Denied a Committee Letter

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
T

thelight

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
44
Reaction score
0
So I met with my premed advisor today, and they determined that they are not going to be sending out anymore committee letters :scared:. If a student was going have a committee letter with their application, they were supposed to have all of their LOR's in by about April 1st so that they could do interviews and determine whether or not the student was prepared and a good candidate for medical school. I am extremely frustrated because I was busy studying for the MCATs and I hadn't had the time to prepare my app, and now the premed committee decided that me not having any letters in (which should be in by the end of this week) means they won't write me a committee letter.

The premed advisor said that not having a committee letter from the premed dept would probably raise a red flag, because our school is known for writing committee letters, and now she was advising that I apply for next year's cycle. I understand why they advise us to apply early, but they are punishing me for applying late because they have other obligations to write the remaining committee letters and prepare for fall classes. I don't understand why they can't evaluate my candidacy when the other LOR's come in. I'm screwed.

What do I do now?
Members don't see this ad.
 
they have a process so that they can get the letters written and sent out in a timely manner. if you failed to do this you have no one to blame but yourself. the mcat is a poor excuse considering everyone must take it. deal with it and apply without it or wait a year.

edit: based on your location and committee deadline your school sounds like mine.
 
My school would also refuse a letter to someone that waited this late. IMO you should wait. Use the year to buff your application so you have better luck next cycle. No offense but you didn't miss the deadline by a small margin so I am not sure why you are so frustrated with your committee.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
you should apply next year with the committee letter. Its a red flag to not have that letter, some schools will outright refuse to accept anyone who does not have a committee letter if their school offers one. Other schools ask you to explain why you do not have a committee letter and your excuse above is poor and likely would just further make your chances go down. You could always apply to schools that may not care as much, but if you read the lor reqs from all schools, most say you must or its highly recommended that you use your committee letter if the school does offer it. If you apply w/o it, you would be wasting a large amount of money for a slim chance. Id wait and improve your app over the next year.
 
I know, I should probably stop bitching. It is my fault. I mean I was working on Coop when I was studying, but still. I'm just angry/frustrated and I felt like venting and crying about it a little. I still don't have my MCAT score, and I don't find out till mid-August, so I'm trying to figure out how competitive a candidate I'll be.

I don't wanna take 2 years off though, that's a really long time. Plus, the amount of shi* I'll be taking for 2 years off from my family. Blah.
 
This was 100 percent your fault.

You weren't "denied" anything.
 
thelight said:
I know, I should probably stop bitching. It is my fault. I mean I was working on Coop when I was studying, but still. I'm just angry/frustrated and I felt like venting and crying about it a little. I still don't have my MCAT score, and I don't find out till mid-August, so I'm trying to figure out how competitive a candidate I'll be.

I don't wanna take 2 years off though, that's a really long time. Plus, the amount of shi* I'll be taking for 2 years off from my family. Blah.
Click to expand...
well honestly you dont even have your mcat till august, what if you get <30, in that case it wouldnt even matter as you would likely retake. Furthermore with an august mcat you wont even get 2ndaries till sept or october and would be complete even later. No committee letter + possible late app = apply next year. also who cares what your family says honestly its not their concern.
 
.
 
Last edited:
Don't waste your money applying this year. Start planning what you'll do with the gap year and lay out a schedule for the deadlines in 2011. You should have your LORs by April 1, be ready to submit your AMCAS & transcripts in June, and get those secondaries out in July.

At this point, with no committee letter and no MCAT score you might as well take $2,000 in small bills and flush it down the toilet. The aggravation of waiting for the plumber to deal with the clog will simulate the feeling you'll have waiting for the interview invitations that will never come.
 
thelight said:
I don't wanna take 2 years off though, that's a really long time.
Click to expand...

umm...consider you will be investing another ~7-10+ years in your education. i don't think 2 years is THAT bad
 
thelight said:
So I met with my premed advisor today, and they determined that they are not going to be sending out anymore committee letters :scared:. If a student was going have a committee letter with their application, they were supposed to have all of their LOR's in by about April 1st so that they could do interviews and determine whether or not the student was prepared and a good candidate for medical school. I am extremely frustrated because I was busy studying for the MCATs and I hadn't had the time to prepare my app, and now the premed committee decided that me not having any letters in (which should be in by the end of this week) means they won't write me a committee letter.

