Waive LOR - I WANT TO CRY!

[Rikkye]

OMG, I found out today, I've been circling the wrong box in waiving right, I ended up not waiving it on ALL of my letters. I still did not read any of the letters

My stomach feels sick right now, I want to cry, I know some school does not like that, but is there a chance that I will NOT get accepted anywhere based on this mistake?

I have one more LOR, which NOW I will check the right box.

please, i really need some comment right now, my hands are shaking, and I can't sleep

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[UCDavisdude]

OMG, I found out today, I've been circling the wrong box in waiving right, I ended up not waiving it on ALL of my letters. I still did not read any of the letters

My stomach feels sick right now, I want to cry, I know some school does not like that, but is there a chance that I will NOT get accepted anywhere based on this mistake?

I have one more LOR, which NOW I will check the right box.

please, i really need some comment right now, my hands are shaking, and I can't sleep

ouch! that sucks. well, best thing you can do is hope your letter writers still have a copy saved, and if they do, it should be really easy to correct the mistake. just have them print it out and resend, unless youve already sent in your LORS

 

[Rikkye]

No, everything has already been sent

does anyone know how much this would hurt me?

 

[emquiksilver]

Not to mislead you, but according to hearsay, adcoms won't take those types of LORs as seriously.

 

[UCDavisdude]

expensive alternative, but i guess you can withdraw your application, and resubmit..sucks but theres really no other choice besides just going for it and hoping for the best.

 

[cleothecat]

Have them resend the letters into a service such as Interfolio and this time circle the right box.

Send the new letters to any schools you have not yet submitted to

 

[golfpro1985]

So I don't get it. Are you supposed to waive your right to access it or are you not?

 

[DianaUT06]

Waive your right...you are volunteering to give up that right to read your letters.

 

[MassTransport]

Damn, that sounds bad. You may write a letter to these schools telling them of the mistake.

 

[ar2388]

I think the smartest idea came from MassTrasnport. tell the school sof the mistake. and maybe if you cry on the phone, they'll be nice? (not making fun of you. i cried on the phone when i got into college and didnt get any financial aid)

 

[FlowLimited]

I'm not sure if calling the schools will make much of a difference. I'm not saying you'd do this, but for all they know you could be trying to scam them by reading your LORs and then telling them you meant to waive your rights. This is a tough situation for the med schools and I'm not sure if they would be comfortable with just a verbal "I messed up."

 

[Krisss17]

While I agree with Masstransport about calling the schools and letting them know of the error (I'm sure you are not the first), I disagree about calling and crying...do you really want to be known as the crybaby applicant?

Tell them that you erroneously checked the wrong box, what would they suggest that you do? Maybe they'll want you to get a couple of additional LORs and that'll suffice. I guess a lot of it depends on how your application stacks up...if you have a good GPA and MCAT scores along with ECs, the LORs may not weigh as heavy.

 

[Jaded03]

It sounds bad, BUT few things to consider.

How did you send the letters? Interfolio, VirtualEvals, and Career Centers or Pre-whatever committees all REQUIRE you to waive this right. That's good for you.

Call them now! You should e-mail and send a letter so they have a paper trail, but you just need to let them know that you made the mistake. (I believe it's so stupid to let students have an option to click or circle "throw away my letters")

GL! They can't seriously think students read the letters and forfeit everything.

 

[mirakate]

Why are we supposed to waive our rights to read these letters?

I wish there was a 3rd option, like that they won't be released until after x date, when the cycle ends and then you can read them.

 

[odddodo]

Why are we supposed to waive our rights to read these letters?

I wish there was a 3rd option, like that they won't be released until after x date, when the cycle ends and then you can read them.

Evaluators would not feel as comfortable or be as frank in writing these letters if they knew the applicant would be reading them.

 

[Jaded03]

Why are we supposed to waive our rights to read these letters?

I wish there was a 3rd option, like that they won't be released until after x date, when the cycle ends and then you can read them.

In theory, it means you...
1. Can't tamper with the letters. "This part sucks, professor, can you change it?" "I AM NOT ESL!" (this has come up in one of these threads, where the recommender used this to explain a low verbal)
2. Can't pick and choose letters. I only want the good ones to show up. Screw those cut and paste letters.
3. Do not participate in the writing of this letter in general. "Can you mention that I stayed up all night during grant season?"

It ensures schools that they are getting real letters and real evaluations of your performance without having you butt in.

 

[mirakate]

Evaluators would not feel as comfortable or be as frank in writing these letters if they knew the applicant would be reading them.

Generalizations suck. (That's not directed at you, just an observation.)

Of course, the two people who I'm thinking of tagging for mine never hesitate to tell me what they're thinking, so...

 

[jochi1543]

So, did you writers know that they were writing letters that were meant to be seen by you? Because if not, the best thing to do would be to contact the schools describing what happened and then tell them to contact the writers to confirm what you said.

 

[etf]

can't you just make up your own waiver statement, sign it, and submit it to the school? something along the lines of "i hereby waive my rights to have access to any letters of reference i have submitted; these instructions supercede any previous instructions to the contrary."

 

[FlowLimited]

So, did you writers know that they were writing letters that were meant to be seen by you? Because if not, the best thing to do would be to contact the schools describing what happened and then tell them to contact the writers to confirm what you said.

