Questions about getting a Committee letter

[LuluLovesMe]

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Two questions

1. So my school does send committee letters but it says that the earliest they will be ready is early August. This worries me because I don't have the greatest GPA and I wanted to apply earlier. Is there anything I can do about this situation?

2. I intend to have letters from three professors, one MD that I did research with and two MDs that are PI's in a study that I have been the full time coordinator for over a year. Do I send 5 of these letters to the committee and then just submit the one committee letter when applying? Or do I submit just the letters from my professors and then submit the MD letters seperately? Not sure how people usually go about this.

 

[AAATPase]

At the very least, I would talk to whomever sends them out and try to be in the earliest batch in August. Being early can not be overstated enough. My letter was sent out mid August, and I have had only one II (out of 20 mid tier schools). I applied with what I consider a strong app (LizzyM 70, 3000+ hours research etc...).

I believe there are three stats that matter to med schools: MCAT, GPA, and Complete Date.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

Ugh that makes me nervous... Should I submit without a committee letter?

 

[Banco]

Med schools often prefer committee letters, and if your school is notorious for late ones, they should know. Plus committee letters are an easy and convenient way to submit all your letters to AMCAS because it knocks out all requirements.

I was complete early - late August at med schools due to my committee letter and I still got plenty of interviews.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

Med schools often prefer committee letters, and if your school is notorious for late ones, they should know. Plus committee letters are an easy and convenient way to submit all your letters to AMCAS because it knocks out all requirements.

I was complete early - late August at med schools due to my committee letter and I still got plenty of interviews.

So I should just ask everyone that I want a letter from to submit it to the committee instead and apply with only that one committee letter?

 

[Banco]

So I should just ask everyone that I want a letter from to submit it to the committee instead and apply with only that one committee letter?

Usually that's how it works. Your committee will ask you to get the letters to them (and fulfill whatever other requirements they have, like an interview or a few small essays etc.). The committee will then either write a cover letter type summary and attach the individual letters or a main letter incorporating all of the other letters - this is usually how it works, but may depend on the school.

The committee may also put in metrics and phrases to compare you to the rest of your class in terms of activities, numbers, interview skills (if you had one for the committee), which I've heard that medical schools find very useful, which is why they prefer them.

The main advantage I found was that many medical schools often have different requirements if you submit letters individually (like 2 science, 1 humanities or some other arbitrary BS). But if you have a committee letter, it just fulfills all requirements for like 95% of schools. Super convenient.

 

[AAATPase]

The nice thing about a committee letter is that it fills all of the idiosyncratic letter requirements of each school, which is helpful considering it is wise to apply to 20+ schools. You then also don't have to answer the essays some schools will ask you to write explaining your lack of committee letter.

So, I would still do the committee letter...but I would be VERY proactive about making sure your school sends it out as soon as possible.

It was very frustrating getting emails in late September/Mid October from med schools saying "Congratulations! You're now complete, we'll start looking at your app!"