LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

This year, 2008, and for the first time, AMCAS will be offering a trial service to forward letters of recommendation to SOME medical schools.  In the past, this was done by individuals or, in the case of Truman, by a Pre-medical advisory committee that would send ONE combined letter to the schools of your choice.  Additional information on the AMCAS service can be found at:

http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/amcasletters.htm

Truman will continue to offer a combined letter service that will allow you to ask your letter writers to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf and we will submit this letter to the medical schools that you specify.  Currently, we will also forward your combined letter to the AMCAS service (via snail mail), but you must provide at least two weeks lead so that all of your letters may arrive on time. 

If you are a Truman student and are interested in our combined letter service click here for the form you will need.

As with all letters of recommendation, make sure that you remind you letter writers to submit their letters on time.  They may do so electronically by clicking the link below

If you are a letter writer that has been directed here by a student please click here.

      General advice about letters of recommendation

An important part of the documentation to support an application for admission to medical school is the evaluation of your performance.  This is often referred to as a letter of recommendation.  Letters of recommendation are only sent to medical programs that allow the applicant to submit a secondary (or supplemental) application after the review of their initial AMCAS or AACOMAS application information.

 

Here are some tips concerning letters of recommendation:

 

1.  Meet your letter writers and establish a relationship that is meaningful.

 

2.  Select letter writers that . . .

    a.  know you well enough-this is probably the most important factor since they are not likely to comment on important characteristics if they are not aware of your merits.

    b.  are competent and timely at writing letters of recommendation

    c.  credible and have some seniority or status in an academic or social setting.

 

3.  Inform your letter writers about yourself and what information you feel is particularly needed on a letter of recommendation.  You can provide them with your resume or CV and let them know that you are, for instance, looking for a letter that will speak to your ability to function in professional or academic settings. 

 

4.  Letters from family friends, public officials or character-type references are usually not useful.

 

5.  2-3 evaluation letters should be requested from science faculty and 1-2 from non-science (to equal to four).  If you are applying to schools that draw from the national pool of applicants (mostly private institutions), you should obtain two science and two non-science evaluations. 

6.  Check periodically to make sure that your letter writers have submitted their letters.  If you are using our centralized letter dispersal system, please check with the departmental office to make sure your letters of recommendation have been submitted.  If not, encourage, threaten or cajole your letter writers to submit their letters promptly.  The departmental secretaries should have your letters in your file NO LESS than two weeks before they are due. If your letters are due to the medical school on the 14th of January, make sure you tell your letter writers that their deadline for submission to the departmental secretaries is the 1st of January. 

 

 

some of the text based on information from "Building a Portfolio for Application to Medical School." MU School of Medicine MAHEC.