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References - intefolio? referencenow?


Guest McCarey007

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Guest McCarey007

References are a nightmare...grr...I'm a bit behind most of you, but who has been using interfolio or referencenow.com? Could some please briefly enlighten me about how they work? I snooped around their website but got no concrete information about their process. Do our references just upload one reference letter and then interfolio will send that to whichever med school we request?

Much thanks!

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Guest dkwlam

Hey,

 

I haven't used their service, but from what I understand that's pretty much it. Your references need to only send (electronic or snail mail) one copy of their letter to Interfolio. You can then ask Interfolio to send copies to each school you're applying. I think it's more popular in the States than in Canada.

 

Does anyone have any experience sending reference letters through Interfolio to Canadian schools?

 

Cheers,

Dave

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Guest McCarey007

Yeah, I haven't heard about it before until I started to read some of the older postings here. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use their system...I just want to make sure it's user friendly for both me and my referees. Are you going to use it too Dave?

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Guest dkwlam

Hey,

 

I've heard good things about Interfolio on other boards. I'm not applying till next year, but I'll end up using them. I really don't want to hassle my profs by asking them each to mail 20+ letters, and this looks like a good solution.

 

Good luck with the references!

Dave

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Guest Kirsteen

Hi guys,

 

I'm currently using ReferenceNow/Interfolio (they recently merged and are now the same company). If you're applying to the US schools then I'd absolutely recommend them. It seemed that we Canadian undergrads are at a bit of a disadvantage in the US application process since none of our schools (of that I'm aware) have premed advisory committees. These committees serve to, among other things, assemble and send reference letter packages for their students.

 

ReferenceNow gives us the ability to do so, and it seems that, although we are charged for the use of their services, we may be at a slight advantage over those US applicants who generally must use their premed advisory committees. Generally, US applicants are at the whim of their committees when it comes to asking for their letter packages to be sent. It sounds like many applicants have a bit of a struggle trying to get their letter packages out of the premed committees in a timely manner. Not so with ReferenceNow.

 

How it works is basically what has been described above. The applicant establishes an account for a minimal fee. The fee depends on the length of time for which you'd like to have space allocated on their server--either one year or five, I believe. Then, whenever you wish to have a letter of reference written and sent for uploading to ReferenceNow, you go into your portfolio and create a slot for that document--at this point you can also specify whether or not the letter is to be confidential. Their software automatically generates a sheet that you must send or give to your letter writer to accompany their letter. Conveniently enough, this sheet outlines all the details of how to send the letter to ReferenceNow: either via the web, fax or snail mail. (Most of my writers used the web-based uploading system and found it to be quite convenient, except for the fact that they needed to find an electronic version of their letterhead to do so.) When the document arrives in its slot within your portfolio, (generally the minute it's submitted, if submitted via the web) you can receive an e-mail notification of its arrival.

 

Regarding deliveries, once you have a portfolio full of letters, you can start specifying deliveries. You simply enter the addresses to which you'd like a package sent, and then you specify the documents that you'd like included in each package. Here is where it becomes flexible as you can upload items such as your CV, cover letters, etc., into your portfolio. You can then specify that these be included with your letters and you can also specify the order in which they appear within the package. You then select a delivery option (ranging from next day, trackable to US post) and you are charged for deliveries based only on the delivery option.

 

Finally, with respect to delivery histories, you can check each within your account on the web. If you had specified a trackable delivery option, then they automatically include the waybill number and a hotlink to trace the package. It's pretty efficient.

 

Thus far, I've sent off about fifteen letter of reference packages to US schools only via ReferenceNow with no glitches. All have arrived on time and I've been pretty pleased with the value that they offer.

 

As to Canadian schools' applications, I don't plan on using ReferenceNow for any "core" letters, but may use them to send additional letters of reference to the schools that accept them. It's a good, efficient strategy when you have a large batch of schools that require generic letters, but not generally as efficient when dealing with the Canadian schools that have unique forms and letters to be sent from each letter writer, anyway.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

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Guest McCarey007

Wow Kirsteen, you're just a bucket-load of information! I'm glad you've had no problems with them. I just couldn't tell much from their website as to the process. (Their website seemed very minimalistic. )

 

Sounds really nice to only have to bug our referees ONCE though. The alternative truly sucks. I would just hate for them to do ALL that work of sending references out to 10+ schools only to have me not get into a single one! All that work wasted....

 

Good luck with everything.

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Guest Kirsteen

Hi there,

 

I agree with you completely on their minimalist website. It would be in their best interests to beef it up just a bit, perhaps with more of a demo area. As is, a potenital ReferenceNow customer could wonder if their services rendered are a little minimalist, but as I've extolled, they're anything but. :)

 

If you end up using them, let me know how it works out.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

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Guest McCarey007

I definately will let you know. I just signed up today and printed out the request forms. Yup, it definately looks reliable so far! I like the bar code at the bottom. Bar codes always make things look more professional. :P

 

Hey, I guess all the letters of recommendations will have to be generic then right? (ie. we can't direct them towards any school in particular.)

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Guest Kirsteen

Hi again,

 

Yep, if you're planning on sending one author's letter to thirty schools, it probably should be generic. However, if there are any authors you have in mind for one school in particular, then a specific letter works. Also, are you applying to USC-Keck? If so, they require a special cover form with their letters, which you can upload into your portfolio and send with your letter packet.

 

I hope you like the system.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

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  • 1 month later...
Guest McCarey007

Yikes, so my references have all sent their letters in, but 3 of the 5 faxed theirs. I was curious to find about the quality of the letters, and called Interfolio. They told me that 2 of the 3 that were faxed in are crooked! Everything is still legible and clear though. I might be a bit anal here but do you think being crooked really matters to medical schools?

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Hi McCarey,

 

Well, I can see it affecting the presentation of the application, but I dont think it should matter on the decision thats made on your file. But, I am anal just as you when it comes to that. How long will it take if you get your references to fax it or mail it in? I mean, how much will it delay your application? If not much, then maybe just get them sent again...there is no harm. But if it will cause major delays...then let it go. If I remember from Kirsteen's post before, you can send some sort of covering letter with each packet you ask interfolio to send out for you. Maybe in that letter, you can mention the letters and why they are crooked or whatever, if it bothers you.

 

Good luck!

 

thesaug

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Guest McCarey007

That's some good advice thesaug! I'm awaiting my MCAT scores from Aug, so I don't think i'll lose any time in asking my referees to mail their letters in again. I just hate bugging them again. :rolleyes

 

Good luck with your applications

 

Mccarey

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