The premed advisor said that not having a committee letter from the premed dept would probably raise a red flag, because our school is known for writing committee letters, and now she was advising that I apply for next year's cycle. I understand why they advise us to apply early, but they are punishing me for applying late because they have other obligations to write the remaining committee letters and prepare for fall classes. I don't understand why they can't evaluate my candidacy when the other LOR's come in. I'm screwed.

What do I do now?
Click to expand...

Get 2 science LOR's and 1 non-science LOR instead of that pre-med committee letter. If invited for an interview, explain how you did not get that committee letter and how you got caught with your preparation for MCAT and your other (extra)curricular activities. You may also mention that you decided to postpone preparing your application until later when you felt confident enough to do it. Find the best way to present your situation to the interviewer. It may work well for you. You never know.
Also, I do not see a reason why you shouldn't apply this cycle if your LOR's from your science instructors would be strong and the other parts of you application would also be competitive enough (GPA/MCAT, volunteering, shadowing and so forth).
It could be a good experience applying and see how it works for you this year instead of waiting 1 or 2 more years..
 
Last edited:
bleargh said:
they have a process so that they can get the letters written and sent out in a timely manner. if you failed to do this you have no one to blame but yourself. the mcat is a poor excuse considering everyone must take it. deal with it and apply without it or wait a year.

edit: based on your location and committee deadline your school sounds like mine.
Click to expand...

You=not helping. Please sthu.

To the op, consider asking for individual letters!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
You could just say you knew your application was going to be sent out late and didn't want to wait even longer for the committee to write your letter so it sounds like you made the decision yourself and were being responsible.

In reality, the committee only takes about 1-2 weeks longer (at least at my school) but that might be believable...
 
its kinda getting late, you wont be verified til mid/late august at the earliest. i would just sit it out and get my **** together for next time. however, if you went/are going to a private school and/or paid a premium for your education, you could try acting like a strong customer and ask the school to do their job better
 
thelight said:
I know, I should probably stop bitching. It is my fault. I mean I was working on Coop when I was studying, but still. I'm just angry/frustrated and I felt like venting and crying about it a little. I still don't have my MCAT score, and I don't find out till mid-August, so I'm trying to figure out how competitive a candidate I'll be.

I don't wanna take 2 years off though, that's a really long time. Plus, the amount of shi* I'll be taking for 2 years off from my family. Blah.
Click to expand...

We all need to vent sometimes. I got forced to take a semester off because I am not graduating on time and I was really pissed about it. I was sooooo close. But honestly once I accepted it now I am kind of looking forward to it. There are so many opportunities out there that we won't have again that would be fun and look good on applications. I personally think getting individual letters is a terrible idea. Like Lizzy M said it is a huge red flag.
 
Apply next year, try to get your app together promptly next time.
 
RickyJamesMD said:
You=not helping. Please sthu.

To the op, consider asking for individual letters!
Click to expand...
you though, are full of brilliant insights like this one. please keep on keeping on.
LizzyM said:
Don't waste your money applying this year. Start planning what you'll do with the gap year and lay out a schedule for the deadlines in 2011. You should have your LORs by April 1, be ready to submit your AMCAS & transcripts in June, and get those secondaries out in July.

At this point, with no committee letter and no MCAT score you might as well take $2,000 in small bills and flush it down the toilet. The aggravation of waiting for the plumber to deal with the clog will simulate the feeling you'll have waiting for the interview invitations that will never come.
Click to expand...
:laugh: LizzyM has been full of the creative zingers lately
 
if you are a strong candidate, it is never late to apply. I am sure there are people outthere to turned in their application very late, (nov 1st), and still got into top schools. If you can get the letters from your professors, then bypass the committee, although I think some schools require committee letter if the undergraduate institution has one. good luck to you
 
The venting is understandable but at least you realize it's your own fault for not following your school's procedure. The dates may seem arbitrary, and it does seem like just more hoops to jump through, i.e. get letters, submit to pre-med committee, schedule interview with committee representative, etc., and maybe it even sucks or it's a hassle, but it's what is expected and it's really not that hard to keep track of your school's deadlines.

