i've asked for my LOR's, but of course i'll probably have to push/remind over the next few months. how hard i push will depend on the timeline. if i want to submit in the first few days after AMCAS is open for submission, assuming that means i get non-screened secondaries late June/early July, when is a good time to have LOR's ready by? when do schools really start reviewing apps for interviews, the time i would guess a missing LOR would set you back?
This is a great question, with no "one size fits all" answer. The short answer is ASAP. Unfortunately, the "P" is entirely out of your control, and, if your writers are like most, they are not going to drop whatever they are doing to turn your letter around in 48 hours.
The balancing act then becomes one of being patient and risking being at a disadvantage, or being a pain in the a** and risking being at a disadvantage (through receiving a LOR commensurate with the level of annoyance you subject your writer to).
Assuming your application is verified and transmitted on 6/25, of course, it would be best to have everything outside your control completed on that date so that you will be marked complete as soon as you submit your secondaries. This is the ideal, but it is often not possible and it often doesn't matter, because it's also not like schools drop everything and review your application as soon as it is complete, especially so early in the cycle! So, the question then becomes, as you asked, "when do schools really start reviewing apps for interviews, the time i would guess a missing LOR would set you back?"
The answer to that is -- it varies!!
It's as early as July at some schools, since some people at some schools typically report receiving IIs as early as July and August every year (other than last year, when everything was pushed back a few weeks). But, as you surely know, it drags on through the following spring, and there is no rule regarding what pile your app will be placed in, or when you will be reviewed, regardless of how early you are complete. That's why the only reasonable response is to aim for ASAP, but to not freak out as long as they are in before Labor Day, because, the more annoying you are, the more likely it is that the letter will not be as good as it might have otherwise been.
