Check out part two of my Varsity Tutors guest blog on getting the best letters of recommendation to strengthen your candidacy.
Check out part two of my Varsity Tutors guest blog on getting the best letters of recommendation to strengthen your candidacy.
Click here to read my guest entry on the Varsity Tutors blog explaining how to obtain the best letters of recommendation possible to bolster your candidacy. The article focuses on medical school applicants, but contains very useful information for residency, fellowship, post-bacc, and dental applicants as well.
Making the process of letter of recommendation (LOR) writing and submission smooth for your faculty recommenders will likely improve the content and turnaround time of your LORs. Your medical school LOR writers have several options for submitting to AMCAS. Because you want to make the process as convenient as possible, and because different faculty members may have varying preferences, you should offer each writer all feasible alternatives.
Below are the options. Note that your AAMC ID and AMCAS Letter ID (found on your Letter Request Form) are required, regardless of the means of submission:
1. AMCAS Letter Writer Application: This site enables letter writers to upload documents to AMCAS securely.
2. Interfolio: AMCAS can receive letters sent to Interfolio if the applicant is an Interfolio user or if the faculty member’s institution/organization uses the program.
3. Snail mail:
AMCAS, attn: AMCAS Letters
AAMC Medical School Application Services
P.O. Box 18958
Washington, DC 20036
(If your recommender plans to send the letter by snail mail, be courteous and provide him/her with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)
4. VirtualEvals (VE): VE is available to members of the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP).
It’s not infrequent that an applicant tells me that a letter of recommendation (LOR) writer has asked the candidate to draft his/her own letter because the writer is “too busy.” I notice that medical school and residency applicants are a bit sheepish as they tell me about this arrangement. Have no fear: You are not doing anything unethical. (Here is a piece by the New York Times ethicist Ariel Kaminer regarding this exact topic.)
If a faculty member asks you to write your own letter, not only should you do it, but you should do it with zeal. Make sure you showcase the accomplishments that distinguish you from other candidates and highlight traits that are important for your future career path. Use honest – but bold – adjectives to describe your best qualities.
Remember that the letter writer has final say, so even a busy faculty member might modify the letter. Keeping this fact in mind might alleviate your (unnecessary) guilt and should encourage you to write the strongest letter you can. (It’s harder to go from outstanding to mediocre than from outstanding to excellent.)
Contact me for Strategy Sessions and Complete Packages. The latter are very popular this season.