You shouldn't run around the committee letter if it's available. Everyone saying to go around the committee, and to just get LORs from professors and send in the stuff on your own, is giving you horrible advice. That's a huge red flag for an applicant, as it has been said here and in other threads. You need a damn good reason for not having a committee letter. If you're not responsible enough to follow the procedures for your undergrad institution, who's to say you won't cut corners and try to take shortcuts later in your career when you're caring for patients? By not being responsible enough to meet the committee's deadlines, it can be perceived by medical schools as a lack of maturity and poor judgment on the applicant's part.

The only time that the committee end-around is advisable for a typical applicant is if you have extremely extenuating circumstances, that you could not plan ahead for, i.e. getting deployed as a member of the military, and possibly some other family circumstances.
 
thelight said:
So I met with my premed advisor today, and they determined that they are not going to be sending out anymore committee letters :scared:. If a student was going have a committee letter with their application, they were supposed to have all of their LOR's in by about April 1st so that they could do interviews and determine whether or not the student was prepared and a good candidate for medical school. I am extremely frustrated because I was busy studying for the MCATs and I hadn't had the time to prepare my app, and now the premed committee decided that me not having any letters in (which should be in by the end of this week) means they won't write me a committee letter.

The premed advisor said that not having a committee letter from the premed dept would probably raise a red flag, because our school is known for writing committee letters, and now she was advising that I apply for next year's cycle. I understand why they advise us to apply early, but they are punishing me for applying late because they have other obligations to write the remaining committee letters and prepare for fall classes. I don't understand why they can't evaluate my candidacy when the other LOR's come in. I'm screwed.

What do I do now?
Click to expand...

I agree with this advice.
 
Another thing I might add is that applying this year without the committee letter might indicate bad judgment which could be reflected in the not-too-unlikely scenario where you need to reapply and get the committee letter next year.
 
Yeah, that sucks, but you can see that you really could have avoided this. Now, you can apply now and risk wasting time and money or you can apply during the next cycle with your committee letter (and maybe even make some money to pay for that cycle if you work during your year off).

I'd recommend applying next cycle.
 
I knew a guy with the same problem. I don't think he got his lors until the fall semester started, now he is in a top 5 MD med school. Keep the faith.
 
I have to agree with Lizzy on this one (and she'd be the one to know). Don't pull the trigger until you're absolutely ready, so wait for that committee letter for next cycle and concentrate on finding something that looks good to fill that gap. I took 2 years off before med school and did research. There are plenty of PIs out there that get kind of sick of having students cycle through in the summer and constantly having to train people. If you can guarantee them 1.5-2 years, that could make you look more appealing than the summer-job people.
 
chuckhusky said:
if you are a strong candidate, it is never late to apply. I am sure there are people outthere to turned in their application very late, (nov 1st), and still got into top schools. If you can get the letters from your professors, then bypass the committee, although I think some schools require committee letter if the undergraduate institution has one. good luck to you
Click to expand...

Hey newby dude, just how are you "sure" of this? You are dishing bad advice here. Even if you know someone who had a cousin who had a girl friend who did this, that is not the basis for sound advice on applying late to med school.
 
whoop said:
I knew a guy with the same problem. I don't think he got his lors until the fall semester started, now he is in a top 5 MD med school. Keep the faith.
Click to expand...

Worthless n=1 anecdote.

See my post above if you are still confused.
 
funny-dog-pictures-dog-makes-scooby-doo-noise.jpg
 
To some of the posters that advocate him applying now, when asked what his reasons are for not having a committee letter, I would say that the "Truth" is a pretty poor excuse. Yeah, he probably was caught up wiht MCAT prep and whatever else...but that still doesn't mean he can't make sure he gets the other areas of his application prepared. I mean, unless he had no idea that there was a deadline and whatnot, he should have known about the process...

