what to med school programs look for in recommendation letters

Past: Rob Humbracht

The topic on which I go the near questions every application wheel is messages of recommendation.  The following FAQ represents every question I've received over the by few years.

Have a question that nosotros haven't answered hither?  Please submit a comment, Facebook post , or Twitter message and we will:

1. respond to you personally, and
2. add the question to this commodity so that information technology becomes the most comprehensive FAQ information technology can be.

Savour!

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION FAQ

• Introduction
• How many letters are required by med schools?
• What's a committee alphabetic character?
• Should I get a commission letter?
• How many med schools require two letters? Three? Four? V?
• Which two schools crave five messages?
• What's the maximum number of messages I tin ship?
• What's the ideal set of letters?
• Why professors who gave y'all a class?
• What qualifies as a science professor?
• What qualifies equally non-science?
• Other than professors, who else can write me a letter of rec?
• What messages are bad to become?
• Do I have to have a letter of the alphabet from my major?
• What makes one letter meliorate than some other?

• Do I get to see my letters of recommendation?
• When are messages of recommendation due?
• When should I ask for letters?
• Can I submit additional letters once I have applied?
• How do I overcome my anxiety about asking for a letter of rec?
• How should I ask for a alphabetic character?
• What are some tips for requesting messages of recommendation?
• What if my letter writer asks me advice for what to say and how to say it?
• Where do I find sample letters of recommendation?
• How should I become to know my professors?
• Do my letters accept to be signed and put on official letterhead?
• What if i of my letter writers disappears?

INTRODUCTION

The rule of thumb for letters of recommendation: Get the Best Set up of Messages You lot Can.

Information technology will exist tempting to go lost in the nuances and details of how many letters to get, which people to cull, and what each med schoolhouse's requirements are.  When in doubt, refer back to our dominion of thumb, and remember that your chances volition be helped the most by getting letters from people who support y'all wholeheartedly, who know y'all personally, and who tin write the best letters on your behalf.

HOW MANY LETTERS ARE REQUIRED By MED SCHOOLS?

Information technology depends on the school.  US medical schools typically require two or iii letters of recommendation, but some require every bit many as five.

Typically, you'll need the following letters of recommendation:

1. Option one - A committee letter, or
2. Option 2 - Three individual letters, two letters from science faculty and one additional alphabetic character

WHAT'S A COMMITTEE LETTER?

A committee alphabetic character, or composite letter, is written by the pre-med advising office of your college or university.  Not every college offers such a letter, and a quick glance at your career services website should answer whether your school does.

SHOULD I Become A COMMITTEE Alphabetic character?

If you take the option, then yes, yous probably should.  Think of the commission letter every bit Yelp.  Sure, you might endeavour a eatery that has no reviews, but you'd probably exist more interested in eating at a eatery with 4.5 stars.

So that analogy isn't perfect, just I think y'all get the point: information technology'southward ameliorate to go a committee letter if yous can.  If you don't, med schools might wonder whether there's something you're trying to hide or whether you were told by the committee that they didn't call back you were a strong candidate.

There are dozens of exceptions to this dominion:

• Some colleges don't offer committee letters to non-science majors
• Some colleges don't offer committee letters to alums
• Some colleges have several additional hoops you lot have to jump through that may make you lot ineligible to get a committee alphabetic character

The takeaway: Get a committee letter if you can, simply information technology won't ruin your chances if yous can't.

HOW MANY MED SCHOOLS Require Two Letters?  3? Four?  Five?

We researched how many letters were required at each medical school and then put the results into a histogram.  The nautical chart beneath shows how many schools require at to the lowest degree 0, 1, 2... letters of recommendation.

WHICH TWO SCHOOLS Require FIVE LETTERS?

University of Key Florida and University of South Florida.

Here'due south what those 5 look like for UCF:

https://med.ucf.edu/administrative-offices/student-diplomacy/admissions/admissions-process/letters-of-recommendation/

For traditional applicants (applicants who take no more than one year off before starting medical school), UCF requests:

• "three private faculty letters - ii letters from basic scientific discipline kinesthesia, and one from a not-science faculty fellow member, or ane Pre-Med/Pre-Professional Composite Committee Alphabetic character
• 2 character letters - these letters should be from those who can tell us about "who" you are. Authors may be those who take been your supervisor, friend, neighbor, someone you have volunteered with or adumbral, someone from an organization or club that you vest to, clergy, etc. One of these two letters may exist from an bookish peer."

To cover your bases, programme to ask for at least three and probably at least four letters of recommendation.

WHAT'Southward THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF LETTERS I CAN Transport?

Generally, it'southward not advisable to send more than than five.  The goal is to have the overall quality of your letters be as high as possible.

