Letters of evaluation are critical elements of a competitive medical school application. A strong letter will complement your essays and experience descriptions, giving admissions committee members a valuable outside perspective on your potential in the field of medicine.
Medical schools accept three types of letters: individual letters, letter packets, and committee letters. However, many prefer committee letters, which are also known as composite letters.
Committee letters are prepared by the pre-health advisor or pre-health committee at an undergraduate or post-baccalaureate institution. The format of these letters varies from school to school, but they typically incorporate evaluations, feedback, and insights from multiple professors, mentors, and other key individuals. Committee letters are meant to provide medical schools with a collective (and presumably, more objective) perspective on an applicant’s background and experiences and to contextualize their preparation for a career in medicine.
Before we dive deeper into how committee letters work, let us offer this caveat: If you do not have access to a committee letter, you will not be penalized! Many schools do not offer pre-health advising, and even those that do might not provide committee letters. Some medical school applicants have been out of school for many years and no longer have access to their undergraduate pre-health programs. Nontraditional applicants might not have taken their premed prerequisites as undergraduates. Medical schools understand these sorts of situations and frequently assert that applicants whose programs do not provide a committee letter are not at a disadvantage.
However, the situation is very different if your school does provide committee letters, yet you don’t have one. This is a red flag to medical schools, especially if they signal their preference for this form of evaluation – they will wonder why you weren’t able to obtain one. Some programs will even ask you to explain, in a secondary essay or an interview, why you do not have a committee letter. This is a delicate situation that you should approach with honesty and tact. Excuses such as having missed a deadline or not being able to meet the requirements for the letter are not looked on favorably.
Obtaining a Committee Letter
Each institution has its own process for advising premed students. My advice is to reach out to your pre-health advising program as soon as you begin to consider pursuing medicine. They will let you know whether they provide committee letters and, if so, how to go about getting one. However, these general guidelines are applicable to most pre-health programs:
- Start the process early. As you can imagine, collecting and assembling the documents for a committee letter can take some time. Starting as early as your sophomore year – or early on in your junior year – will allow you to make a good impression without sacrificing your other obligations.
- Choose your recommenders carefully. Because committee letters include a collection of individual perspectives, you will be asked to obtain input from professors and mentors with whom you have developed a professional relationship. The better these recommenders know you, the higher the likelihood that their letters will be detailed and can speak to your potential.
- Satisfy any academic and extracurricular requirements. These might include successfully completing science or math prerequisites, maintaining a minimum GPA or a minimum number of hours each term, or devoting a certain number of hours to extracurricular activities or research.
- Give yourself plenty of time to prepare any additional required elements. You will likely be asked for certain documentation, including your transcripts, drafts of your personal statement, your resume or CV, and school-specific questionnaires. You might also be required to interview with your pre-health committee.
- Keep track of deadlines so you don’t miss anything. Avoid missing deadlines or sacrificing quality by putting dates in your calendar and setting up auto reminders.
Ensuring That Your Committee Letter Is Strong
Following your pre-health committee’s instructions and respecting their deadlines is the bare minimum you must do to acquire a committee letter. But they will be writing many letters, so how can you ensure that you get their very highest recommendation?
As it turns out, many of the steps that can help you secure a great committee letter will also help you succeed in your medical school journey. Here are our tips for increasing your chances of receiving a strong committee letter:
- Pour your heart into your personal statement. To understand your decision to pursue medicine, many pre-health committees want to see a draft of your personal statement. This is the ideal opportunity to get your thoughts down on paper for the first time. Be as specific as you can about your motivations and experiences, sharing the insights you have gained as well as the skills you have developed. Accepted has a wealth of resources on writing personal statements, and your advisors will guide you as well. Take advantage of these resources as you get started.
- One important note: the draft of your personal statement will change as you progress through the application process! Often, the timeline for committee letters is so early that your initial draft will not include experiences you will have later, some of which might be more formative. Also, allowing your personal statement to “breathe” will offer more opportunities for you to perfect it later; you might discover a better way of phrasing something or a clearer way of presenting a situation. Fortunately, you will have time to make changes to your early drafts before you submit your application.
- Make the best impression you can. You might also be asked to submit other self-reflective essays for your pre-health committee. Although these essays might not make it into the final version of your application, this writing practice is never wasted. The information they elicit will help your advisors better understand you and your goals – and could help you understand yourself better, as well – so aim to be open and honest in your responses. If you are required to participate in an interview, complete at least one practice interview in advance so you can make a great impression by offering details and insights. By being thoughtful and articulate in your interview, you will help your advisors put together a strong letter of recommendation for you.
- Foster relationships with your pre-health advisors. While your written materials and interview will provide your advisors with a lot of information, they will be able to write a stronger letter if they know you better. Connect with them early and often, and show them that you appreciate their support. Keep them informed of your progress, checking in at least once each semester. Don’t be shy about sharing both your ups and your downs. Facing and overcoming challenges demonstrates your personal growth in an important way, one that your pre-health advisors can help you present in a positive light. Remember that they are on your side and want to help you succeed.
- Receive feedback with a growth mind-set. Hearing criticism is never fun, but even worse is hearing it when it’s too late to do anything about it. Your pre-health advisors will be able to point out your strengths as well as your areas for improvement. Having their feedback on your application materials (and your more general progress toward medical school) will help you address any problems and refine your story now, so you can submit later with more confidence.
- Engage fully with the process. The committee letter compels you to organize your thoughts, reflect on your experiences, contextualize your accomplishments, and prepare to present yourself to medical school admissions committees. Rather than viewing these requirements as additional hoops you need to jump through on your way to medical school, think of the process as assembling a team of advocates who will help you forge ahead. By sharing your authentic self with patience and empathy, you will set yourself up for a more successful application cycle.
To build your team of advocates, schedule a free consultation with an Accepted expert.
Since 2001, Cydney Foote has advised hundreds of successful applicants for medical and dental education, residency and fellowship training, and other health-related degrees. Admissions consulting combines her many years of creating marketing content with five years on fellowship and research selection committees at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She’s also shared her strategy for impressing interviewers in a popular webinar and written three books and numerous articles on the admissions process. Want Cydney to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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