using interfolio..asking for LOR

[supersash]

i have a question:

i think i am going to use interfolio for my reccomendations when i apply in june 2006, as my premed advisor is not very helpful, and i've heard alot of horror stories w/LOR on SDN.

here's my predicament. i already asked one teacher (in july 2005) to write me a letter, and he did, and he gave it to the premed office. of course this is before i discovered SDN. at the end of this semester, i'm going to have my genetics/bio teacher write me one, and ask him to send it off to interfolio (with a stamped address envelope of course). since so many months have gone by, is it okay to ask the the summer writer for another copy to send off to interfolio? i dont want him to be pissed, and change the letter or anything.

at the same time, is it okay that the letters will be dated this far back? or is that more common?

i also have three doctors (2 DO's and an MD) and 2 bosses that have offered to write letters. should i get the letters now, or should i try to get them closer to application time?

any suggestions/personal stories about LOR are appreciated!

sasha

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[HunterGatherer]

I am using interfoli.com now and love it.

Get the LORs now because this can be very time consuming. Give your writers a deadline like Feb 1st. Don't shoot yourself in the foot saying you don't need it until July 2006. I had one LOR writer leave my college and disapear and two LOR writers that went past my deadline for 2 months. If I was not an August MCATer I would have been very upset. keep getting as MANY LORs as you can. When the time comes to send everything out you can pick and choose which ones you think are best.

If you get to know your DO better from shadowing or take more classes with a professor you can always ask for an updated letter. The worst they can say is no, but you'll already have a solid letter. I had a DO letter sent in around October. Right now I am shadowing an DO attending and will ask him for a letter in the spring when he knows me better. This is something you may want to do, but remember a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.

When you send in your LORs they will be dated Feb/March 2006 and your application will be done around July so they will be only 5 months old or so. The date will be when they complete the LOR not when you request it. Holidays and end of the semester is here so don't expect them to have free time until mid-January. So you are good.

I met with my LOR writers and asked them what they thought my best qualities were. After that I emailed them what we discussed in hopes it would help them write the LOR. Some will even ask you to write the LOR yourself. This did not happen to me.

PCOM needs a letter from your premed advisor, premed committee letter, or letter from your academic advisor. There is no way around that so consider getting that letter from the academic advisor now. i met my advisor only once before and got one. It is pretty generic(no judgin if you are qualified to go to medschool,etc.) and there is a thread on it here.

In the application process I think LORs are the one thing that are difficult to control because you are depending usually on 3 people to meet a deadline for you. Then you don't want to pizz them off and still want them to meet your deadline or not let things drag on past it. Starting early and giving them the tools they need: CV, talking to them about yourself, adressed envelopes, etc. helps A LOT but you can still come up empty.

sorry for the long post. I went to my premed office in January and they told me I missed the deadline for a committee letter and I thought I was screwed for a year, but found interfolio. I have 3 interviews from 5 application so far. Good luck.

i have a question:

i think i am going to use interfolio for my reccomendations when i apply in june 2006, as my premed advisor is not very helpful, and i've heard alot of horror stories w/LOR on SDN.

here's my predicament. i already asked one teacher (in july 2005) to write me a letter, and he did, and he gave it to the premed office. of course this is before i discovered SDN. at the end of this semester, i'm going to have my genetics/bio teacher write me one, and ask him to send it off to interfolio (with a stamped address envelope of course). since so many months have gone by, is it okay to ask the the summer writer for another copy to send off to interfolio? i dont want him to be pissed, and change the letter or anything.

at the same time, is it okay that the letters will be dated this far back? or is that more common?

i also have three doctors (2 DO's and an MD) and 2 bosses that have offered to write letters. should i get the letters now, or should i try to get them closer to application time?

any suggestions/personal stories about LOR are appreciated!

sasha

 

[SOUNDMAN]

Interfolio rocks

 

[HunterGatherer]

one thing I forgot is that you can check your interfolio account to see if your LOR writer completed and submitted your LOR without asking them. I set up an email alert to be sent to my med school hotmail account and have hotmail set to send me alerts for all emails since it is only for med schools, LOR wirters, ACCOMAS,volunteer,etc.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Use Interfolio and get those letters now-now-now. I was an April MCATer and didn't think letters would be that big of a deal. Wrong!! My apps were delayed 2-3 months while I collected my letters. I don't know why most people would rather have toenails ripped out than write a LOR, but that's just how it is. You will get promises that a letter will be done in a week - then six weeks later you'll resort to stalking some professor by hiding outside his office door. I don't think letters that are up to a year old are any big deal, and the sooner you get them, the farther ahead of the game you are.

I really feel for my friends who thought I was wasting money (small amounts of money, by the way) by using Interfolio. Now that they're adding to their lists of schools, they're having to go back to get letters *again* and having the same (or worse) response problems, even though the letter just has to be reprinted with a new address. Not only is Interfolio extremely convenient, you will save your letters writers a great deal of time and grief if they only have to send the letter one time - and, if they have experience with LORs, they'll love you for it.