Committee Letter Vs individual letters

[Valcandoit]

Hey everyone, I am applying to dental school this summer and I would like some advice on letters. Do I need to get a committee letter or should I just use individual letters. I already have 2/3 teachers that are writing my recommendation. I have no clue who is on my college's pre-health committee and I feel that the people who are writing my individual letters would do a great job. Thoughts on this guys? Will not having a committee letter hinder my application? I plan to have everything submitted except my DAT as soon as the application opens.

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[fogorvostan]

Some people on here are going to swear that you must have a committee letter if your school has a committee. Personally, I didn't use my school's. I had strong individual letters and received multiple acceptances.

 

[Valcandoit]

Some people on here are going to swear that you must have a committee letter if your school has a committee. Personally, I didn't use my school's. I had strong individual letters and received multiple acceptances.

ok cause i feel uncomfortable because I have read posts that the committee sends things late and takes a long time to do stuff.

 

[fogorvostan]

ok cause i feel uncomfortable because I have read posts that the committee sends things late and takes a long time to do stuff.

I'm sure that'll depend on each individual school and who is currently on the committee. I would ask other pre-health students at your school and see what they have to say. If several of them tell you that the committee was slow, late, overall negative, then I would go the individual route.

I was a non-traditional student living out of state and my school required students requesting committee letters to come for an in-person meeting. That was obviously not happening, so I email old professors and got my letters that way.

 

[super frank]

My school's committee actually combines my individual letters and packages those with their letter into a "portfolio". It's strange. We had to interview with a professor during the process (usually a department chair of some sort), and if we "pass" then the committee writes their letter. In a sense, they're providing a cover letter which describes your interview abilities based on the notes the professor took, and they also tailor it to your resume. At the end of the day, and the point I'm trying to make, we still provide them with our three individual letters. It'd be in your best interest to get in touch with your committee and understand how they do it. It won't hurt.