It shows a lack of preparation on his part, and I don't know if AdComs would be so generous...(see LizzyM's post, for example).

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but that's just how it is. OP, I'm really sorry that is the situation you're in. Best of luck to you in the future!
 
never had a committee letter never heard of one.

and thank god.

all we need is more bureaucracy and red tape
 
Asyouwereatrio said:
To some of the posters that advocate him applying now, when asked what his reasons are for not having a committee letter, I would say that the "Truth" is a pretty poor excuse. Yeah, he probably was caught up wiht MCAT prep and whatever else...but that still doesn't mean he can't make sure he gets the other areas of his application prepared. I mean, unless he had no idea that there was a deadline and whatnot, he should have known about the process...

It shows a lack of preparation on his part, and I don't know if AdComs would be so generous...(see LizzyM's post, for example).

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but that's just how it is. OP, I'm really sorry that is the situation you're in. Best of luck to you in the future!
Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%, but I didn't feel like getting labeled as a heartless tool in yet another thread.
 
whoop said:
So is your post, your a pre-med just like this person.
Click to expand...

So why don't you wait until Nov 1 to turn in your apps and LORs since it is such a good idea?

Some of the advice given out on this forum is beyond worthless. I have at least gone through a cycle and gained admission to med school - you? How much do you actually know about the process, specifically the issue at hand? Zilch, I am sure.
 
I already had things planned out for this upcoming year. I was going to try and land an ER Tech job from September to December, and in January, I'm going to abroad to volunteer and learn Spanish for 6 months.

Having another extra year off would be beneficial to my application if I were to get some research, but I'm also considering an accelerated MPH if its something I decide I'm interested in.

I'm really trying to figure out what luck/odds I have if I apply this cycle, I have a 3.79/3.7sci with a strong upward trend, and I'm banking on breaking 30 for the MCAT. I don't have much research, about 4 months worth fulltime, but I have about 500+ hours of clinical exp as an EMT. I have some volunteering for extracurriculars, but I wasn't on the strong end for activities. What do you guys think?

I'm starting to lean towards another extra year off, even though I want so badly to start learning about medicine. Thanks for the advice so far.
 
flip26 said:
So why don't you wait until Nov 1 to turn in your apps and LORs since it is such a good idea?

Some of the advice given out on this forum is beyond worthless. I have at least gone through a cycle and gained admission to med school - you? How much do you actually know about the process, specifically the issue at hand? Zilch, I am sure.
Click to expand...
It's July not November. You're not the first person to go through the admissions process and you won't be the last, lighten up, you are not the center of the universe.
 
whoop said:
It's July not November. You're not the first person to go through the admissions process and you won't be the last, lighten up, you are not the center of the universe.
Click to expand...

At least I have gone through the process successfully and have gained some insights from it before I offer advice here.

What's your story?
 
thelight said:
I already had things planned out for this upcoming year. I was going to try and land an ER Tech job from September to December, and in January, I'm going to abroad to volunteer and learn Spanish for 6 months.

Having another extra year off would be beneficial to my application if I were to get some research, but I'm also considering an accelerated MPH if its something I decide I'm interested in.

I'm really trying to figure out what luck/odds I have if I apply this cycle, I have a 3.79/3.7sci with a strong upward trend, and I'm banking on breaking 30 for the MCAT. I don't have much research, about 4 months worth fulltime, but I have about 500+ hours of clinical exp as an EMT. I have some volunteering for extracurriculars, but I wasn't on the strong end for activities. What do you guys think?

I'm starting to lean towards another extra year off, even though I want so badly to start learning about medicine. Thanks for the advice so far.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: awesome idea, your application next year will be great and it'll be less stressful since you've been thinking about it since now

/endflamewar
 
flip26 said:
At least I have gone through the process successfully and have gained some insights from it before I offer advice here.

What's your story?
Click to expand...
It's all about the op not me, I am just saying that it is possible to still apply. BTW if you were so successful then why don't you change you status to medical student? Also the only insight you gave the op were wise cracks.
 