Imagine that you were giving a letter form for the quality of each letter of recommendation you are sending to medical schools.  The grade is based on how well the letter writer knows you, with an A being "shut personal friend," and F being "doesn't know my name."

Yous might have letter grades that look like the following:

Science Letter 1   A-

Science Letter 2   B+

Non-Science professor   A-

Other 1   A

Other 2   B

Other 3   B-

Other 4   C

Y'all should pick the prepare of letters with the highest overall course point average.  In this case, your best bet is to pick the first four letters of the set.  Those four letters give an boilerplate of an A-.  By including each additional letter, you bring downward the boilerplate of the set and essentially waste the time of your application reader, who now has to wade through a much larger pile of crappy letters.

Just of course, if you're curious what'due south the maximum that all medical schools will take, we researched that likewise and came up with the following histogram:

Even though some medical schools will take upward to 13 letters, most cut you off afterwards vi or 7 letters, and some will take only three!

WHAT'Southward THE Platonic Fix OF LETTERS?

Allow'due south outline the "utopian" set of letters for medical school.  I telephone call it utopian, considering while it is ideal, most applicants don't actually reach the following gear up of letters:

1. Science Professor who gave you a grade
2. Science Professor who gave yous a grade
3. Non-science Professor who gave y'all a form
4. Other 1
5. Other 2

WHY PROFESSORS WHO GAVE YOU A Course?

Letters of recommendation should annotate on your academic abilities, so professors who have given you a grade are meliorate able to do that.

WHAT QUALIFIES AS A SCIENCE PROFESSOR?

About med schools prefer biology, chemistry, or physics, but they probably won't disqualify you lot if you submit a alphabetic character from a bailiwick such equally technology, environmental science, or kinesiology.  While it is ideal to take letters from the basic sciences, see the Rule of Thumb above: get the best set of letters y'all tin can.

WHAT QUALIFIES AS Not-Scientific discipline?

Any discipline outside of biology, chemistry, or physics.

OTHER THAN PROFESSORS, WHO ELSE CAN WRITE ME A LETTER OF REC?

The most common are:

• Doctors you lot shadowed
• Main investigators (or whomever you did research with)
• Faculty advisors of clubs
• Another health intendance professional (a dentist, a nurse, etc.) who can comment on your abilities to work with patients

WHAT Messages ARE BAD TO GET?

Obviously, anyone who isn't positively glowing about your application will hurt you.  E'er hear the expression, "Damned by faint praise?"  That applies to letters of recommendation for med schoolhouse.

Some messages won't be given a lot of weight:

• Letters from family members
• Letters from clergy
• Messages from "family friends" - if they don't know you specifically in a professional setting
• Letters from didactics administration - it'due south not that they hurt your application, but they will not suffice for the science messages required by most medical schools.

DO I HAVE TO Take A LETTER FROM MY MAJOR?

No.  Some med schools (a minority of all schools) request one.  In other words, get one if you can, but don't sweat it if you don't.

WHAT MAKES One Letter of the alphabet BETTER THAN ANOTHER?

Check out "How to Write Your Ain Letter of Recommendation"

Practice I Get TO See MY LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION?

No.  You should waive your right to read your messages.  If med schools see that you haven't waived your right, they won't believe a word written in the letter.

If your letter writer knows you're going to read the alphabetic character, he or she simply will not put anything substantial in that letter of the alphabet.  It's like asking your boyfriend whether that dress makes you wait fat; pretty much the but response you'll become will be "of grade not." (whether or not that's true, the risk of saying otherwise is worse than the reward of being truthful).

WHEN ARE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION DUE?

Letters of recommendation are typically not due until you submit your secondary awarding, which at the earliest would be July of the year you utilise.

The vast majority of med schools do non read letters of recommendation until every other office of your application has been submitted.  That means they will not read your letters until they receive:

• Your primary application
• Your secondary application
• Your payment for both primary and secondary
• Whatever pending MCAT scores that yous may accept

Even for schools that screen before sending secondaries, they rarely read letters of rec to determine who gets a secondary.  Whether you go a secondary is typically based on your GPA and MCAT besides as a read of the primary awarding, excluding letters of recommendation.

WHEN SHOULD I ASK FOR LETTERS?

You want to give the alphabetic character writer at to the lowest degree two weeks and preferably more.  It's not uncommon for a letter author to take two to 3 months to write your alphabetic character.  If y'all're applying in June, we recommend asking for letters no later than May one.

If you have a pre-med committee, then y'all may need to asking messages much sooner.

Tin I SUBMIT Boosted Letters ONCE I Take APPLIED?

