Recommendation Letters (outside HPC)

Recommendation letters are very important and the individuals asked to write one should be carefully selected. Ask each individual if they would be willing to write a letter. Give them the deadlines and any information that will assist them in writing the letter. Send them a thank you note once the letter(s) has been written. Outlined below is a short overview written by Louis C. Rice in the 1994 CAAHP newsletter of what medical schools want addressed in a recommendation letter:

Medical schools appreciate highly-personalized and in-depth letters of recommendation from professors in the basic sciences. They prefer letters from faculty of professorial rank, and they prefer letters of recommendation to address the following issues:

  • Under what circumstances have you known the applicant and for how long?
  • What are the chief attributes and/or deficiencies of the applicant?
  • How does the applicant get along with peers, staff and faculty?
  • Is the applicant working up to full potential?
  • How does the applicant compare with other pre-med students whom you know?
  • How strongly motivated is the applicant toward a career in medicine?

Medical schools would also like personalized recommendations from professors in the non-sciences to assess aptitude and abilities in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Medical schools will accept letters of recommendation from employers, supervisors, and/or persons in a position of authority who have monitored a candidate's performance in a job setting or extracurricular activities.

Medical schools will, however, accept whatever a student sends them, regardless of whether the letters are written by someone who knows the student, whether they are written by a full professor or a teaching assistant, whether they are a scientist, a nonscientist, a personal friend or a politician. The extent to which such letters enhance prospects for admission to medical schools is, of course, open to speculation.

Finally, medical schools prefer an original letter on office letterhead from the recommender. They are not so unrealistic, however, as to assume they will receive many such letters. They do expect a clear copy on ‘good' quality paper and they expect typewritten recommendations. Of course, they accept poorly reproduced and handwritten letters, but these do little to enhance the profile of the candidate."

 

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