While I agree that it is probably a good idea to sit out this cycle (especially if you don't have your MCAT scores back yet), it is possible to get in without a committee letter and while applying late. I did. I missed my deadline for the committee letter also (by a large margin) and my university just ended up submitting my letters together with a short cover letter. Also, I ended up getting verified at the end of September.

However, after reading this thread, I think that not having a committee letter may have played a larger role than I previously thought in me not getting as many interviews as I had anticipated (along with applying very very late). A couple schools did send me an email asking me why I didn't have a letter (and then proceeded to reject me afterward). I will agree that it is safer (and most likely cheaper) to perhaps sit this cycle out but it is still possible to get into where you want (although not as likely). I got into my top choice school so all hope is not lost. It just depends on if you want to risk it.

EDIT: After reading your last post, I do agree that it would be a great idea to take another year off and definitely boost your research experiences in particular. This could really help out your application and be a blessing in disguise.
 
Last edited:
It beyond sucks that it came to this. I really do sympathize with you. I know it sucks to read a bunch of strangers saying to wait a year---because it's easy to say that when it's not YOUR application, and it's not YOUR year that's being put off.

But now, if you apply without a committee letter---from a school that schools know to use committee letters, you almost are certain to make them wonder.

What do you tell them? The truth paints a picture that you were irresponsible. Other people studied for MCAT, took classes, EC's, worked, etc. and managed to meet the deadline.

If you lie, they could always get in touch with the school and find out that you didn't meet said deadline. Then you're dishonest on top of irresponsible.

The thing that's hard to sympathize about is it being late July. The deadline was April 1st? Not only did you miss it, you didn't address it until 3, almost 4 months later.

Now you'd have to find individual LOR's. Probably the best people to ask are on committees---many may know about your predicament. With the quickness you'll need the letters--and whom you may have to get them from, they could be really weak. However, some may know about your predicament and not agree with that stance.

Now, if you have dynamite stats---you could just apply out of state, get 3 letters, and they'd likely never know about the committee business.

In short, you'd be WISE to wait a year to apply WITH a committee letter. But, in the same situation, I'd be applying this year. I don't want to sit out a year.

If you do choose to sit out---talk to the advisor/committee. Tell them you want to be ready to go on day one of next cycle. Get all your stuff in as soon as they will take it. Write your personal statement now, write the description for your 15 activities now. Update them if something significant happens with those experiences in the year.

Good luck.
 
jm192 said:
It beyond sucks that it came to this. I really do sympathize with you. I know it sucks to read a bunch of strangers saying to wait a year---because it's easy to say that when it's not YOUR application, and it's not YOUR year that's being put off.

But now, if you apply without a committee letter---from a school that schools know to use committee letters, you almost are certain to make them wonder.

What do you tell them? The truth paints a picture that you were irresponsible. Other people studied for MCAT, took classes, EC's, worked, etc. and managed to meet the deadline.

If you lie, they could always get in touch with the school and find out that you didn't meet said deadline. Then you're dishonest on top of irresponsible.

The thing that's hard to sympathize about is it being late July. The deadline was April 1st? Not only did you miss it, you didn't address it until 3, almost 4 months later.

Now you'd have to find individual LOR's. Probably the best people to ask are on committees---many may know about your predicament. With the quickness you'll need the letters--and whom you may have to get them from, they could be really weak. However, some may know about your predicament and not agree with that stance.

Now, if you have dynamite stats---you could just apply out of state, get 3 letters, and they'd likely never know about the committee business.

In short, you'd be WISE to wait a year to apply WITH a committee letter. But, in the same situation, I'd be applying this year. I don't want to sit out a year.

If you do choose to sit out---talk to the advisor/committee. Tell them you want to be ready to go on day one of next cycle. Get all your stuff in as soon as they will take it. Write your personal statement now, write the description for your 15 activities now. Update them if something significant happens with those experiences in the year.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

+1 to everything said on this post.

While I agree with most posters here that the OP made a serious lapse in judgment, shouldn't there be more constructive ways of giving criticism than posting a picture of Nelson?

I don't mean to sound corny, but as future physicians, shouldn't compassion be a prerequisite?