Aye!  Letters of recommendation is one of three sections of the AMCAS that tin can exist modified after you lot hit submit (the others: your school list and your contact information).  You but log back into your application and asking additional letters.

HOW DO I OVERCOME MY ANXIETY Virtually Asking FOR A Letter OF RECOMMENDATION?

I've written an entire post on why information technology feels then awkward to enquire for a letter of the alphabet of rec:

http://www.savvypremed.com/savvy-pre-med/2014/7/27/why-does-it-feel-so-awkward-to-inquire-for-a-letter-of-recommendation

It doesn't seem similar it should exist and then intimidating to enquire a professor for a letter of recommendation, only information technology is.  Worries race through our minds:

"What if he doesn't think me?"

"She has more of import things to do."

"What will I do if he says no?"

While it can feel uncomfortable to ask for a letter of rec, retrieve that you're not the first person to enquire this professor.  Professors are used to this procedure, and they've seen all style of requests - rude, annoying, meek, bashful - they're expecting you lot (and many of your classmates) to request a letter.

Second, you're not asking for much.  Most letters of recommendation - even the skilful ones - follow a template, and letters take perchance 45 minutes to crank out.  Yous're request for a solid favor, only it's not that much of a time commitment.

HOW SHOULD I ASK FOR A Letter?

First off, be sure to ask for the letter in person if possible.  If that'southward not possible, try to arrange a phone call.  Considering you don't get to read the letter, y'all want to evaluate the enthusiasm of the letter of the alphabet writer to help determine how proficient this letter volition be.  The all-time clues are the non-verbal ones you tin get only past asking for a alphabetic character in person.

Steps:

1. Send an email asking to meet to hash out your application to medical school.  Nothing likewise complicated, just ask to driblet by office hours or invite the professor to java.  Don't ask for the letter in the e-mail, because you'd like to ask in person (only if the professor responds by wondering whether yous want a letter, so by all ways make your intentions clear).
2. At the meeting, ask for a strong alphabetic character of recommendation.  Request for a stiff letter of the alphabet does several things that are beneficial for you:

• It allows the professor to say no (and trust me, you'd rather her say no than get a bad letter)
• It allows the professor to respond to the discussion "stiff," by either affirming that the letter will indeed exist strong or that she cannot write you a strong letter.  Either way, this provides more data as you try to evaluate the force of your letters.

1. After the professor agrees, ask "What tin I give you to help you write that letter?"  Listen carefully to what the professor says.  Follow upward with whatever the professor requests as shortly equally you tin can.  It's easy for the professor to lose rail that he agreed to write you a letter of the alphabet, then you lot want to follow up with the requested materials soon to keep the momentum going on your letter of recommendation.

WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR REQUESTING LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION?

These are excellent: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/medical-schoolhouse-admissions-physician/2015/04/14/7-tips-for-nailing-medical-school-letters-of-recommendation

WHAT IF MY Alphabetic character WRITER ASKS ME Advice FOR WHAT TO SAY AND HOW TO SAY IT?

Transport them this: http://www.aamc.org/download/349990/data/lettersguidelinesbrochure.pdf

WHERE DO I Find SAMPLE Letters OF RECOMMENDATION?

http://depts.washington.edu/gowwami/Enlightened/documents2012/CarolTeitzLORsamples.pdf

HOW SHOULD I GET TO KNOW MY PROFESSORS?

A lot of the students nosotros work with go to huge research universities, where their smallest scientific discipline form has 50 people in information technology.  In this environment information technology'south on you lot, the educatee, to become to know your professors.

Hither are some tips from former students we've worked with about how to be proactive in getting to know their professors:

• Become to office hours when no one else will be there - week ane, right later on mid-term exam
• Go to role hours with something outside of the class to talk about professor'due south inquiry, ask about prof's family and background, how form material applies to one of your other interests
• Take the same professor for more than one class
• Do enquiry with a professor - either in the professor'south lab or on contained project
• Become a didactics assistant for that professor

Practice MY Messages HAVE TO BE SIGNED AND PUT ON OFFICIAL LETTERHEAD?

Some med schools crave information technology.  This past cycle, Boston University notified one of our students that one of her letters was not on official letterhead, so she had to contact the letter writer to re-submit the letter.  It wasn't a huge deal, and no other schools she practical to notified her of the issue.  You should tell your alphabetic character writers to put the letters on letterhead, but it probably won't thing much if they don't.

WHAT IF I OF MY LETTER WRITERS DISAPPEARS?

Information technology happens every year to several of our students: they enquire for a letter of recommendation, the professor says "yep," and he stops returning phone calls and emails.  The students are stuck without a critical letter of the alphabet (commonly, it'south a science professor who disappears).

