PLEASE HELP -Can anyone confirm this?

[jcurtin2013]

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I am an alumni of the University of Virginia (undergrad). In preparing my letters of rec, I was aware that most schools like to see a pre-health committee letter. I was also aware that in the past, UVA has provided such a service.

however, I just checked out the UVA pre health site, and found this posted under the FAQS section:

"Q: Will the college write a letter for students who apply to health profession schools?

A: After a comprehensive assessment of our process, and comparisons made to numerous institutions of similar size and reputation, it was recommended that the Advisory Board committee letter be discontinued so that resources could be devoted to providing greater opportunities for direct and tailored individual advising services for applicants. Resources and emphasis will now be placed on improving applicant preparation for the application process, especially in regards to interviewing skills."

essentially, if I'm reading that right, it would appear that UVA does NOT provide a pre medical letter of rec anymore.

can anyone CONFIRM if this is the case? I'd really like to know so I can put a cap on my app. Thanks.

 

[jcurtin2013]

obviously I'm still going to give them a call monday. just wanted to get an early answer here first

 

[An MD Hopeful]

You're right. It looks like your school does not provide a committee letter anymore. I would still call them to confirm just in case.

Just to clarify, med schools do not necessarily prefer committee letters. If your school offers a committee letter (which yours doesn't anymore), then the med schools really want you to get that committee letter. And if your school does not offer a committee letter, you are not at a disadvantage; you just need to get other letters (individual letters) and you will be absolutely fine. Each med school has different requirements for the individual letters, so check the websites of the med schools that you are applying to in order to get specific info on what the letters should be (e.g. 2 science letters + 1 humanities, or whatever else they want).