Does it count against you if you do not get a committee letter?

[theTiger128]

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So I talked to my premed advisor and she said that "if you attend a university that has a advisory committee but do not get a committee letter from them, then most medical school will look down up that"

I want to know how much of this is true and also if anyone has been accepted to DO school with out a advisory committee letter. What did you send in instead?


Thanks!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

It's recommended that you go through and get the letter if you're able.

 

[MedPR]

So I talked to my premed advisor and she said that "if you attend a university that has a advisory committee but do not get a committee letter from them, then most medical school will look down up that"

I want to know how much of this is true and also if anyone has been accepted to DO school with out a advisory committee letter. What did you send in instead?


Thanks!

You probably should get one, but despite what SDN may say it is not a death sentence. My UG has a committee and I don't have a letter or packet from them. I don't think it has hurt me so far this cycle.

 

[zipnogg]

I was under the impression that some schools require committee letters?

 

[mikeybeats]

What's a non-trad who has been out of school for 8 years supposed to do? I'm really starting to stress getting my LOR....

 

[coolingglasses]

What's a non-trad who has been out of school for 8 years supposed to do? I'm really starting to stress getting my LOR....

Ask the advising department at your UG to write you a brief letter simply explaining why you're not eligible to have a letter written for you by their committee. My UG did this for me automatically.

Many schools require them, but offer the alternative of two to three faculty letters instead.

 

[dsoz]

What's a non-trad who has been out of school for 8 years supposed to do? I'm really starting to stress getting my LOR....

I am a non-traditional that has been out for far longer than eight years (check my MDApp). I had five or six letters.

My supervisor at work.
A previous supervisor that took a voluntary demotion so he is not my supervisor any more.
An MD that I shadowed over 150 hours
A DO that I shadowed 16 hours (for the DO schools I applied to).
A letter from the lecture professor for an A&P class I took at a CC (He was a DC)
A letter from the lab professor for the A&P class.

I did not have a committee letter because I am a non-trad. All the schools that I applied to accepted my letters. I did need to contact one school and ask for a letter substitution. They required a "non-science professor" letter. They accepted my work supervisor letter instead.

It did take some work, but I was able to fill all my letter requirements. If you work, take a couple days off work and shadow a physician. Take a night class to get the professor letters. I would not recommend A&P if you have a busy life or are not good at memorizing a large volume of material. It worked for me because I had a lot of biology before.

Good luck. PM me if you have any questions about being a non-traditional applicant. I have two acceptances at DO schools, and am waiting to hear back from my state MD school. I am FINISHED with interviews!!!!

dsoz

 

[dfib slim]

.

 

[AlabamaPop]

I think that the Committee Letter is to simplify the review process since they have so many applications to look over, so reading 1 letter vs 3 individual ones would make it faster.

If you can get one, great, if not, then no sweat! Just make sure you have good letters and you won't be at a disadvantage. Good luck!

 

[Night Hawk]

.

 

[Mehd School]

I'm at a regional school that has an awful committee. I'm going to go through it as a formality, but they're 100% GPA based and nothing else. My gpa isn't great, in the neighborhood of 3.35 (>3.45aacomas) and am anticipating being burned.

If I do get burned, I'm holding on to that damned packet. I'm not going to let a professor that gave me a C in a class that I ranked 3rd (out of 150) because she thinks curves are dumb (organic) taint my application. I'll just roll the dice on nobody knowing of my school. It will ruin my chances at my state MD school though.

 

[Back 5]

Aren't a Dean's letter and committee letter the same thing, relatively speaking for non-trads and schools like PCOM?

 

[Capltd29]

My undergrad has a pretty extensive pre-health advising office. They drilled it into us that we needed one. After I graduated, I sort of got out of the loop and didn't get one from them. I got two science letters and an MD letter. I got an acceptance with that, but everyone's app is different.

 

[dsoz]

Aren't a Dean's letter and committee letter the same thing, relatively speaking for non-trads and schools like PCOM?

not the same.

I dropped PCOM from my list of applications because of the stupid dean's letter. I graduated a double digit number of years ago. The dean that was there at the time is probably dead. I tried to get a letter from the new dean, but I never got a response from either the dean or the secretary. I sent 3 emails and left 2 voice messages. I never could talk to a real person.

Oh well. It didn't really hurt me in the long run and saved me the $50 application fee.

dsoz

 

[Goro]

No. When I see admissions packets, I have no idea whether any given school, whether it be Harvard or Nowhere U, has a pre-med committee.

So I talked to my premed advisor and she said that "if you attend a university that has a advisory committee but do not get a committee letter from them, then most medical school will look down up that"

I want to know how much of this is true and also if anyone has been accepted to DO school with out a advisory committee letter. What did you send in instead?


Thanks!

 

[kami333]

Aren't a Dean's letter and committee letter the same thing, relatively speaking for non-trads and schools like PCOM?

They can be but they don't have to be.

From what I understand PCOM specifically wants to know that you graduated (or will graduate) in good standing without academic infractions since that information isn't always available on the transcript. I contacted the Registrar's office and they wrote me a short letter with that info, my gf had her undergrad adviser write it into her's, the gist of their explanation was that it just need to be from someone who has access to disciplinary info. Both of our undergrads had committee letters but we graduated 9-7years ago so we ended up not getting one. We were both able to come up with 2 science and a non-science (plus PI letters from work) and it hasn't been a problem.

 

[MedPR]

Aren't a Dean's letter and committee letter the same thing, relatively speaking for non-trads and schools like PCOM?

No. Anyone can get a letter from their Dean. Most schools (at least the ones I know of) require a bunch of things from you in order to get a committee packet. I got a Dean's letter for PCOM and all I had to do was send an email asking for one.