In the future, if a father of 4 comes up to you as a patient, diagnosed with lung cancer from smoking too much, is it really mature to go like "sry to hear that dude, but u shouldve known better to smoke lololol. didn't u know? smoking kills, u brought this on urself".
 
ssdk said:
+1 to everything said on this post.

While I agree with most posters here that the OP made a serious lapse in judgment, shouldn't there be more constructive ways of giving criticism than posting a picture of Nelson?

I don't mean to sound corny, but as future physicians, shouldn't compassion be a prerequisite?

In the future, if a father of 4 comes up to you as a patient, diagnosed with lung cancer from smoking too much, is it really mature to go like "sry to hear that dude, but u shouldve known better to smoke lololol. didn't u know? smoking kills, u brought this on urself".
Click to expand...

Please don't try and correlate behavior on SDN to behavior at the bedside. That's really just silly.

I agree with your point, but SDN isn't real life.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Please don't try and correlate behavior on SDN to behavior at the bedside. That's really just silly.

I agree with your point, but SDN isn't real life.
Click to expand...

Is this real life?
 
Does anyone else think that it is ludicrous that not having a pre-med committee letter is a red flag?

"We refuse to acknowledge you as an applicant if you don't get a letter from some random individuals." -sincerely, med-schools

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, because I have not dealt with one yet, but can these people really attest to your qualifications, aside from what is on paper and a quick BS interview? This process...really makes one wonder sometimes.
 
i kind of have to agree... my letters are all going to be stellar (trust me, i know this) with at least two of the three saying "highest recommendation" yet my committee can just as easily rank me lower because of my ugrad grades. my grades are what they are, they're on my transcript. why should my LORs be penalized for it, esp. if all my individual recommenders think highly of me? dumb.
 
I also came from a school known for writing committee letters. Like you, I missed their submission deadline, and I (successfully) applied without the letter.

Will it be a red flag? Maybe, but it is not a guarantee that your applications will go straight to the waste bin. When I applied, I sent a short letter to each school explaining that I missed my committee deadline because I did not want to begin my application process and waste anyone's time until I was certain that my MS thesis could be completed in time to matriculate the next year, and not one school even mentioned it. I know that your situation may be different, but couldn't you just say that you wanted to make sure your application/MCAT score/etc was competitive before going to your committee? There is probably truth in that statement and it sound far better than admitting that you couldn't keep track of your committee's deadline.
 
LizzyM said:
At this point, with no committee letter and no MCAT score you might as well take $2,000 in small bills and flush it down the toilet. The aggravation of waiting for the plumber to deal with the clog will simulate the feeling you'll have waiting for the interview invitations that will never come.
Click to expand...
I love this so much. :love:

chman said:
Does anyone else think that it is ludicrous that not having a pre-med committee letter is a red flag?

"We refuse to acknowledge you as an applicant if you don't get a letter from some random individuals." -sincerely, med-schools
Click to expand...
No, it's not ludicrous. Individual LORs are from random individuals. How do they know that LOR you have isn't just yer Uncle Bob doing you a favor? Premed committee letters are not random.

Medschool AdComs do get to know premed advisors and committee members, especially if they've been in their position for a while. I have no doubt that the AdCom members come to trust the judgment of these advisors. (Alternately, if there is some 'bad seed' premed advisor out there I'm sure AdComs also learn to distrust those less than helpful recommendations.)

Granted, your premed advisor may not know you as well as some of your letter writers, but as a premed it's your job to cultivate that relationship and be mindful of all the necessary deadlines so that they'll go to bat for you when the time comes.

If you can't jump through this little hoop now, the bigger hoops of getting letters for residency and beyond aren't going to get any easier.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

H
Missing committee letter
Replies
18
Views
1K
stebgbby
stebgbby
blinks
Are "letter packet", "committee letter", "pre-health committee" and "composite letter" synonymous?
Replies
2
Views
481
LizzyM
LizzyM
A
Reapplying with committee letter
Replies
4
Views
436
angryBird23
A
J
Late committee letter
Replies
4
Views
510
jhekrubcw
J
velvetcoffee
No Committee Letter TMDSAS/AMCAS
Replies
8
Views
862
eigen
eigen
Top