Interviews with only one LoR?

[newbie333]

I will not be able to get LoR 2 & 3 until the end of Nov & Dec respectively; This will depend upon the attending writing it during the month I am rotating.

Will I be able to get any interview offers with only one letter in ERAS or are interviews offered only when the application is complete?

My situation is probably not too unique. Are attendings used to getting last minute requests? What is the best way to approach the issue with them on such short notice?

Thank you for any insight that you can share with me.

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[Oleander7865]

I will not be able to get LoR 2 & 3 until the end of Nov & Dec respectively; This will depend upon the attending writing it during the month I am rotating.

Will I be able to get any interview offers with only one letter in ERAS or are interviews offered only when the application is complete?

My situation is probably not too unique. Are attendings used to getting last minute requests? What is the best way to approach the issue with them on such short notice?

Thank you for any insight that you can share with me.

It's common for apps to be incomplete at the time of an interview. Your transcript and board scores are more important for the interview phase; LORs more important during the ranking phase.

But December is really quite late- really push to get it in by late November.

 

[CasaElGato]

I will not be able to get LoR 2 & 3 until the end of Nov & Dec respectively; This will depend upon the attending writing it during the month I am rotating.

Will I be able to get any interview offers with only one letter in ERAS or are interviews offered only when the application is complete?

My situation is probably not too unique. Are attendings used to getting last minute requests? What is the best way to approach the issue with them on such short notice?

Thank you for any insight that you can share with me.

This is NOT good and this does sound unique. Had all my letters in by early Oct (as did almost all people at my medschool). Some places will not evaluate your file until all letters are in thoughs ome will invite you without them.

 

[loveumms]

The program director of the field I'm going into at my school said it is fine to submit your application without all letters being finished. I can say that many interns I've talked to said they applied to programs without having a complete file and got several interviews.

 

[gutonc]

I will not be able to get LoR 2 & 3 until the end of Nov & Dec respectively; This will depend upon the attending writing it during the month I am rotating.

Will I be able to get any interview offers with only one letter in ERAS or are interviews offered only when the application is complete?

My situation is probably not too unique. Are attendings used to getting last minute requests? What is the best way to approach the issue with them on such short notice?

Thank you for any insight that you can share with me.

Interviews may be offered w/o a complete file. That said, if your file isn't complete by the deadline for each program, you may not get them from the more competitive programs.

If you're particularly interested in a program or 3 you should definitely check with them and see if getting LoRs in late will be a problem.

Good luck,

BE (now PE)

 

[madcadaver]

If I am understanding you correctly, you have one LOR and you will not have even REQUESTED #3 until the end of December? This is a really bad idea. What happens if your December rotation does not go as planned? For example, you could not do as well as you hoped, you could get sick, or you could not get along well with the attending. Then where is letter #3 going to come from?

Even if things go great during your rotations, it is very bad form to ask an attending to write a STAT letter of rec. It implies (quite accurately) that you don't have respect for his or her time and is quite rude. You should give the person a minimum of 2 weeks and you should not be surprised if you call in 2 weeks and it is not yet done.

My advice is to request and get a total of 3 letters from attendings you have already worked with. That way at least you know you will meet the minimum no matter what happens in Nov and Dec. If you can get additional letters to be added to your file, great. But cruising into December/January with only one letter on file is a bad idea.

 

[Wednesday]

Most interviews are given out already by December/January and most programs won't give out interviews until your file is complete, including all the letters they require. I imagine this is not a hard and fast rule, but you should call some programs you're interested in and ask. I agree with the above poster that just having some letters on file would be a better idea. you can always send more letters in Jan/Dec and they can serve as updates. And I also agree that letters do not always pan out as planned. Have a couple of extra letters in case some don't materialize.