Hi everyone,
Just found out about this website. Have been reading through the forums, and am incredibly encouraged to find other folks in similar places in life 
Thanks for all your sharing and good luck to those applying now!
I’ve been out of undergrad for 7 years now and will be applying to MD schools in summer 2013 for Fall 2014 start.
I found out that my undergrad school has a pre-health committee and they do offer their letter-writing service to alumni, including myself. However, I am debating whether I should even bother, given their deadline is in a few weeks AND they say they expect to have letters ready in August 2013, which seems late in the game to me. Also, I don’t have strong ties to the this committee and have concerns about whether they can write as strong a letter for me as they would for someone who has been utilizing their advising services and has been in touch with them throughout their undergrad.
Any thoughts? Should I go through it anyways since they offer it, or should I avoid it?
Thanks in advance for your wisdom!
If you can get SOLID letters from others, then don’t bother.
The benefit of a committee is to gather all the data from multiple sources, including yourself, and then write a good letter. That obviously won’t be the case for you.
another point to consider is that some schools REQUIRE a committee letter if one is available. So I WOULD pursue getting one from them. Bear in mind that your application is reviewed sometimes before your letters are all in. August should not be too late to include the letter with one’s secondary application. If you use AMCAS or another letter service, you can select which schools you send the letter to, but you would have it available if a particular school requires it.
Kate
Doc Gray and Kate – thank you both for your advice. Getting strong letters shouldn’t be a problem for me, but given the risk of a red flag being raised or delay to clarify, I am thinking I should just go ahead and get the committee letter, while also crossing fingers that it gets done in time
Thanks again!
Getting one was a pain in the butt for me (we were required to have a mock interview before we could get the letter, and then you only got it if your performance in the interview was deemed acceptable), but there were too many schools that required it to go without.
I know my letters from the professors I actually had relationships with were ten times better and more personal, but I figured it was just one other annoying rite of passage.
The committee letter is a really important–and vital–part of the med school admissions process, if your undergraduate school offers one. Some schools do, some don’t, depending on the institution. Large state schools offer committee letters less than private institutions simply due to the sheer number of students. Most med schools require applicants from schools where a committee exists to have a committee letter; it’s seen as suspect if you do not go through the committee process. This is sometimes not as stringent for alumni, however, especially if you’ve been out of school for a number of years. Still, it’s in your best interest to get the committee letter if you can. Going through the committee process enables the school to vouch for you and attest to your motivation for medicine, among other things. Yes, you do have to meet with them for an interview; they have to know you a bit to write a compelling letter. But it’s a good thing to do. If you have their support you have a greater chance of being admitted to med school.
- lizat Said:
LizaT hits the nail on the head! Agreed, 100%