That's a good point. I don't think that the OP calling would be enough, but confirming with the letter writers would be a smart way to verify.

 

[PseudomonasPAO1]

Start an Interfolio account ($15) and have all your LOR writers re-submit with a confidentiality agreement. This will save you a lot of headache and time. And it's only $5 or so per school.

 

[Biophilic]

First of all, most of the recommenders write positive things about you and the admission committee knows that you won't give your letter to someone who would write a bad letters for you. In that sensing waiving or not waiving your right does not make a difference. (eventhough it is recommended that you do waive your right)

So here is my advice, if you think your recommenders wrote solid letters for you then you have nothing to worry about. But if the recommernder were hessitant about writing you a letter then maybe you need to worry. My other advice is that you should not waive your write to the letter you are just about to send because that would make your other letters suspicoius.

If you are a good applicant with good GAP, MCAT, EC's then in my view this mistake will cost you nothing.

 

[MassTransport]

So, did you writers know that they were writing letters that were meant to be seen by you? Because if not, the best thing to do would be to contact the schools describing what happened and then tell them to contact the writers to confirm what you said.

This is really good advice.

 

[spanamit]

I don't know how other med schools are about this, but when Dean of Admissions of UCSF David Wofsy came to my school (which he does every semester to talk to a premed seminar), he said that they don't care if the letters are confidential or not.

Hope that makes you feel better.

 

[Dr. Josh]

I think the smartest idea came from MassTrasnport. tell the school sof the mistake. and maybe if you cry on the phone, they'll be nice? (not making fun of you. i cried on the phone when i got into college and didnt get any financial aid)

I agree; let them know about the error.

 

[adamMD]

Who cares. I seriously doubt this will effect your application in any way. Interviews are given based more on gpa and mcat than anything else. Do well in your interviews and I doubt adcoms will even realize that you retained your rights.

 

[Rikkye]

Thank you everyone, I have already calmed down since then. The first night, I did not even sleep a wink.

For those who wants to know, I use my school's service of gathering LOR including waiver form and sending it via VirtualEvals.

I don't think I'm going open Interfolio with the same letter but different waive rights, that's illegal and if caught, i have to forfeit my candidacy.

I'm thinking of doing as some of you have suggested, that is to write a letter to all of my LOR writer and tell them of the error. Then write a letter to all of the medical schools I have applied and tell them of the error. I think they might think it is strange for an applicant to not waive all five letters. Whether they believe it or not, is entirely up to them.

[spanamit] mentioned that UCSF doesn't care about confidentiality of the letters because CA schools in general don't care, but other states school do.

 

[Jaded03]

Who cares. I seriously doubt this will effect your application in any way. Interviews are given based more on gpa and mcat than anything else. Do well in your interviews and I doubt adcoms will even realize that you retained your rights.

I wouldn't believe this. Although he makes a good point about recovering with an amazing interview. The shady part is where you get the interview. So many people do NOT bank on MCAT or GPA to get one. Also, many schools opt for us to waive it. Many schools do not even bother to have that option you are selecting and refuse to accept letters that are not waived. It seems unlikely that refusing to wave is not significant.

 

[Law2Doc]

can't you just make up your own waiver statement, sign it, and submit it to the school? something along the lines of "i hereby waive my rights to have access to any letters of reference i have submitted; these instructions supercede any previous instructions to the contrary."

It doesn't work this way. Particularly if the letters are already sent. There will be an interval where you retained a right to see the letters, which is problematic.
OP, I guess I personally would sit tight -- not much you can do about it now and I'm not sure drawing attention to your screw up is tactically a smart move. But that's just my uninformed opinion, having not gone down this road.

To all others -- make sure you waive this right. Schools want letter writers to have the opportunity to be candid, and it is feared they won't be if they know you will see the letter.

 

[Jaded03]

It doesn't work this way. Particularly if the letters are already sent. There will be an interval where you retained a right to see the letters, which is problematic.
OP, I guess I personally would sit tight -- not much you can do about it now and I'm not sure drawing attention to your screw up is tactically a smart move. But that's just my uninformed opinion, having not gone down this road.

To all others -- make sure you waive this right. Schools want letter writers to have the opportunity to be candid, and it is feared they won't be if they know you will see the letter.

I might have to disagree. I never waived my rights before asking for the letter. However, I never got to see them. UCLA professors are very on point about this. They do not let you. They believe it's dishonest. Having said that I did hand them a print out of a waiver from my particular service to be mailed along with the sealed letter. So I don't see what's the big deal about writing your own (or using the examples I gave you). I don't know if this has been brought to the OP's attention, but has it occurred to you to have your letter writers say you had no contact with the letter? If that doesn't shut them up I don't know what would . I'm sure professors can lie, but that's their reputation on the line.

 

[Law2Doc]

So I don't see what's the big deal about writing your own

I think the OP said the letters were already written and sent out. Waiving rights now does no good because there was a window during which OP had the right to see them. It's not an issue of whether OP ever actually saw the letter, it's an issue of whether the writers thought the OP retained the right to see the letter (and hence perhaps were less candid).

 

[Jaded03]

Hmm. I have to say that's an interesting situation. I mean I never had to face that due to what I said about my professors. Putting out a letter that isn't their true opinion or less of their opinion seemed beneath them. If what you say is true for most universities, then I will have to retract my statement. Gosh My professors must have huge egos then. LoL.