When asking for my LORs, I reached out
in-person to professors/supervisors that I kept in close contact with despite time and distance, and asked if they could write me a
strong, positive LOR for my medical school application.
I then followed up with an email consisting of:
- guidance from AAMC about writing an LOR,
- logistics of when I would need the LOR by and where they would submit it, and
- a "biosketch".
The biosketch consisted of the following:
- Specific potential talking points that they can write in the LOR. For example, did you have a particularly memorable experience / project / activity with them? Do you want them to talk about a specific aspect of your character, e.g., dedication to service, depth of science knowledge, team-work / leadership / etc.?
- Autobiography Summary*
- Family and cultural background
- Pre-college experiences
- College experiences
- Post-graduate experiences
- Interest in medicine
*Regarding the autobiography, I had written it up already as it was required for my college's advising office for the committee letter. Assuming you don't have it yet, I think you can provide a list of activities (resume / CV / draft of your AMCAS activities section) and your draft personal statement. Having read through two of my LORs, I'm not sure these are absolutely necessary (esp. the list of activities) for the letter writer as my letter writers never mentioned them, but always better to have than have not. The talking points are most helpful in my humble opinion.
Also, you need to give your letter writers enough time to write, so I personally, would not work too hard on prepping the activities list or draft personal statement at the expense of delaying my request. As long as what I give them is 80% sufficient information, I would be fine sending to my letter writers. For example, I did not even have close to a draft of my personal statement when requesting LORs, so just sent some bullets with a general idea of why medicine.
Make sure to end the email saying that you're happy to support them in their writing process / can supply more information as needed. This will keep doors open in case they need anything else.
Hope this helps!