Letters of Evaluation

Letters of Recommendation/Evaluation are an important part of the med school process. They can really bulk where you may be lacking and tip you over the edge for an interview. The majority of med schools ask for at least two science professors and one non-science professor. Then you can add your choice of letters ranging from volunteer experience to doctor shadowing.

The number one thing we learned is to start early with building relationships with professors and any others you would like a letter from. So often, you are a semester before the application and realize you need one more letter and you end up asking someone that hardly knows you. One thing that really helped Danny was the year before we made a list of everyone he knew he would ask, the areas he needed to find someone, and then the best candidates for the upcoming school year. At the beginning of each semester he would then ask for a meeting with professors and explain he would like to get a recommendation at the end of the semester for medical school. This was HUGE! The professors liked his initiative, offered him advice, told him how to stand out and what their expectations were and even offered him really great opportunities for research or other great things for his resume. This approach allowed the professors to get to know him, watch his progress and then write about D setting goals and accomplishing them throughout the semester - which makes for a really great recommendation.

The second piece of advice is the same thing Syd wrote about: give your letter writers plenty of time for writing! I would say the absolute minimum is two weeks, but even that is pushing it. AMCAS gives you instructions to print out for each letter writer. Take/email that with a personal letter/email to each person you are going to ask and see what help they need or answer questions they may have about the process or you personally. Danny also took a resume with his so his letter writers had something to jump from.

Lastly, make sure you know what each school you apply to is looking for. I was surprised as I read all the different school pages the different kinds of letters they wanted. Some wanted the traditional 2+1, but others wanted a letter from a current employer, some specifically said no volunteer letters, some request physicians, etc. We then had to create different packets to send to different schools, so that is definitely something to be aware of.

Some schools have a Pre-med Committee that will write a composite letter, BYU didn't have that so we never had to deal with that. But I would for sure talk to your pre-med department and find out what they do offer because BYU was huge help in this department and Syd already explained.

Links:
committee letter/letter packet/individual letter
5 Tips to get a Superb Letter
Getting Letters of Recommendation