The best letters of recommendation are offered by people who have seen you perform in some capacity – as student, student leader, employee, researcher, volunteer. The weakest letters are of the “character reference” variety or from influential individuals who barely know you. How long should a med school letter of recommendation be? On average, these…
5 Tips for Requesting an AACOMAS Letter of Recommendation (Evaluation)
If you are planning to apply to osteopathic medical schools, the AACOMAS allows you to upload up to six letters of recommendation. You can’t upload different letters for different schools, so make sure that your recommenders know that they should write general letters of recommendation. You should request your letters through AACOMAS, which sends an…
Which Allopathic U.S. Medical Schools Prefer Committee Letters?
Collecting letters of recommendation is a stressful part of the medical school application process. To make it easier for you to decide which letters to collect, I did the research! (You’re welcome.) There is an exciting development this year—there are no longer any medical schools that require a pre-health committee letter of recommendation from your…
Collecting Letters of Evaluation for the TMDSAS
There are two options when submitting letters of evaluation to TMDSAS. They request either a committee letter or three individual letters of recommendation. For the committee letter, they will accept three different formats: a committee letter that introduces and includes an unlimited number of letters, a committee letter that includes quotes and excerpts from the…
How to Write a Letter of Recommendation for Medical School: 9 Tips for Recommenders
When it comes to your medical school recommendations, there are certain parts you have control over and certain parts that you do not; and you may actually have more influence than you realize. Who you ask – that’s on you. Asking with enough time until the deadline – again, that’s you. What your recommender writes…
Applying to Medical School Without a Committee Letter
Some medical schools like, Creighton University School of Medicine, require a committee letter if your undergraduate pre-professional health advising office provides them. In my experience managing a program that was initially connected to the Office of Admissions, it’s a small number of medical schools that prefer the committee letter. In reviewing applications, I found the…
How to Get Really Great Recommendations [Episode 235]
Joe Pavlisko is the founder of Referrio, a start-up that makes getting and writing recommendations easy. Joe graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a concurrent master’s degree in finance. In addition to English, Joe speaks Spanish and German and taught English in rural Spain. After graduating from college…
Optimize Your Graduate School Application: Grades, Scores, Essays, Resume, Activity History, and More [Episode 247]
How Not to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation
Your recommenders are doing you a favor, so the least you can do is make their job easier by following proper letter of recommendation (LOR) etiquette. Breaking these important rules may result in your recommenders deciding not to dish out the most favorable review. Stay on their good side, help them stay organized, and most…