Letters of Evaluation
Applicants are required to submit one the following options. You may also submit one extra individual letter.
- One Health Professions Committee Letter/Packet
OR
- Three individual letters of evaluation
TMDSAS will forward
one letter
in addition to the required letters. You will indicate in the application if you are submitting an extra letter and who the extra letter is being written by.
If you indicate that you are submitting an extra letter, many schools will not consider your file complete until
both the required letters
and extra letter are received.
Evaluators should know an applicant well enough to evaluate him/her both academically and personally.
It is recommended that your evaluators be current/former professors that can speak to your academic ability in the sciences.
All letters
must be on official letterhead and contain the evaluator's signature.
INDICATE WHICH TYPE OF EVALUATION YOU WILL SUBMIT:
- HP Committee Packet
- Individual Letters
IF SUBMITTING A HEALTH PROFESSIONS COMMITTEE PACKET
If you are submitting a HP Committee Packet, you will need to select the institution that will provide your HP Committee Packet. To do this, you must have first completed the [Colleges Attended] section.
WHAT IS A HEALTH PROFESSIONS COMMITTEE PACKET?
Many institutions utilize a Health Professions Committee Packet for their professional school applicants. These packets come in three basic formats:
- Committee letter with supporting letters attached.
- Committee letter that is composed and uses quotes from various evaluators but may or may not have supporting letters attached.
- Collection of individual evaluation letters which may also include a cover letter from an advising office or school letter service. The advising office or school letter service serves as a central collection service for the applicant, but does not make additional assessments of the candidate.
All three types of HP Committee Packets are acceptable to TMDSAS, regardless of the number of evaluations that may be contained within the document. TMDSAS respects the varying philosophies of colleges and universities as to how best to provide a HP Committee Packet and therefore does not limit the number of evaluations included. If you are having an HP Committee Packet submitted on your behalf, indicate the name of the school that will be submitting the packet.
DELIVERING HP COMMITTEE PACKETS TO TMDSAS
Your HP office can deliver your committee packet several ways:
- They can upload the packet directly to your application using the TMDSAS Advisor Portal.
You must have answered “Yes” to the following question in the [Colleges Attended Questions] section: “Would you like to release your information to the health professions advisor at any school(s)?” and indicate the school which will be uploading your committee packet.
- They can deliver the packet to us electronically using either Virtual Evals or Interfolio.
- They can mail the packet to TMDSAS.
IF SUBMITTING INDIVIDUAL LETTERS OF EVALUATION
If you are submitting individual letters, placeholders for the required letters will be shown. Click the edit button to fill out and complete a letter placeholder.
- Salutation
Indicate the appropriate salutation of your evaluator (e.g. Dr., Mr., Mrs. Ms., etc.).
- First Name
Enter the first name of your evaluator.
- Last Name
Enter the last name of your evaluator.
- Suffix (if applicable)
Indicate the appropriate suffix of your evaluator (e.g. I, II, Jr, Sr, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.).
- Relationship to you
Indicate the evaluator’s relationship to you (e.g. Academic Advisor, HP Advisor, Professor, Supervisor, Business Associate, etc.).
- Indicate how your evaluator will send your letter to TMDSAS
- Upload directly to TMDSAS via Evaluator Portal (preferred method)
- Send through Interfolio
- Send through regular mail
- Evaluator’s Email
Enter the email address of the evaluator (only if uploading letter directly to TMDSAS). Contact the evaluator for the correct email address.
- Waiver
Indicate whether you will or will not waive your right of access to the letters of evaluation sent on your behalf
You will not be able to save this section until you have completed every REQUIRED letter placeholder.
DELIVERING LETTERS TO TMDSAS
- Evaluator can upload the letter directly to TMDSAS via TMDSAS Evaluator Portal:
- Applicant provides evaluator's name and email address in the [Letters of Evaluation] section.
- Once evaluator's name and email are provided, the evaluator receives an email from TMDSAS directing him or her to the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal.
- Evaluator will follow instructions provided for submitting the letter of evaluation.
- You may deliver letters electronically through Interfolio:
- Applicant contacts evaluator and requests that he or she upload their letter of evaluation to applicant's Interfolio account.
- Applicant enters evaluator name in [Letters of Evaluation] section.
- Select "Interfolio" from the drop-down menu for the question: "Indicate how your evaluator will send your letter to TMDSAS".
- Applicant initiates letter delivery from Interfolio to TMDSAS.
- Make sure that you include your TMDSAS ID with the delivery. Follow these instructions to add your TMDSAS ID to the Interfolio delivery.
- Evaluator can mail the letter to TMDSAS through regular mail:
- Applicant enters evaluator name in [Letters of Evaluation] section.
- Applicant notifies evaluator to mail in letter to TMDSAS. Make sure your TMDSAS ID is on your letter(s) so that they are matched to your application properly.
