Letters of Recommendation

[deleted158872]

Do A.B. and UK schools require LORs?
If they don't but only say it's "optional", should i still send them?
did you guys send LoR nonetheless?

how old can the LORs be? I have LoRs from undergrad that are 4-5 years old...

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[mcat_taker]

Do A.B. and UK schools require LORs?
If they don't but only say it's "optional", should i still send them?
did you guys send LoR nonetheless?

how old can the LORs be? I have LoRs from undergrad that are 4-5 years old...

AB requires at least 2 LOR. I don't think it matters how old they are but they need to be sent directly from your references on official letterhead etc. They say that the schools look at them carefully so I imagine they are important.

 

[deleted158872]

ok thanks

can i use interfolio? that's where i keep all my LoRs.
some of my old professors are out of reach now.

 

[sassa]

ok thanks

can i use interfolio? that's where i keep all my LoRs.
some of my old professors are out of reach now.

Unless it's changed, it has to be sent from your reference person to Atlantic Bridge directly. One has to be academic I think.

Whatever it says on the application instructions, you do that. If you can't get in touch with your old references, you'll have to find new ones.

This isn't meant to be harsh, but taking notice from your recent posts, it seems like you're trying to get exceptions for things. Not sure if you mean it that way - hard to tell on boards! - but some friendly stranger advice: asking for exceptions isn't going to always end well. Things get real now. And when it comes to applications for anything med career, it's best to follow them to the letter.

Maybe I'm reading the posts wrong and it's just curiosity but it's my stranger 2 cents!

 

[sassa]

I'm also 100% sure my LORs and essay got me an interview. My marks were engineering-good marks (so low GPA for every other degree standards) and my MCAT was nothing genius.

It's a very well rounded consideration from the Irish schools which can play in your favour.

 

[deleted158872]

Unless it's changed, it has to be sent from your reference person to Atlantic Bridge directly. One has to be academic I think.

Whatever it says on the application instructions, you do that. If you can't get in touch with your old references, you'll have to find new ones.

This isn't meant to be harsh, but taking notice from your recent posts, it seems like you're trying to get exceptions for things. Not sure if you mean it that way - hard to tell on boards! - but some friendly stranger advice: asking for exceptions isn't going to always end well. Things get real now. And when it comes to applications for anything med career, it's best to follow them to the letter.

Maybe I'm reading the posts wrong and it's just curiosity but it's my stranger 2 cents!

i'm not asking for "exception". i'm gathering information.
i guess you've never applied to US med schools? everybody here uses either interfolio or virtualEval.

 

[sassa]

Nope never have. Just to Canadian and Irish back in 2012.

There could be a centralized place for Canadian schools now for all I know!

But still stands - what the application says to do, do that. You run the risk of it being thrown out otherwise and that's no good! Better to just follow the instructions

(A guy in the year above me sent in his usmle step 1 application and something wasn't 100 % correct for a verification and it almost cost him a seat last year)

 

[mcat_taker]

i'm not asking for "exception". i'm gathering information.
i guess you've never applied to US med schools? everybody here uses either interfolio or virtualEval.

I've never used Interfolio, you should probably call up AB and ask if they accept it. My only issue with that is the references will be dated then. I usually have my referees update my reference with a new date to make them more current etc.

 

[deleted158872]

ok, thanks

 

[Medstart108]

UK requires one LoR for 5-6 year programs but for GEM programs i'm not sure. You can do it all through UCAS.