Recommendations Revisited: Making the Process Painless

Posted on May 21, 2008
Filed Under Premedical Students

by Interfolio
SDN Sponsor

The application puzzle can be a complex one, and letters of recommendation are just one piece. It doesn’t need to be the hardest piece though. Based on our experience with thousands of medical school applicants, and our relationships with many career centers and pre-health advising offices, we’ve identified some tips for making the process of collecting letters of recommendation as painless as possible. 

Put Time on Your Side: There’s nothing worse than pressuring a writer to get a letter done in time for a quickly approaching deadline. Give your writers plenty of time to pen their letter. Like most professionals, they are busy people and their attention is usually focused elsewhere. Give them as much time as possible to make sure they aren’t rushed and are able to compose a thoughtful evaluation of your character and credentials.

Choose Wisely: Make sure that you are well acquainted with your writer, whether that person was a former professor, advisor, or supervisor. The more that they know about you, the more compelling their letter can be. Don’t ask a professor from an introductory level class to write you a letter if you never went to office hours and didn’t stand out from the other 300 students. If you can, select someone well spoken, who will be able to write about you with conviction.

Inform Them: Your writers are on a need to know basis, and they need to know. Keep them aware of what you expect of them. Give them clear instructions and address information. Be explicit about the things they should be mentioning in their letter. If you are using a service like Interfolio, be certain to make sure they are clear on the process.

Also, give them the details that go beyond the confines of your relationship. Tell them about your relevant coursework, your summer jobs, and your motivation for applying to medical school in the first place. All this information will complement what they already know, better equipping them to write on your behalf.

Gentle Nudges: Without applying too much pressure, make sure that your writers have actually sent your letter. A gentle reminder is fine - most writers understand how important these letters are to you, but everyone forgets or procrastinates from time to time. You don’t want to realize that you’re short one letter as deadlines approach.

Thank Them!: Once they have written your letter, make sure to thank them. Stop by at office hours, write them an e-mail, or give them a call. Just make sure they know that you appreciated their time and (hopefully) kind words. They will certainly appreciate it!

—————

Using Interfolio’s online document management service can also help ease a lot of the stress. We offer one secure, constantly accessible place to collect and store their letters of recommendation, while also distributing these letters to your targeted medical schools. After you request a letter, your writer can choose to mail it to our office, or upload electronically using a free writer’s account. After letters have been added to your account, you receive e-mail notification and once they have been received you can start sending them out.

For more information about Interfolio, our services, and our pricing, please visit us online at http://www.interfolio.com.

For more advice on the application process make sure to talk with your advisor or check out the many informative posts here on the SDN forums.

A big thanks to the Health Career Evaluation Committee (HCEC) Office at Cornell University and the Health Professions Office at the University of Texas at Austin for their contributions to this story.

Comments

5 Responses to “Recommendations Revisited: Making the Process Painless”

  1. Peter on May 21st, 2008 9:04 am

    This is great! Folks, if you are not going through this now . . . trust me, you will!! I am going thru this now myself.

  2. BMD on May 21st, 2008 11:56 am

    Application process can be so cumbersome. The volumes everyobne has to deal with. There should only be one standard application for all colleges.

  3. Nikki2002 on May 21st, 2008 12:13 pm

    I had my LOR writers send their letters to interfolio and it is an amazing service. Makes everything so easy.

  4. Ella on May 22nd, 2008 3:56 am

    This is amazing. Thank you! :D

  5. s on June 12th, 2008 2:57 pm

    I’ve used interfolio before. personally its a pain in the ass to get LOR’s sent there confidentially.

Leave a Reply




© 1999-2007 Coastal Research Group. Some rights reserved.
The SDN Logo and "Student Doctor Network" are registered trademarks of CRG.

TRUSTe Trust Mark   Creative Commons License   We subscribe to the HONcode principles of the HON Foundation. Click to verify.   HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.