forms. If every school had these, this process would be a total nightmare. We're already asking a favor for these letters. I hate putting any extra imposition on my recommenders.

 

[Orb]

This is from their secondary

"Pre-Med Committee Materials
(if applicable)


Please enter information on this tab ONLY if your undergraduate school has a structured pre-medical committee or health sciences advising committee. These committees typically construct and submit a packet of materials in support of their applicants. Packets usually include a composite/committee letter that incorporates comments from several individuals, including faculty members, advisors, or supervisors. Often, individual letters of recommendation are included along with the composite letter in the packet If your committee is submitting a packet on your behalf, you are required to provide TWO University of Minnesota recommendation forms. Please enter the contact information for the TWO individuals who will be submitting the University of Minnesota recommendation forms. Any two individuals who have written a letter in your support can submit the recommendation form, and they need not be pre-medical committee members (though they certainly can be if certain members are willing). It is best to request these forms from two people who provided evaluations for your pre-medical committee's consideration.

Recommenders are instructed to submit letters and forms as soon as possible after receiving your request. Please remember that the Admissions Committee will not review your file until all supplemental application materials, including recommendation letters AND forms, have been received."

 

[nager105]

I am complete at U Minnesota and I'm almost positive that my pre-med committee filled out both of the rec forms themselves, because none of my letter writers filled them out. I think if your school uses Interfolio or VirtualEvals, then Minnesota is okay with both the forms being filled out by an advisor or pre-med committee or the like. But I'm not 100% sure about this.

 

[notdeadyet]

I think if your school uses Interfolio or VirtualEvals, then Minnesota is okay with both the forms being filled out by an advisor or pre-med committee or the like. But I'm not 100% sure about this.

Actually, I asked specifically about this to the school and they said that I needed to go back and ask my professors individually to complete the forms and send them in.

 

[cheesegirl]

But I don't have a pre-med committee. We just have someone who compiles our letters of rec. And, each of those recommenders fills out a form from this office that is similar to U of M's.

 

[notdeadyet]

But I don't have a pre-med committee. We just have someone who compiles our letters of rec. And, each of those recommenders fills out a form from this office that is similar to U of M's.

Each of those recommenders needs to fill out UM's form as well.

I don't have any contact with my LOR writers and it would be very difficult to have them complete their form. UM recommended I find new LOR writers. The forms are not negotiable.

 

[Monkey12]

I graduated 2 years ago and it will be difficult to get my old profs to fill out their special forms. I had 2 new letters added to my "packet of letters" from docs I work with, is this acceptable? Would it hurt me NOT having an actual professor fill out the forms? I suppose I could harass them? Any thoughts?

 

[MaiPenRai]

You need to have recommenders fill out the forms. Yes, it sucks. Yes, my application was held up for THREE MONTHS because of this requirement and having so many problems getting my recommenders to submit the forms. You need two of the U of M forms (their exact form) filled out if you do have a committee and four of their forms filled out if you do not have a committee. We are all unhappy about this.

 

[nekrogg]

Each of those recommenders needs to fill out UM's form as well.

I don't have any contact with my LOR writers and it would be very difficult to have them complete their form. UM recommended I find new LOR writers. The forms are not negotiable.

haha not dead yet and i had trouble with this a few months ago. in hindsight, it really wasnt worth it and im glad i didnt get my recommenders to fill it out.

a) im would be taking up a spot against someone who cares enough about the school to fill out the form

b) i dont want to go to a school who is arrogant enough to assume everyone is willing to bend over backwards just for them.. we arent applying to just one school. some of us have 30 some secondaries to fill out

 

[MinnyGophers]

haha not dead yet and i had trouble with this a few months ago. in hindsight, it really wasnt worth it and im glad i didnt get my recommenders to fill it out.

a) im would be taking up a spot against someone who cares enough about the school to fill out the form

b) i dont want to go to a school who is arrogant enough to assume everyone is willing to bend over backwards just for them.. we arent applying to just one school. some of us have 30 some secondaries to fill out

This is where you are wrong. They have thousands of applicants willing to bend over backward to fill out those forms. Remember that schools accept you, not the other way around.
People who fill out the extra form are actually showing that they do want to go there instead of just applying for the heck of it and denying the offer once accepted to someplace else. It might not be true for all and it might certainly be a pain in the ass for non-trads applicants, but that's the way it is.
You have 30 other secondaries to fill out, and they have thousands of applications to review. Why waste time one someone who isn't really that super interested in coming here? ( not saying you aren't, but just for the sake of argument).

 

[kdburton]

For any of you applying to U of M:

If your school has a letter writing service that compiles all of your recs into a packet and sends them all together along with a recommendation form, does Minnesota require that you have your recommenders fill out their form as well? I plan to call them tomorrow but I wanted to see if anyone had already encountered this. Thanks!

If you're talking about the twin cities campus then I think that you MUST have them filled out. If you're talking about the UMD campus, then are not required to have them filled out as long as you're using a committee letter or a credential service (you are required if your profs are sending individual LORs by themselves).

 

[cheesegirl]

you don't have to have your recommenders fill them out if you have a letter writing/compiling service that makes the recommenders fill out a similar form anyway.

I got this info from the UM-Minnesota office and this is what I did. They said my app was complete and ready to go!

 

[notdeadyet]

you don't have to have your recommenders fill them out if you have a letter writing/compiling service that makes the recommenders fill out a similar form anyway.

I'd be very careful with this. I'm not sure how similar your form was, but I was told very specifically by admissions that they would not accept anything other than their form. When I explained that it would be hard to get in touch with old letter writers (who had submitted them to my letter service), it was recommended I get new letters of rec.

Glad you had a positive experience with it, but most folks have been told it's absolutely required and several have had their apps held up because of it.

 

[cubbbie]

you don't have to have your recommenders fill them out if you have a letter writing/compiling service that makes the recommenders fill out a similar form anyway.

I got this info from the UM-Minnesota office and this is what I did. They said my app was complete and ready to go!

Not true in my case. I have a letter service at my school, and then the website said I was complete. But then I called and they told me that I had to get 4 of U of M forms filled out. I originally submitted 2, because that's all they ask for with the pre-med committee letter people. Delayed my app by a lot.