committee letters...what if you don't want it!

[hokie4life]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I REALLY don't want to use my pre-health committee does it look bad? most schools sound indifferent but is it going to hurt my chances?

some schools like BU require it though 🙁 so is it possible to just send a committee letter to them but not the others?

 

[nate28]

If your school has a committee, then you should probably use it. Especially if any of the schools you are applying to know your school has a committee. If you don't, then they will wonder why you chose not to use it.

 

[hokie4life]

but I REALLY don't want to. They play favorites and I just have not had good experiences with them so I don't want a bad committee letter. I am out of school now though so I was hoping to use that as the reason why I did not use the committee.

is that fine or do i really have to use the committee? I really want to apply to BU but dont' know any way to get around using a committee for them.

 

[AdidasPete]

My school's committee was the same thing. A bunch of biased holier-than-thous that I wouldn't trust writing me a sick note nonetheless one of the most important parts of my application... I took a year off after graduation (which I believe made it a bit more acceptable to not go through the committee), and instead got 4 awesome rec's from teachers that ACTUALLY KNEW ME (for shame). I never said a word about it, and was never asked a word about it, and three interviews, two acceptances later no one has seemed to care... But I guess you should ask first if you really want to... I didn't but I figured any school that was so bent out of shape over getting a letter from a bunch of smoke blowers I wouldn't want to go to anyway...

 

[Ething]

If it is going to hurt you then do not use them!!! Most schools will not even ask/care or even look into the fact that your school even had a committee. For the one or two that may, just make sure you have a reason why you didnt use them. You can pretty much say anything except for the fact that you did not like the committee. Do yourself a favor and have your individual letters sent in. It sounds like the committee will only hurt you.

 

[clickytop]

I REALLY don't want to use my pre-health committee does it look bad? most schools sound indifferent but is it going to hurt my chances?

some schools like BU require it though 🙁 so is it possible to just send a committee letter to them but not the others?

The deans at dental schools usually have a relationship with the prehealth advisor at their feeder schools. I assume you went to Virginia Tech, so if you don't have a committee letter, they are going to want to know why when you interview at VCU. Be prepared to answer that question if you don't have a committee letter. Oh, and I wouldn't use the reasons you gave here...accusing the prehealth committee of playing favorites would make you seem whiny. Nobody likes a whiner.

 

[KEC029]

well for my case, Maryland says they strongly recommend the committee letter. but I didn't use it because they required my DAT score which I took 2 weeks ago and I didn't want to delay my application just for that. I'm kinda worried too but it's too late for me now. hopefully they dont reject me only because of that. and I'm from UMD. so they should know about my school really well 🙁

 

[hokie4life]

thank you for the responses! Other than the fact that I think they play favs I really don't want to use them because it will also delay my application. I am not in the area anymore so I it's not very convenient to go down and re-interview with my pre-health committee or to have all my professors first send letters to them and then have the committee mail letters to AADSAS..it's just another month of delays and plus they conduct interviews in the spring so I am pretty sure they wont' even do an interview during the summer. Reminding them that I didn't do this while I was in school because it's not what I wanted at the time won't help my cause with them I think.

Plus I emailed all my schools and most of them dont' seem to care. BU says they "require" it but I just called them and she said it's okay without a committee letter but i'm afraid the lady who answered the phone is nicer and not the one setting the rules as they're outlined on the site or the one making my final decision and reviewing my app.

I think I won't use a committee letter- too much hassle, time, and I don't think it'll help my application. I just hope it doesn't really hinder my application and that they let me explain these time issues and the fact I graduted already to themin the interview before judging me as whining or not following their requests. What do you guys think?

thanks for your help so far 🙂 It's very much appreciated 😀

 

[clickytop]

thank you for the responses! Other than the fact that I think they play favs I really don't want to use them because it will also delay my application. I am not in the area anymore so I it's not very convenient to go down and re-interview with my pre-health committee or to have all my professors first send letters to them and then have the committee mail letters to AADSAS..it's just another month of delays and plus they conduct interviews in the spring so I am pretty sure they wont' even do an interview during the summer. Reminding them that I didn't do this while I was in school because it's not what I wanted at the time won't help my cause with them I think.

Plus I emailed all my schools and most of them dont' seem to care. BU says they "require" it but I just called them and she said it's okay without a committee letter but i'm afraid the lady who answered the phone is nicer and not the one setting the rules as they're outlined on the site or the one making my final decision and reviewing my app.

I think I won't use a committee letter- too much hassle, time, and I don't think it'll help my application. I just hope it doesn't really hinder my application and that they let me explain these time issues and the fact I graduted already to themin the interview before judging me as whining or not following their requests. What do you guys think?

thanks for your help so far 🙂 It's very much appreciated 😀

I think having graduated and moved away is an excellent reason why you didn't use the prehealth committee at your school. If you were an undergrad and still at the school, it would be a whole different story. I think you'll be just fine.

 

[KEC029]

I think having graduated and moved away is an excellent reason why you didn't use the prehealth committee at your school. If you were an undergrad and still at the school, it would be a whole different story. I think you'll be just fine.

uh oh that's me

 

[clickytop]

uh oh that's me

Yeah, save yourself some time and don't bother applying...just get working on that realtors license now [end sarcasm]

 

[hokie4life]

thank you all for your help! this was great advice and I feel much better about not using a committee letter.

and KEC Hopefully they'll let you explain yourself and the situation too

THANK YOU everyone and good luck with the rest of the process and your future endeavors

 

[lemoncurry]

Legally, a school cannot require a committee letter because it would discriminate against those who went to schools that did not have them. They can recommend, but legally they can't require it and i would assume that means they can't hold it against you if you don't. It's just less work for them, honestly.