When applying for professional schools, admissions committees need more than your GPA and entrance exam scores to know whether or not you would be a good addition to their program. As you likely already know, these schools are going to ask you to provide contact information for people who can tell them more about you and your abilities. The people that are asked about you are often called references, but you may also hear them referred to as "letter-writers" (implying that they are willing to write you a letter of recommendation), "recommenders", or "evaluators". Admissions committees rely on these folks to help them understand what kind of student you are, how you handle difficult situations, your level of motivation, your competencies and strengths, and a whole host of other attributes. For this reason, you should chose your recommenders wisely, selecting those who know you well and are able to sing your praises authentically to a group of strangers.Typically, you select 3-5 individuals who you think would be able to represent you well and then you ask those individuals whether or not they would be willing to write you a positive letter of recommendation. Then, you enter their contact information into your application and maybe check in with your letter-writers as you get closer to deadlines to make sure they have given programs whatever they have been asked to provide (usually a letter of recommendation, but some programs will ask them to fill out an evaluation form instead of or in addition to providing a formal letter). This is the most common mechanism for references and is often known as the individual letter/evaluation.
There are also other forms of recommendations that can be submitted to professional programs. The letter packet is a collection of individual letters that can be collected and sent from a coordinator (such as your neighborhood friendly Pre-Health Pathways Advisor) on behalf of everyone who writes a letter. This sometimes counts as a single letter submission, which can be a good way of strengthening an application when appropriate.The most powerful form of recommendation is also the least well-known mechanism among pre-health students: The Committee Letter. A committee letter is a recommendation letter submitted to a professional program on behalf of a committee of professors representing a collective, academic perspective regarding the applicant. These letters offer evaluations of your performance as a student and can highlight your competencies and professional growth. They help admissions officers learn more about you as an applicant by providing further context for your professional narrative.
Committee letters can strengthen your application by:
- Giving the committee a holistic view of you as an applicant
- Providing context for extenuating circumstances or challenges
- Outlining your overall preparation and motivation for going into health care
- Advocating for your admission
Committee letters are written by faculty members who can speak to your strengths and potential for succeeding in a professional program. These letters often carry more weight than individual letters because, to some extent, they represent an institution's evaluation of you rather than a single person's perception of you. When selecting people to serve on a committee that can write you a letter, consider how well the potential committee member knows you and whether or not that person can speak to your professional growth and development as a student.
Ask yourself:
- How well does this person know me?
- Will this person talk about me in a positive and professional way?
- Does this person have enough evidence to demonstrate that I would be a good fit for the program where I am applying?
- If I were this person, would I feel like I could write a good letter on their behalf?
- If I get an interview and this person’s name comes up, how would I explain our professional relationship?
Here's a few tips about when to ask:
- Don’t ask if:
- The professor only had you for one class.
- The professor hasn’t had you in a class recently.
- The professor doesn’t remember your name.
- You never spoke to the professor when taking their class(es).
- You have had negative interactions with the professor.
- Do ask if:
- You took multiple classes with the professor.
- You took the professor’s class within the last academic year.
- The professor recognizes you when you see each other outside of class.
- You spoke often with the professor when taking their class(es).
- You have worked with the professor on a research project.
- You have had positive interactions with the professor.
Though not always a requirement for entry into a professional program, many institutions highly recommend or strongly prefer to have a committee letter provided for the applicant if the applicant's institution offers the service of providing a committee letter. Ask your pre-health advisor if a committee letter is right for you!
Here at SD Mines, we offer this service through our Pre-Health Pathways office within the Student Success Center. If you are interested in learning more or would like to know the protocol for requesting a committee letter, contact Dr. J.
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