confused007 Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 Hi guys. So I bought a couple of Xpresspost envelopes and was going to give them to my referees when I saw this line on the CAF: "OMSAS strongly encourage you to use regular postal services. Due to the volume of mail received by OMSAS, the use of courier services or express mail envelopes physically strains the staff responsible for opening and processing this mail. " Should I still use these envelopes? I don't really get how it can physically strain them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 I would also give my referee an Xpresspost envelope all ready for them to send (i.e. write down the address for them, and take the tracking paper for yourself so you can track the letter). Xpresspost does not require signature, but you can at least see if OMSAS received your letter Stick to your orignal plan! No need for confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloh Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 Hi guys. So I bought a couple of Xpresspost envelopes and was going to give them to my referees when I saw this line on the CAF: "OMSAS strongly encourage you to use regular postal services. Due to the volume of mail received by OMSAS, the use of courier services or express mail envelopes physically strains the staff responsible for opening and processing this mail. " Should I still use these envelopes? I don't really get how it can physically strain them? Its probably an annoyance with how bulky the packages can be. Compare an expresspost/fedex package with a regular size envelope. Having said that, I express Fedexed one of my reference letters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused007 Posted August 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2010 Thanks, guys. I have another couple of questions. Does the referee have to sign the envelope? I don't think it was mentioned anywhere on the website, but I just want to make sure. Also, I know this sounds ridiculous, but I've never used Xpresspost before. What's the customer number? Do I need to fill it out before taking away the outer slip with the tracking number? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmosby Posted August 20, 2010 Report Share Posted August 20, 2010 Does the referee have to sign the envelope? I don't think it was mentioned anywhere on the website, but I just want to make sure. If you print out the form your referee has to sign, complete, and send with his/her letter, it should say that the envelope must be sealed with their signature or some sort of official seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 20, 2010 Report Share Posted August 20, 2010 The devil is always in the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInVan Posted August 21, 2010 Report Share Posted August 21, 2010 I would highly recommend ExpressPost for things like that. Canada Post actually lost one of my referee letters that wasn't sent Express. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 21, 2010 Report Share Posted August 21, 2010 Better safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj89 Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 you guys are freaking me out now... is regular post really that bad? has anyone used regular post and had no problems with it? how long does it usually take for regular post (assuming its being mailed to omsas from within ontario)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 Regular post is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannn Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 you guys are freaking me out now... is regular post really that bad? has anyone used regular post and had no problems with it? how long does it usually take for regular post (assuming its being mailed to omsas from within ontario)? Murphy's Law Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 you guys are freaking me out now... is regular post really that bad? has anyone used regular post and had no problems with it? how long does it usually take for regular post (assuming its being mailed to omsas from within ontario)? Regular post is fine. OMSAS will provide updates on the status of your reference letters (received/not received). If they aren't received when you submit your app, they will still be processed if they are received late. The schools that look at reference letters (such as U of T) want them by December 1st. Paranoia is not required to get into medical school. Don't let others freak you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 Regular post is fine. OMSAS will provide updates on the status of your reference letters (received/not received). If they aren't received when you submit your app, they will still be processed if they are received late. The schools that look at reference letters (such as U of T) want them by December 1st. Paranoia is not required to get into medical school. Don't let others freak you out. Exactly - there are safe guards and checks involved. If you do what they tell you to do you will be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 Murphy's Law Peters Paradox - if anything can go wrong with Murphy's law, it will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 The Peter Principle (every employee rises to his level of incompetence), when applied to the postal employees who have the responsibility of deleiving the ebvelope on behalf of the applicant to OMSAS, can give rise to some intersting variables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj89 Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 hahahaha ive decided im just going to use regular mail for my letters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 The BJ Paradox Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cautious Posted August 24, 2010 Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 If you print out the form your referee has to sign, complete, and send with his/her letter, it should say that the envelope must be sealed with their signature or some sort of official seal. I printed out the referee forms and it doesn't say that the envelope must be sealed with their signature. Is this requirement written somewhere else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 I have not checked in a while, but I believe it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 I printed out the referee forms and it doesn't say that the envelope must be sealed with their signature. Is this requirement written somewhere else? yea i didn't see it on the form either so i didn't tell my referees to seal the envelope with their signiture. It's out of my hands now since 2 refs have been mailed out. I don't think it would be a big deal since: 1. it's not stated on the form 2. it is states on the form that the letter shouldn't be handed back to us anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Herb, I just checked the OMSAS Booklet, you are correct, it is not there. And I agree that it is no biggie, but the standard procedure generally for referees in all sorts of applications is for them to put their signature across of the back of the flap of the envelope, which is the best evidence to indicate that confidentiality has been maintained in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anna8 Posted August 26, 2010 Report Share Posted August 26, 2010 I'm guessing it would be acceptable to courier ref letters coming internationally, right? I wouldn't want to trust regular postal service for that one as it may take a really long time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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