You tin't help whether this happens to yous, just yous can exercise the following to help mitigate the impairment:

1. Inquire for a backup letter in case ane of your messages of recommendation does non come up through.  Yous can receive upwards to x letters of recommendation in AMCAS and pick and choose which ones you forward to medical schools afterwards.  It's much better to have too many letters than as well few.
2. Inquire for letters of recommendation early.March is ideal.  If a professor disappears after asking for a letter early, you still have plenty of time to notice another professor to enquire.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS!

WILL It Exist LOOKED DOWN UPON TO Non INCLUDE Letters WRITTEN Past Science Faculty?

Question:

I'g a non-trad applicant who is applying 5 years out of college. Will it be looked down upon to not include messages written by science faculty? They would exist replaced by MDs that I piece of work with in the ER.

If you've been out of school for five years, your professors are unlikely to recollect you.  It seems pointless to inquire for those letters, since not only would those letters be average at all-time, but yous're a completely different person.Surely medical schools will cut you some slack, yes?

- Robert Yard.

Answer:

Not actually.  If you've been out of the classroom for five years, medical schools desire y'all to go dorsum to schoolhouse and have classes (this is good communication for anyone who hasn't taken a scientific discipline form in iii years or more).  Information technology doesn't affair where you take these classes as long as they are in-person, and these courses are the perfect opportunity to ask for an additional science letter.

And retrieve, if you can't become back and get two letters of rec, see the words of wisdom at the height of this postal service: get the all-time set of letters you tin.

- Rob Humbracht  - Medical School Admissions Advisor

ISN'T It COMMON TO Send THE Aforementioned Alphabetic character OF REC TO MULTIPLE SCHOOLS USING INTERFOLIO?

Question:

How-do-you-do, nether your link "How to Write Your Ain Letter of Recommendation", you say to be specific regarding who information technology is. Isn't it common to take the same letter ship to ten+ schools using Interfolio? Fifty-fifty if it wasn't, wouldn't information technology be hard to enquire your recommender to write a dissimilar letter for each school?

- plantat3q via Reddit

Answer:

Expert catch!  That detail applies to nigh graduate school application processes, merely not to medical schoolhouse.  Although it'southward technically possible to upload messages aimed at specific schools, a) it'due south rare, and b) schools definitely don't expect it.  As a effect, it's not recommended.  We've updated the original blog post to correct information technology.

- Rob Humbracht  - Medical School Admissions Advisor

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEER WORK FROM Loftier SCHOOL?

Question:

Are you interested in volunteer work from loftier schoolhouse? I ask considering I've been volunteering since I was 13 and was curious whether or not that would fit in an application

- mathnerdm via Reddit

Answer:

The way I have always looked at experiences from high school is that they set the tendency for the activities you've pursued more recently.  In other words, if yous've been volunteering since you're 13, it shows that you have consistently embodied the spirit of giving dorsum that med schools are looking for.

- Rob Humbracht  - Medical School Admissions Counselor

WHAT Type OF CLINICAL VOLUNTEERING STANDS OUT THE Nigh TO You lot?

Question:

What type of clinical volunteering stands out the most to you lot? (ie. volunteering in an ER, shadowing GP, etc...)

- mathnerdm via Reddit

Respond:

Equally for the best clinical volunteering, I would argue that no 1 blazon is the best.  You demand to institute two things virtually your application: a) you know what doctors actually do (either past shadowing dissimilar doctors or by working with them in a medical context), and b) you lot are able to connect with people from a unlike background.  Many types of clinical volunteering can bear witness these traits, so you lot're looking for experiences that give yous hands-on feel and memorable stories to tell!

- Rob Humbracht  - Medical School Admissions Counselor

HOW Exercise YOU Run across Anarchistic LETTERS OF REC?

Question:

I am a RN applying for med schoolhouse this app cycle. How do y'all see unconventional messages of rec? I have a patient that is a PA/NP that I have had the pleasure of caring for for the terminal two years and feel that she tin can really attest to my dedication to medicine and my grapheme. Withal, I'g not besides certain if I should brand the risk. Cheers!

- ayeeff via Reddit

Answer:

I'grand not sure I see how it'due south a gamble. If you lot provide the letter, the schools tin can simply disregard it. I think it sounds like the letter writer knows you well and can provide context about the kind of intendance provider you would be. The just caveat would be in the rest of your application to make a disquisitional stardom behind why you desire to undergo all of the stress and debt to become a doctor instead of pursuing the path already bachelor to you.

- Rob Humbracht  - Medical Schoolhouse Admissions Advisor

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Source: https://www.savvypremed.com/blog/every-question-you-have-about-letters-of-recommendation-for-medical-school-1

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